Christian Odendahl
Christian Odendahl
Chief economist (Based in Berlin)
Areas of expertise
Eurozone, ECB, Germany, fiscal and monetary policy, structural reforms, political economy of economic integration, international trade, financial regulation.
How to make EU fiscal rules compatible with net zero
09 May 2022
EU governments will have to invest a lot more to meet 2030 emissions targets. Fiscal rules exemptions and more EU funding are needed to ensure Europe reaches its climate goals without political crises.
The EU must triple down on green investment
24 March 2022
Russia’s war on Ukraine forces Europe to make some tough economic choices. Higher climate investment is a no-brainer, however.
Ditchley conference report: The politics of climate change
02 February 2022
Climate change is as much a political problem as a technological one, and the CER's annual economics conference focused on ways to overcome inertia, denial and myopia.
What Europe expects of post-Merkel Germany
29 September 2021
Europe expects Germany’s likely new Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, to keep Europe united while adding more strategic vision to fight climate change, transform the European economy and navigate global politics.
Three questions on the German election
27 July 2021
As the floods in Germany change the dynamics of the race, the CDU could win the most votes yet end up in opposition. In that case, the chancellor could be the SPD’s Olaf Scholz.
Europe shouldn't worry about inflation
20 July 2021
The fear of inflation is stalking Europe again. Policy-makers are right to be relaxed.
Learning to live with debt
18 May 2021
When the old consensus on public debt was formed in the 1980s, the world economy was very different from today’s. It’s time for a new approach.
Why Europe should spend big like Biden
29 March 2021
The scale of Biden’s spending plans means the US economy will recover much faster than Europe’s. Yet in many ways it is the European economy that is in greater need of stimulus.
How Greece can recover from Covid
09 February 2021
The pandemic is adding to Greece’s economic problems. But the EU recovery fund, if spent well, offers Greece a chance to turn a corner.
Preparing for a CDU-Green coalition in Berlin
01 February 2021
Germany is often slow to adjust policies that have served it well. But the next election is one of the better opportunities to make progress.
Choosing Merkel's successor: None of the above?
12 January 2021
The competition for ‘Merkel voters’ has started, and the CDU needs a leader able to keep her broad coalition of supporters together. That may well be health minister Jens Spahn.
Will Germany rethink defence, too?
27 July 2020
COVID-19 has forced Germany to rethink its economic orthodoxy. A similar rethink of its defence and security outlook will take time.
The recovery fund faces a tricky passage
29 May 2020
The Commission's proposed recovery fund is macroeconomically meaningful. The 'frugals' should focus less on negotiating away the transfers to harder-hit countries, and more on how the money is spent.
Three ways COVID-19 will cause economic divergence in Europe
21 May 2020
Europe's economies will diverge further as a result of COVID-19, as the economic impact will be larger in Southern Europe. Fiscal transfers would help to restart the EU's 'convergence machine'.
A proposal for a coronabond: The Pandemic Solidarity Instrument
06 April 2020
The economic hit is so severe, and the demands on fiscal policy so high, that the EU needs to share the burden between stronger and weaker countries.
The two economic stages of coronavirus
26 March 2020
European policy-makers must offset the huge costs of containing the virus, while keeping debt sustainable in all eurozone member-states. But they also need a plan to stimulate a V-shaped recovery.
CER podcast: How to contain the coronavirus fall-out
11 March 2020
The new coronavirus has been spreading rapidly in Europe, and Italy has imposed strict constraints on movement to contain the outbreak there.
Christine Lagarde must get ready to fight on two fronts
30 September 2019
As Christine Lagarde takes over the presidency of the ECB, she has little room to ease monetary policy. She will need to convince northern European fiscal policy-makers to help.
Germany should not run the ECB
23 May 2019
If Jens Weidmann became president of the European Central Bank (ECB), it would be more difficult to fight the next recession and prevent future crises.
The big European sort? The diverging fortunes of Europe's regions
08 May 2019
Over the last 15 years, graduate workers and high-value services and technology firms have been clustering together in Europe’s most successful cities. This process may widen Europe’s political fault-lines in the future.
How to combat Europe's economic slowdown
25 January 2019
Europe is experiencing an economic slowdown at an exceptionally bad time, but has the tools to fight it and should use them soon.
Conference report: The politics of slow growth in Europe
19 December 2018
A new CER report summarises its 2018 Ditchley Park conference, which brought together 50 leading economists to discuss 'The politics of slow growth in Europe'.
Can the euro rival the dollar?
04 December 2018
The international role of the US dollar is deeply entrenched. To change that, Europe – and Germany in particular – would need to rethink some core economic policies.
The good European? Why Germany's policy ambitions must match its power
22 February 2018
The next German government should overcome 'small nation' thinking: Berlin needs to acknowledge that its domestic economic policy has consequences for its neighbours. It also needs to take more responsibility for European security.
Conference report: How to save the EU
15 January 2018
50 leading economists, political scientists and experts on the EU considered the forces undermining the Union, and how Europe should respond to them.
The biggest Brexit boon for Germany? Migration
11 December 2017
Germany's economy desperately needs qualified immigrants to fill 780,000 jobs. Brexit will help it to do so.
Dig for Victory?
16 November 2017
A UK trade deal with the US will create more problems for British agriculture and food consumers than it would solve.
Relaunching the EU
07 November 2017
The EU is ripe for fundamental reform. New policies are needed for migration and the euro. The EU also needs more flexible structures so that countries can opt in and out of key policies.
How the ECB should respond to a German fiscal boost
26 September 2017
A German stimulus has the potential to help the eurozone economy. But how the ECB reacts is key.
What the German elections mean for Brexit
30 August 2017
The German elections will not affect the outcome of Brexit, whatever coalition partner Angela Merkel may choose.
Make German politics interesting again
18 August 2017
Merkel is disarming the SPD, which is too cautious to promise real change, while Die Linke’s radicalism is poisoning the SPD’s only possible route to power.
The Hartz myth: Drawing lessons from Germany
20 July 2017
Germany's Hartz labour market reforms were no miracle cure. Rather than copying them, the rest of Europe should learn more nuanced lessons from the German experience.
The Hartz myth: A closer look at Germany's labour market reforms
10 July 2017
Germany's labour market reforms of the early 2000s had a modest effect on the economy. Europe should learn nuanced lessons from the German experience.
A flexible EU: A new beginning or the beginning of the end?
18 May 2017
The EU needs to become more flexible if it is to tackle current and future challenges effectively. But it should do so transparently, and remain inclusive.
Can Martin Schulz beat Angela Merkel?
20 March 2017
A chancellor Schulz would be good news for the eurozone economy. But he would not differ much from Merkel on Brexit.
Berlin to the rescue? A closer look at Germany's position on Brexit
17 March 2017
Brexiters hope that Berlin will adopt an accommodating stance in the forthcoming negotiations because of Germany's economic and security interests. Such hopes are misplaced.
Trump, trade and the EU: Two wrongs don't make a right
23 February 2017
The US will not gain by resorting to protectionism. If it does so, the EU should stay calm, listen when US criticism is justified, and make its first priority the defence of the WTO process and the rule of law.
What free movement means to Europe and why it matters to Britain
19 January 2017
Britain and the EU-27 view migration very differently. That could complicate the Brexit and free trade negotiations.
Europe's make-or-break country: What is wrong with Italy's economy?
19 December 2016
Italy's economic problems are a threat to the eurozone and the EU as a whole. While the euro has not helped Italy, its problems are mainly homegrown.
Europe after Bremain: A strong team?
10 June 2016
If Britain votes to Remain, it should not revert to old habits of obstruction. In almost every field, it can serve its own interests best by making a positive contribution.
The economic consequences of leaving the EU: The final report of the CER commission on Brexit 2016
21 April 2016
After leaving the EU, the UK would face an invidious choice: sign up to EU rules and the free movement of labour, or suffer economic damage.
Shaping 21st century trade: TTIP, global standards and multilateralism
08 April 2016
If TTIP is open to other countries, a deal can reduce the cost of business while setting new global benchmarks and rules for trade.
Time for a regime change in Frankfurt
08 March 2016
To get eurozone inflation back to the 'close to 2 per cent' target, the ECB needs to be much bolder – and needs fiscal help.
European competitiveness, revisited
19 January 2016
European ‘competitiveness’ should be defined as productivity, and the policies to raise it are complex and counter-specific. Raising ‘competitiveness’ also requires more, not less democracy.
We don't need no federation: What a devolved eurozone should look like
03 December 2015
At the heart of the eurozone's troubles lies a fundamental contradiction between the euro's integrationist economic pressures and the politics of democratic nation-states.
Merkel after Paris
20 November 2015
Merkel's relatively open and liberal stance on refugees makes it easier for her to respond robustly to the attacks in France through security and foreign policy.
Frozen: The politics and economics of sanctions against Russia
16 March 2015
Western sanctions are hurting Russia more than Europe. They will remain an essential tool to prevent a strong and aggressive Russia dominating its neighbours.
Why devaluing the euro is not mercantilism
02 October 2014
The ECB needs to be more innovative and drastic to weaken the euro. This would help the eurozone without hurting the world economy.
The ECB is not the German central bank
02 December 2014
The ECB should stop waiting for German approval of more aggressive monetary policy, and Germany should back the ECB more openly.
Lighten the load
26 August 2015
Greece’s debt burden needs to be reduced, but maturity extensions on existing loans are not enough for Greece to return to the markets.
A Greek programme for Greece
05 November 2014
The programmes for Greece are not working. It is time for a new approach that focuses on the long-term and Greek ownership.
The low-hanging fruit of European capital markets
08 April 2015
The planned capital markets union in Europe faces many obstacles. Commissioner Hill was right to start with the lower-hanging fruit.