Overturn the 2G rule in retail?
IfW wants security with pilot projects
2/4/2022 11:34 am
With Schleswig-Holstein, the first federal state is lifting the 2G obligation in retail, but the Institute for the World Economy is now having doubts about the positive effects of the opening step. In pilot projects, it should first be compared how customers react to the abolition of the Corona rule.
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) has spoken out in favor of regionally limited pilot projects instead of a general lifting of the 2G rule in retail. It is “not at all clear” whether simply lifting the 2G or 2G-plus rules for retail and gastronomy would have positive economic effects,” explained IfW President Holger Görg.
It could therefore lead to more sales because hurdles to access shops and restaurants are removed for everyone. According to Görg, sales could also fall because access for the unvaccinated or untested deters more potential customers who then no longer feel safe. The IfW boss therefore thinks it makes sense to “first observe the reaction of customers promptly in comparative pilot projects, instead of lifting the restrictions across the board”.
According to the IfW, in order to really be able to see whether 2G and 2G plus or just the corona pandemic is depressing the sales figures in gastronomy and trade, pilot projects should be started as soon as possible: In some “well-considered places” restrictions should therefore be withdrawn, in others not . After some time, the development can then be compared.
Schleswig-Holstein will lift the 2G obligation in retail from next Wednesday. Previously, several federal states had already withdrawn the rule due to court decisions, such as Bavaria and Saarland. Employers’ and trade associations in particular had recently increasingly called for a nationwide end to the regulation.