Siehe auch:
[Rezension] Tom Krebs - Fehldiagnose - Der (Energie-)Preisschock
The book "Misdiagnosis - How Economists are ruining the Economy and dividing Society" by Tom Krebs was published in 2024. Krebs is a professor of macroeconomics and economic policy. The book analyzes the energy price shock its consequences for the German economy and the countermeasures taken. Krebs attributes the recession Germany has been experiencing since the pandemic and the energy crisis to the (energy) price shock.
It began with an energy price shock. Krebs distinguishes three phases for the energy price shock. In 2021 Russian gas deliveries were disrupted for the first time. From February 2022 energy prices rose as a result of the war in Ukraine. And from 2023 energy prices then fell again without however reaching pre-crisis levels. [1, p.19-22]
The price of natural gas has a particularly strong influence. Approximately half of all households are heated with natural gas. And the price of natural gas correlates with the price of electricity. This is because according to the merit order principle the power plant with the highest price determines the electricity price for all others and the power plants with the highest prices are generally gas-fired power plants. [1, p.19-22]
[4] [4, alt] [5] [5, alt]The increased energy prices were passed on to consumers as costs. According to Krebs however even companies that were hardly affected by the increased energy prices took the opportunity to raise their prices. This means that the consumer price index has risen. And Krebs compares the (energy) price shock to the two oil crises of the 1970s. Krebs cites as an example a family of four who spend 400 Euro per month on energy and 800 Euro on food. As a result of the (energy) price shock these costs have increased to 440 Euro and 1,640 Euro per month respectively. Consequently a family of four is missing 440 Euro per month. [1, p.22-25]
But Krebs notes that wages and salaries have not increased at the same rate. Consequently inflation-adjusted wages and salaries that is real wages—have fallen. Furthermore the difficulties resulting from the (energy) price shock depend on the income bracket thus obscuring the true consequences of the (energy) price shock. For example the price increases led to a loss of prosperity for higher income brackets. For correspondingly lower income brackets however such losses of prosperity inevitably represent a cut in their subsistence level. [1, p.22-25]
[3, ZCPIN]Krebs explains that the (energy) price shock is a consequence of the increased prices for energy imports. These increased prices have resulted in a decrease in real purchasing power. Furthermore the increased prices have led to more demand flowing abroad in the form of payments thus reducing the domestic economy. According to Krebs however capital income unlike labor income did not decline in 2022. [1, p.26-31]
| Year | Gross Domestic Product | Real Wages | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy Crisis | 2022 | -4,1% | -3,4% |
| Corona Crisis | 2020 | -2,5% | -0,8% |
| Financial Crisis | 2008 | -5,8% | -0,4% |
Preview:
- [Review] Tom Krebs - Misdiagnosis - The Counter-Measures and their Failure 2026-08-13
- [Review] Tom Krebs - Misdiagnosis - Market Fundamentalism 2026-08-15
Src:
[1] Tom Krebs - Fehldiagnose - Wie Ökonomen die Wirtschaft ruinieren und die Gesellschaft spalten ISBN 978-3-86489-430-5
[2] Leseprobe
https://westendverlag.de/media/e6/6e/04/1728310626/leseprobe_Krebs_Fehldiagnose.pdf
[3] AMECO database
https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/economic-research-and-databases/economic-databases/ameco-database_en
[2] Strompreis aktuell: So viel kostet die Kilowattstunde 2025-08-10
https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/info/Strompreis-aktuell-So-viel-kosten-die-Kilowattstunden,strompreis182.html
https://storage.googleapis.com/ndrdata-csv-cors/inflation/strompreis/verivox_12_month_electricity_price_weighted_mean_long_dw.csv?v=1756235824501
[3] Gaspreis aktuell: So viel kostet die Kilowattstunde 2025-08-27
https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/info/Gaspreis-aktuell-wie-viel-kostet-Kilowattstunde,gaspreis142.html
https://storage.googleapis.com/ndrdata-csv-cors/inflation%2Fgaspreis%2Fverivox_12monthgasprice_weighted_mean_long_dw.csv?v=1756361052004
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