In a warning to Germany, the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) has just recently highlighted the need to close existing gaps in the data. We still know too little about one particular central indicator for estimating risk: the quality of lending standards. Surveys of institutions, like those we have conducted once again over the past year, provide us with vital information.
In this context, the government, being an important employer, can lead by example and provide the possibility of more flexible working to the civil servants. Flexible working allows female employees to better balance their work and family life. Especially in the case of single mothers, flexible working can be decisive in whether to work or not.