orities to oversee the economic challenges of the member states and regulate the financial markets. However, recourses for the crisis have yet to resolve the economies of the EU. Stimulus packages have been instated and austerity measures have been adopted, but the crisis is still imminent in the Eurozone.
             Although recessions are common in financial cycles, the severity of the 2008- 2009 recession and the interconnectedness of the European Union have made recovery for Germany slow and arduous. Germany has the strongest economy among the members of the Eurozone. It has a positive balance of trade, with exports outnumbering exports (OECD 2012). Due to its history of financial instability, Germany has learned to exercise prudence in spending. The costs of the two World Wars and the integration of East Germany have enabled Germany to maintain its budget deficit (U.S. Congressional 2010, 6). However, it has not been immune to the financial crisis in Europe. Germany's GDP, usually increasing year after year, fell in 2008 and has since not been able to return to its growth rate prior to the recession. According to the World Bank, Germany's GDP growth, as an annual percentage, was 0.68% in 2005, 3.70% in 2006, 3.27% in 2007, 1.08% in 2008, -5.13% in 2009, 3.69% in 2010, and 3.00% in 2011 (World DataBank 2012, Germany GDP Growth). It is projected to grow 0.6% in 2012 (Central Intelligence Agency 2012). From the figures listed, the effects of the financial crisis have not left Germany. This research paper examines four variables that contribute to Germany's slow economic recovery from the 2008-2009 recession.
             This paper begins with the methodology used to measure the four independent variables and its effects on Germany's economy. The literature review provides a background on the financial crisis in Europe and scholarly works discussing the possible causes of the crisis. It also includes an article written in 2005 that ...