The digital work society is re-inventing itself, as the digitization of the economy has already left tremendous shifts in the structure of the market and competition. Large platforms are increasingly gaining power through network effects, resulting in deeply felt changes to the very fabric of the economy: profits are now concentrated within hyper-productive "superstar"-companies. Currently the overall course that has been set and central framework conditions for the future are intensely debated: What are we doing with the taxes on income and property? How are these developments influencing living and work opportunities of the people of the digital transformation?

Within the framework of the Policy Lab's new After-Work-discussion-series, the Nachtschicht [Night Shift], we want to, in conjunction with experts from varied disciplines, reflect on the exciting process of the new formulation of our (work) society. In every monthly event a different overarching topic will be explored so that a picture of the work culture of the future can be made.

The main topic of the first Nachtschicht, at which Federal Minister Hubertus Heil cut the metaphorical ribbon to get the discussion series underway, is economy. Currently, the policy instruments used in economic policy are being discussed in controversial manner like never before. Which social and political challenges are attached to this? And how will the economic order of our working society in 2040 look like? These are two of many guiding questions that were discussed in depth with the experts Dr. Monika Queisser (OECD), Christian Odendahl (Centre for European Reform) and Professor Dr. Philipp Staab (Humboldt University, Berlin).