QUOTE BOX-Economists on German parties' election programs

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germans are preparing to go to the polls on Feb. 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote, and their emphasis will be on the parties' proposed solutions for the stuttering economy.

The elections catch Germany at a testing time, with the economy set to shrink for a second straight year, industrial giants like Volkswagen facing existential threats from foreign rivals, and political attitudes hardening towards migrants.

Following are economists' assessments:

OLIVER HOLTEMOELLER, VICE PRESIDENT AT HALLE INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH

"The election programs are more wish lists than programs for government action, as many things may not be implemented within the current legal framework of the debt brake. It is uncertain whether there will be a sufficiently large majority that can agree on a concrete change to the debt brake in the Basic Law."

"The Social Democrats (SPD) do not seem to want to admit that there are not only legal limits to state finances, but also a shortage of resources... We simply have to decide what real resources such as working time and physical capital are used for: People cannot work in care, as teachers, and in the defence industry at the same time."

(Reporting by Rene Wagner, Writing by Kirsti Knolle, Editing by Madeline Chambers)