Ukraine’s recovery challenge
The economic damage in Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion is on a scale not seen in Europe since WWII. This column compares Ukraine’s economic...
Opinion Pieces
SUERF Policy Note - Stylised facts on debt and financial crisis
This policy note summarizes the main empirical findings on the role of debt in financial crisis. Credit booms – on mortgage debt, debt to the non...
The loss of human capital in Ukraine
School disruptions due to war, pandemics, or natural disasters can have persistent negative effects on learning outcomes. This column estimates the...
Facing the refugee challenge: a view from Moldova
The European Union and the International Monetary Fund have been deploying resources to help Moldova cope with an influx of refugees that represents...
Corporate legacy debt, inflation, and the efficacy of monetary policy
The COVID-19 pandemic has coincided with a further rapid increase in corporate indebtedness. This column argues that high levels of corporate debt may...
Cryptocurrencies and the war in Ukraine
The cryptocurrency exchanges have only done what is legally required of them when sanctioning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, unlike the...
Sanctions, war, and systemic risk in 1914 and 2022
The Western countries have sanctioned Russia in a way not applied to any globally integrated major power in over a century, ever since 1914. This...
Post-Corona balanced budget fiscal stimulus: The case for shifting taxes onto land
Land’s share in economies’ nonfinancial assets equals between 40% and 60%, and in the US currently equals over 50%. This constitutes a very large base...
How global risk perceptions affect economic growth
The relationship between financial risk and economic growth is complex. This column finds that perceptions of high risk unambiguously harm growth...
Why some nations’ labour markets did better during the pandemic
Leaving human capital out of policy discussions might lead to incorrect inferences about which measures were most successful during the pandemic...
The Development of Central Bank Digital Currency in China: An Analysis
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has launched an ambitious project to develop a digital currency for use in domestic, retail transactions, and is, by...
The new global tax deal arrives (but expect bumps ahead)
Nearly 140 countries have agreed to a new global tax deal, which was years in the making. Estonia, Hungary and Ireland, the last holdouts, joined the...
Simpler approaches to a global tax plan
More than 130 countries have lined up in favour of a global redesign of corporate taxes. The redesign calls for multinational giants to pay their...
Changing bankruptcy law has given firms time to adapt and recover
Bankruptcies are costly, but economists worry about keeping doomed firms alive. Simeon Djankov (LSE) argues that restructuring bankruptcy laws has...
Gendered laws curb Olympic success
Legal gender equality is key for female participation in the labour market. The association between women’s legal empowerment and success in sports is...
Why we don’t write more papers on political finance
Despite the commonly held views of economists on regulatory capture, our profession has been much more hesitant in recognising similar conflicts of...
