So different, yet so alike (to Donald Trump?) The 2019 Democratic Primaries on Twitter

Facebook’s Libra; will it test the new ECB chief Christine Lagarde?

The flirtation with illiberalism

High Standards: Curse or Blessing?

The Authoritarian Push for Tighter and More Centralised Banking Regulations

EU Parliamentary Elections: An Assessment

Call for Papers
Guidelines and Information

IREF is a free-market oriented think tank. It promotes ideas, events, and academic research.
With regard to research, IREF supports original projects that lead to the production of papers of academic quality of at least 7,000 words. This support is not a prize to published work, nor is it an (...)

STEM Popularity in Germany – A Reason for Optimism

German chancellor Angela Merkel recently expressed concerns over Germany’s and Europe’s technological competitiveness. Others voiced doubts about Germany’s tech future, too. One of the reasons mentioned more frequently to justify this pessimism is the shortage of skilled labour. As a result, calls (...)

Will Monetary Union Become Fiscal Union? The Incoming New Personnel will Influence the Timing and Required Power Shifts.

Personnel changes are afoot, both of Central Bankers and Politicians. ECB President Draghi will step down at the end of October when his eight-year term expires. Half the ECB Governing Board will also be replaced at the same time. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney’s term expires at the end (...)

Property Taxes in OECD Countries

There is no doubt that wealth mirrors taxpayers’ ability to pay better than other measures such as income. There is also no doubt that private wealth is much more unequally distributed than income, and that the dispersion in the distribution of wealth has been increasing in recent decades. (...)

Eastern Europe 30 Years After Revolution

In 1989, revolutions began sweeping across Eastern Europe. Communism was counting down its final days and what would soon be the end of the Iron Curtain. Eastern European economies were on the verge of leaving socialism behind and welcoming a market economy. Thirty years later, public policies (...)

Can The Market Stop Populism?

The relationship between populism and market economy is problematic. Despite some important exceptions (e.g. President Donald Trump), populist parties (and candidates) quite often place themselves much closer to the pro-State extreme than to the pro-Market one. It is often argued that populist (...)

Taxing Artificial Intelligence
By Julian Arndts and Kalle Kappner

WP 2019-05.

To Follow Or Not To Follow The Herd? Transparency And Social Norm Nudges
By Elena Kantorowicz-Reznichenko and Jaroslaw Kantorowicz

WP 2019-04.

Vehicle-Specific CO2 Emission Caps: An Outdated Policy Tool

CO2 emission limits and targets are currently all over the news. For example, the European Union is gradually strengthening the environmental standards for new vehicles, with a view to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050. These emission targets, however, could be reached more (...)

The ECB Is Getting Out Of Kilter With The Federal Reserve

The ECB is under twin pressures, both of which are only likely to increase. Firstly, with interest rates stuck at minus 0.4% ECB policy is diverging from Fed policy; secondly, problems with Europe’s banking look likely to be highlighted soon by the ECB’s Supervisory Board.
A) Interest Rate (...)