The European Green Deal will cause more harm than good
by Mohamed Moutii 9 June 0
In the last European elections, the so-called green parties won a record number of seats and became the fourth largest bloc in the European parliament. The Greens are now seen as pivotal political allies for passing EU legislation. Not surprisingly, climate issues have become central to the (...)
Give priority to the first shots!
by Fabian Kurz, Translation by Anna-Maria Kohnke 2 June 0
Jabs are the way out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK, US, and Israel have made much progress with their vaccination programmes. In continental Europe, however, life-saving vaccine doses are scarce – partly due to the EU’s unfortunate purchasing policy. In light of the scarce vaccines and of the (...)
A wide look at Digital Euro – part 2: monetary policy
by Leonardo Baggiani 19 May 0
In a previous article, we pointed out a number of technical problems related to the Digital Euro (DE) and the expected benefits for the users. To make a long story short, the costs and risks of the project seem greater than the benefits. We now add some thoughts about the ECB monetary policy. (...)
A wide look at Digital Euro – part 1: risks, costs, and benefits for the users
by Leonardo Baggiani 12 May 0
The European Central Bank is working on her own digital currency: the Digital Euro (DE). Several details are provided in the specific ECB report. There are still many technical problems to solve and structural choices to make before implementing DE. Yet, some features seem clear. DE would be a (...)
The Gig Economy: A good deal for workers
by Kalle Kappner, Translated by Anna-Maria Kohnke 5 May 0
Occasional sleeping in a shared flat; getting a lift from the airport to the city centre; moving house with the help of a bunch of students – an increasing number of people uses the diverse, often inexpensive offers of digital platforms such as Airbnb, Uber, or TaskRabbit. Although the economic (...)
The tourism Industry: Will the Covid-19 Pandemics Change the Economy?
by Sergio Beraldo 28 April 0
Tourism positively affects the balance of payments, attracts new foreign direct investment and is key to stimulating economic development and cultural change in many countries. Its contribution to alleviating poverty is also significant. For every job directly created in the sector, about 1.5 (...)
Why the Karlsruhe Court is the last wall before debt monetization
by Samuele Murtinu 14 April 0
Pundits from all quarters harshly criticized the German Federal Constitutional Court of Karlsruhe after its judgment of last 5 May 2020. The Court raised constitutional complaints in regard to the Bundesbank’s approval of the European Central Bank (ECB)’s Public Sector Purchase Programme (...)
Five Years of One-In-One-Out: Room for Improvement
by Alexander Fink, Alexander Mengden, Translation by Anna-Maria Kohnke 7 April 0
Germany introduced the so-called ‘bureaucracy brake’ in January 2015. Whenever new legislation is passed, the ‘one-in-one-out’ principle applies: it obliges the bureaucracy to eliminate old regulation whenever new rules are introduced, to avoid that that regulatory layers multiply and the burden (...)
Joe Biden’s New Economic Plan will have devastating economic consequences
by Mohamed Moutii 31 March 0
In recent months, the USA has known exceptional tensions: the country has experienced outbreaks of violence and is deeply divided. On January 15, President Joe Biden announced his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus plan titled the “American Rescue Plan”. He described it as an emergency package to (...)
Who’s biased?
by Leonardo Baggiani 17 March 0
The recent paper “Fifty Shades of QE: Conflicts of Interest in Economic Research” by Fabo et al. investigates the possible biases of economic research when analysing QE effectiveness. Part of the research efforts on this subject is led by economists who work at the very central banks that design (...)