The twentieth anniversary of Euro and its weight as an international currency
by Sergio Beraldo 25 March 2020 0
When they introduced the euro, European governments were expecting that the new currency would rival the dollar on international markets. Twenty years later, the euro is still far behind on that account. A recent paper by Ethan Ilzetzki, Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff (Why is the Euro (...)
New Working Paper: To whom do MPs cater?
by IREF 11 March 2020 0
The recent decision of the German Bundestag against the introduction of an opt out solution for organ donation has surprised many people. After all, the two leading health politicians of the coalition, CDU Health Minister Jens Spahn and SPD Health politician Karl Lauterbach, had publicly (...)
Happiness, populist parties and the virtue in the middle
by Luigi Curini 4 March 2020 0
Recently, a new "specter" has been haunting Europe: populist parties (left or right, here we have the full menu) appear to gain more and more approval at the polls. In some cases, they also manage to win the elections and enter the cabinet. From Hungary to Poland, Spain, Italy (and, according (...)
Adjusting to Climate Change: Markets help
by Alexander Fink, Fabian Kurz, Translation by Anna-Maria Kohnke 26 February 2020 0
Climate scientists warn against the possible consequences of anthropogenic climate change. Rising average temperatures make extreme weather, including draughts and floods, more likely; rising sea levels threaten populations in coastal regions. An international political agreement was to limit (...)
The unintended consequences of coronavirus
by Sergio Beraldo 12 February 2020 0
A new type of virus is holding the world in suspense by evoking images of the worst Hollywoodian nightmares. It is known that it spread out of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, China, and then quickly propagated throughout mainland China, at least for the moment. The mortality rate of this (...)
Limits to profit as limits to freedom: law and public policy considerations
by Riccardo de Caria 5 February 2020 0
Some time ago, the story of Martin Shkreli, an entrepreneur who made the news as a candidate for "the most hated man in America" (thus the BBC), caused a stir: he bought the intellectual property rights needed to produce a life-saving anti-AIDS drug, and immediately afterwards raised the price (...)
Nationalist and cosmopolitan positions about immigration
by Sergio Beraldo 29 January 2020 0
As shown in Peter Higgins’ book “Immigration Justice”, two distinct positions dominate the immigration debate. The nationalist position assumes that states should favor the interests of their own citizens over those of foreigners. By contrast, the cosmopolitan position claims that residents are (...)
Immigration, tolerance and identity
by Sergio Beraldo 22 January 2020 0
A few weeks ago, the bodies of 39 people were found in a lorry trailer in Essex. They were Vietnamese migrants, including eight women, three boys and twenty-eight men. The eldest victim was 44, the youngest 15. This was just one in a series of dreadful events that have occurred in Europe over (...)
MiFID II: Too much consumer protection?
by Alexander Fink, Benedikt Schmal, Translation by Anna-Maria Kohnke 8 January 2020 0
The recently updated European Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, commonly abbreviated as MiFID II, is supposed to enhance consumers’ protection. Adjustments of regulatory background questions aside, the EU aims to improve “protection of investors by prohibiting the acceptance of (...)
Cost-benefit analysis is less than satisfactory. Yet, the alternatives are probably worse
by Francesco Ramella 2 January 2020 0
Cost-benefit analysis is far from being a perfect tool. In particular, the subjective nature of costs and benefits makes all calculations arbitrary. Thus, it may happen that policymakers take bad decisions even when applying the best methodology. Yet, the world of politics requires that (...)