Why do central bankers tend to get it wrong?
by Leonardo Baggiani 11 September 2019 0
Central banks play a prominent role in regulating modern economies. They enjoy a high reputation for their technical competence, and provide analyses and forecasts that influence the behavior of markets and the policymakers’ decisions, with emphasis on monetary policy. What if their forecasts (...)
Mass Unemployment and Skilled Labour Shortage?
by Alexander Fink, Kalle Kappner, Translated by Anna-Maria Kohnke 4 September 2019 0
Germany’s labour market is buzzing. The unemployment rate is currently close to 5%. Althoughthe business cycle could cool down in the near future, the trend is not expected to reverse course in the coming years. In the long run, however, pessimism dominates. As automation intensifies, many (...)
The Skilled Immigration Act: A Missed Opportunity
by Kalle Kappner, Translated by Anna-Maria Kohnke 28 August 2019 0
For several decades, labour market experts and economists have been advocating what now seems to become real: in 2020, Germany’s new immigration act will come into effect. The ‘Skilled Immigration Act’ is supposed to make immigration of qualified, non-EU citizens significantly easier. In the (...)
The contractual approach to welfare policy design
by Sergio Beraldo 21 August 2019 0
«From now on our nation’s answer to this great social challenge will no longer be a never-ending cycle of welfare: it will be the dignity, the power, and the ethic of work. Today we are taking an historic chance to make welfare what it was meant to be: a second chance, not a way of life…The new (...)
Organ Donations and Transplants. Should we accept to be nudged towards better choices?
by Sergio Beraldo 7 August 2019 0
«Would you be willing to donate one of your organs to an organ donation service immediately after your death?». This question was asked to a sample of Europeans through an Internet based enquiry promoted by the European Commission and completed in September 2006. It was included in a survey aimed (...)
New Working Paper: Taxing Artificial Intelligences
31 July 2019 0
In the new IREF working paper “Taxing Artificial Intelligences”, Julian Arndts and Kalle Kappner analyse the fiscal implications of the presence of artificial-intelligence (AI) machines in the production processes. Arndts and Kappner argue that the key players of the fourth industrial (...)
So different, yet so alike (to Donald Trump?) The 2019 Democratic Primaries on Twitter
by Luigi Curini 24 July 2019 0
After the incredible Republican presidential primaries opened the path to the surprising, to say the least, Donald Trump Presidency in 2016, today the Democracy Party is involved in a quite similar situation. While three years ago there were 17 candidates at the Republican primaries (5 of them (...)
The flirtation with illiberalism
by Tanja Porčnik 3 July 2019 0
While all of the former socialist economies have liberalised and strengthened their markets over the past two decades, they have failed to strengthen the rule of law (see Table 1). Under socialism, legal systems are not designed to protect the rights of individuals. Instead, they serve the (...)
High Standards: Curse or Blessing?
by Alexander Fink, Fabian Kurz, Translated by Anna-Maria Kohnke 26 June 2019 0
Over the last few decades, our living standards have improved significantly. Today, cars are technologically sophisticated, apartments are comfortable, and pharmaceuticals are safer. The working of the markets has enhanced technological progress. Yet, technology does not progress linearly. (...)
EU Parliamentary Elections: An Assessment
by Sergio Beraldo 12 June 2019 0
Despite plenty of terrifying predictions about populist coalition victory and its consequences, the latest European election provided a rather different outcome. No tsunami materialized, no earthquake. Nothing that would wipe-out the political equilibrium at the heart of the European Union as (...)