Politics 2.0: Short-run and long-run effects of broadband internet on...
What has been the impact of high-speed internet on political participation? This column reports new evidence from Italy and the formation of Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement. Largely through social...
View ArticleFuture of the world trading system: Asian perspectives
The WTO risks losing its centricity in the world trading system due to its focus on 20th century trade issues and lack of progress in the Doha Round. This column introduces a new eBook that looks at...
View ArticleProtectionism’s quiet return: The GTA’s pre-G8 summit report
Commentators increasingly talk about the steady rise of protectionism. This column presents evidence from the newest Global Trade Alert report to suggest that they’re right: the past twelve months have...
View ArticleFacing up to uncertainty in climate-change economics
Uncertainty is intrinsic in climate-change economics. This column argues that it’s here to stay. There will be no accurate predictive tool for predicting economic growth, the emergence of clean-energy...
View ArticleEZ banking union with a sovereign virus
The doom-loop between banks and the national governments played a dominant role in the Eurozone crisis for Ireland and Cyprus. A Eurozone banking union is usually viewed as the solution. This column...
View ArticleFiscal implications of the ECB’s bond-buying programme
The monetary-fiscal policy connection is under scrutiny by the German Constitutional Court in the context of the ECB’s OMT bond-buying programme. This column argues that most analyses are deeply flawed...
View ArticleAnatomy of cartel contracts
If cartels are a clear and ever-present violation of market economics, what can authorities do to combat them? This column presents new research that helps economists understand cartels better. The...
View ArticleFrom sovereign turmoil to private sector woes: Italian sovereign spreads and...
What has driven Italian sovereign spreads movements? This column presents new research looking into increased volatility in sovereign debt since the summer of 2011. Shocks in investor risk appetite,...
View ArticleFixing Japan’s deflation requires labour-market reforms
Abenomics is all the rage. Japan’s GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.5% in the first quarter, the stock market went up by almost 30% since December, and despite some uncertainties, sentiments,...
View ArticleHigher government wages may reduce corruption
Do higher government wages reduce corruption? This column argues that they do, but only in relatively poor countries. When a country’s poor, higher government wages reduce bureaucrats’ incentive to...
View ArticleRussian Cyprus round-tripping: Corruption-linked money laundering
Russian involvement in Cyprus was widely recognised during the acute phase of the most recent EZ crisis. This column argues that some of this is driven by corruption-linked money laundering. Using...
View ArticleCorrupted credit ratings: Standard & Poor’s lawsuit and the evidence
In response to the civil lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice in February 2013, Standard & Poor's affirms that its ratings were "objective, independent and uninfluenced by conflicts of...
View ArticleHigh home ownership as a driver of high unemployment
Unemployment is once again the bane of the US and Europe. This column highlights an intriguing association between home ownership and high unemployment using US state-level data. Given the heavy...
View ArticleThe roots of the Italian stagnation
It’s currently very trendy in Italy to blame Angela Merkel, Mario Monti, and austerity measures for the current recession. This column argues that while the severity of the downturn is clearly a...
View ArticleFinancial globalisation: Retreat or reset?
Is financial globalisation in retreat? This column suggests it might be. There’s been a recent and significant retreat in European financial integration and a retrenchment of global banking (although...
View ArticlePutting the ‘system’ in the international monetary system
The Eurozone has been going through an existential crisis since 2010. The column discusses research that draws an analogy between the careful planning in the 1980s leading to the creation of the euro...
View ArticleDo large departments make academics more productive?
Every academic has an opinion about what makes a good department. This column brings evidence from French economics departments. It suggests that larger departments are associated with slightly more...
View ArticleUnwinding quantitative easing
Chairman Bernanke’s hints about the end of quantitative easing (QE) have produced volatility in financial markets. This column argues that financial markets were startled because an end to QE is likely...
View ArticleMigrating out of poverty: The role of finance
Financial liberalisation has been controversial among academics and policymakers as it is not clear whom the benefits of expanded credit allocation accrue to. Using time and state-level variation...
View ArticleSpillovers: Why macro-fiscal policy should be coordinated in economic unions
How should macro-fiscal policy be coordinated in economic unions? This column argues that the received wisdom has it right, and presents new empirical evidence suggesting that there are important...
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