Extreme weather and nature loss: can the private sector be part of the infrastructure solution?
In 2018, after 3 years of droughts, the city of Cape Town in South Africa faced severe water shortages. Dam reservoir capacity had dropped to
Agreed and disagreed uncertainty: Rethinking the macroeconomic impact of uncertainty
The conventional wisdom is that uncertainty leads to economic contractions, but recent evidence challenges this assumption. This column introduces two novel concepts of uncertainty –
When illusions of wealth shape the economy: Understanding pseudo-wealth, macroeconomic volatility, and social welfare
Pseudo-wealth is a perception of wealth that is not backed by real economic resources. When people have widely different beliefs, they create ‘wealth’ through betting.
Oil prices climb 2% to two-week high on US-China tariff reductions
Oil prices climbed about 2% to a two-week high on Monday after the U.S. and China agreed to temporarily slash tariffs, raising hopes of an
NRG Energy shares hit all-time high on $12 billion power assets deal
NRG Energy said on Monday it would acquire power generation assets from energy infrastructure investment firm LS Power in a deal valued at $12 billion,
Lessons for the European Central Bank from the 2021-2023 inflationary episode
Since mid-2021, the euro-area economy has gone through several shocks, leading to the highest inflation since the creation of the European Monetary Union. A forceful
Human capital formation as a key component in Europe’s defence build-up
Government spending on defence, particularly defence R&D, can have significant economic spillovers. This column argues that the forthcoming European defence build-up must include a long-term
Exchange rate uncertainty, tariff hikes, and adjustment costs
The recent shift in trade policy by the new US administration is impacting global trade and creating volatility in financial markets. This column quantifies the
Recent trade policy actions: Insights from multiple models
Recent tariff measures by the US and countermeasures by its trading partners have dominated global policy debates. Using three economic models, this column shows how
Big news missing the big picture: Stock market performance in the news
The performance of stock markets often appears worse in the daily news than it actually is. This column argues that this negative news bias arises
