How exchange rate policy reshapes global supply chains and productivity growth
Global current account imbalances are widening again. This column argues that currency undervaluation, supported by reserve accumulation under capital controls, can permanently reshape industrial structure
Financing the startup J-curve
High-growth startups often lose money before they make it. This column examines whether differences in financing capacity are reflected in the cash flow and growth
Energy markets under chokepoint stress: The 2026 Hormuz shock
The 2026 Middle East conflict and the disruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz generated the largest physical supply disruption in the history of
Inside the automotive supply chain: Empirical evidence from Italian business-to-business trade data
Europe’s automotive industry is undergoing a significant transformation. This column uses firm-to-firm data to map the Italian automotive supply chain, covering both direct suppliers and
Workers’ age and AI adoption
Numerous studies have analysed the effects of AI on productivity, growth and employment. Few of these focus on the factors that promote or hinder the
Some questions that a Bank of England review should ask
The Bank of England is approaching the 30th anniversary of operational independence and a wide-ranging review is likely. With growing political interest in the issue,
The price elasticity of US shale oil supply: Insights from a natural experiment
The 2026 Iran war provides a natural experiment that allows model-free estimation of the price elasticity of US shale oil supply. This column argues that
A view to a kill…ing of productivity: The allocative cost of war in Ukraine
Estimates of the cost of Russia’s war on Ukraine are dominated by what the war destroys. This column measures a second cost: the labour and
Spilling secrets and shrinking chains: How weak laws narrow supply networks
Modern manufacturing often requires firms to share confidential information with outside suppliers, some of whom also supply their competitors. Using more than 160,000 contracts from
Half your skills came from work. Policy hasn’t caught up
Where did you accumulate most of your human capital? You may think it was in school, but you would be forgetting an equally important setting:
