Advantages and pitfalls of green public procurement as a European strategic tool
Green public procurement supports EU climate goals but may conflict with other objectives, creating trade-offs that challenge its effectiveness. Public procurement, or the purchasing of
How much of a threat to US debt sustainability is Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act?
The US should start fiscal adjustment as soon as it can if it wants to head off the risk of exploding debt related to Trump’s
How to manage migration in an ageing country
With working-age populations projected to decline rapidly, all European countries face an unprecedented demographic challenge. Inflows of regular foreign workers are thus key to support
How real-time data misled policymakers during the post-COVID recovery
Preliminary data releases can diverge significantly from subsequently revised figures, complicating economic policy decisions made in real time. This column shows how real-time GDP releases
Understanding inflation with textual analysis: How news about commodities improves predictions
Commodity prices have historically been considered leading indicators of inflation, but the relationship has weakened since the mid-1980s, making them less reliable predictors. This column
Ripples presaging a financial tsunami
Loss of confidence in the US dollar’s reserve currency status could trigger a collapse of the US Treasury market and international financial fragmentation. This column
Budgeting in uncertain times: making every penny count
Governments everywhere are facing significant fiscal challenges due to rising debt, ageing populations trend in some parts of the world such as Asia, Europe and Northern America,
Sparking the investment miracle developing economies need to create jobs
Developing economies today face an investment shortfall of historic proportions. Meeting even the most modest development goals will require a huge investment push—equal to about 5 percent
When the heat rises, progress on women’s economic empowerment cools
Hotter-than-usual years can slow or derail advances in women’s legal rights. A new analysis spanning five decades finds that temperature anomalies—years significantly hotter than a country’s historical
The return of inflation: Why ‘look through’ can backfire under incomplete information
Central banks facing post-pandemic inflation often considered ‘looking through’ supply shocks. Using a New Keynesian framework in which agents gradually learn whether a cost-push shock
