Buying innovation vs buying protection: What we know about public procurement of innovation
Europe is turning public procurement into an instrument of industrial policy. The Industrial Accelerator Act and the proposed Public Procurement Act would let public buyers
AI to the rescue: How the countries of Europe and Central Asia can grow more prosperous as they grow older
Much of developing Europe and Central Asia is ageing fast, and its workforce is starting to shrink. This column argues that artificial intelligence can partly
Assessing China as a technological innovator
The dramatic rise of domestic patent publications by Chinese inventors has raised questions about the extent of Chinese innovations. This column uses a newly assembled
The real-economy case for capital markets integration: Cross-border shareholders and firm investment resilience
Europe’s push for deeper capital markets assumes that cross-border equity ownership matters. This column shows that it does. Euro area listed firms remain heavily owned
Company wage policy in a low-wage labour market
In many countries, minimum wage policies allow employers to pay young workers less than adults, and the UK is now debating how fast to phase
Not your average firm: Heterogeneous cross-border financial allocations
International financial integration is often measured through national totals. Yet these totals can conceal very different experiences across firms. Using comprehensive French microdata, this column
Powerful pacifism and currency dominance: What 150 years of international monetary system regime switches say about the US dollar’s future
The 20th century shift from sterling to the dollar is often cited as evidence that currency dominance is not forever. This column presents a nonlinear
US goods trade deficit unexpectedly widens in September
The US trade deficit in goods unexpectedly widened in September as imports increased, suggesting that trade again subtracted from economic growth in the third quarter.
Fix education to make AI work across Europe and Central Asia
The countries of Europe and Central Asia (ECA) cannot afford to miss the opportunity that artificial intelligence (AI) offers, but they will not seize it
Education and urbanization alone may not end global extreme poverty
Counting the number of people living in extreme poverty — on less than $3 a day — is only part of the picture. We also
