Greening the economy will entail the contraction of high-polluting jobs. This column presents new OECD research using labour force data from a large sample of European countries that suggests green and high-polluting jobs are unequally distributed across socioeconomic groups. Green jobs are associated with higher educational attainment, high-polluting jobs with lower educational attainment, and women […]
The racial wealth gap in the US has widened since 1980, in part because white Americans invest a larger share of their wealth in the stock market compared to Black Americans. This column explores how differences in unemployment risk impact the investment choices of white versus Black Americans. Black Americans face significantly higher cyclical unemployment […]
As the planet warms, the escalation in both frequency and severity of natural disasters be-comes a pressing concern. This column uncovers significant, sustained adverse effects of natural disasters on the US economy and financial markets. Disasters disrupt economic ac-tivity across labour, production, consumption, investment, and housing sectors. These dis-ruptions stem from increased financial risk and […]
Nationalist movements are experiencing a global revival, attracting new followers and unsettling policy agendas around the world. This column examines the emergence of a German national identity in the early 19th century, when many of the modern tools for state propaganda were still in their infancy. From 1813 onwards, the king of Prussia appealed to […]
In the aftermath of the depreciation that followed the Brexit referendum in 2016, UK exporters progressively shifted to invoicing most of their exports in dollars, rather than in pounds. This column shows that this dramatic transition to dollar pricing had meaningful macroeconomic consequences, with important implications for the way international spillovers are absorbed by the […]
It is well established that those with lower incomes tend to have worse health outcomes. But whether this relationship extends to the most disadvantaged in society – people experiencing homelessness – has rarely been examined. This column explores the relationship between homelessness and health outcomes in the US. It finds that after accounting for demographic […]
Decarbonising the world economy will require workforces with the skills to support the diffusion of climate-friendly technologies. The effects of reforming education systems can be slow to materialise, so progress towards climate goals will depend on improving the allocation of workers from ‘brown’ jobs to ‘green’ jobs. This column argues that most workers in brown […]
In recent years, banks have increasingly embraced net zero commitments as part of their strategy to address climate change. This column finds limited evidence to suggest that net zero commitments lead to significant reductions in financed emissions or substantial increases in financing for sustainable activities. It raises questions about the effectiveness of voluntary private-sector initiatives […]
To what extent high markups have shaped the recent inflation dynamics? This column presents evidence from the US on how markups affect the pass-through of global oil supply shocks. Higher markups are associated with a lower pass-through of shocks to producer prices only when the shocks are disinflationary. High-markup firms are more likely than low-markup […]
The proliferation of fake news poses a growing global threat, affecting politics, individual decision-making, and economic outcomes. This column discusses how informing individuals about their susceptibility to fake news affects their willingness to pay to protect themselves from misinformation. While people often overestimate their ability to discern fake news, raising awareness about their susceptibility affects […]
