Robusta coffee prices surged to their highest point in three decades in February 2024, marking a 4 percent rise from the previous month, driven by supply concerns. Meanwhile, Arabica prices increased by 3 percent in February (m/m) reflecting the tightness of this market as well. The global coffee market anticipates a significant increase in supplies, with an estimated […]
Western Europe boasts some of the world’s densest and most efficient railways. The high-speed rail networks of Germany, France, Italy, and Spain are generally considered among the best globally. Of the ten densest high-speed railway networks around the world, seven are in Western Europe (see chart). These networks rank impressively high in terms of safety, service, […]
Bitcoin hit a record high on Monday above $71,000, as the surge in the biggest cryptocurrency showed no signs of slowing down. Britain’s financial watchdog on Monday became the latest regulator to pave the way for digital asset trading products after saying on Monday it will now permit recognised investment exchanges to launch crypto-backed exchange-traded notes. Bitcoin […]
Governments around the world implemented widespread business support during the COVID-19 pandemic. The measures may have affected employment dynamics and reallocation, with potential consequences for aggregate productivity. This column investigates employment dynamics across firms during the pandemic, the extent to which adjustments were productivity enhancing, and the role of job retention schemes. Government policies were […]
Underrepresentation of women in high-profile career positions has impacts on the labour market and public policies. This column documents gender inequalities in academia, based on panel data of paper submissions to the largest economics conference in Brazil. When faced with rejection, women are more likely than men to give up on submitting a paper in […]
The past few years have seen a significant rise in economic uncertainty. However, how financial intermediaries shape the effects of uncertainty on the economy has not received much attention. This column uses data from the US credit register to study the impact of trade uncertainty during 2018-19 on US domestic credit supply. It finds that […]
Surprise inflation impacts households’ balance sheets through several channels. This column presents the three key channels – wealth, income, and consumption – and quantifies them for Spain in 2021 using a new granular dataset. The results show that the wealth and income channels trumped the consumption channel. Middle-aged individuals were largely unaffected by inflation, while […]
Major cities around the world have introduced various policies to reduce or manage road traffic flows, but the extent of their pollution-reducing effects remains unclear. This column examines the relationship between traffic flows and local air pollution concentrations in Japan. The findings suggest that a reduction in road traffic flows alone is unlikely to be […]
Taxing the wealthy effectively and equitably presents a choice between wealth and capital income taxes, each with its own trade-offs. This column compares the effectiveness of the two forms of taxation. A wealth tax targets unrealised gains but faces valuation and liquidity challenges that limit its applicability. Capital income taxes target corporate profits and individual […]
Cohesion Policy is the main instrument of the EU’s commitment to shared prosperity. A new report from the High-Level Group on the Future of Cohesion Policy advocates for a revamped policy to address today’s structural challenges. It stresses the need for a Cohesion Policy that, while keeping its focus on economic, social, and territorial cohesion, […]
