Sudden stops in international capital flows pose significant challenges for policymakers, especially in emerging markets. These abrupt halts in cross-border flows disrupt firms’ access to external financing, leading to liquidity shortages that can severely undermine economic activity and growth. This column examines how credit support policies in the form of credit guarantees and central bank […]
The blackout on 28 April 2025 that left all of Spain and Portugal in the dark was a stark reminder of the fragility of our energy systems and also the risk of renewables being turned into a scapegoat. This column argues that public trust is foundational to Europe’s energy transition and shows that support for […]
Competition in critical technologies is attracting increasing attention not only because of the foundational nature of these technologies for other types of innovation, but also because of their role in the United States national security strategy. In this paper, we look into which entities in China, the European Union and the US innovate at the […]
Recent events, such as tariff announcements, illustrate that even global shocks may feature important country-specific components. This column finds that a monetary union shapes the impact of economic uncertainty on its member countries by substantially mitigating the adverse effects of country-specific shocks. It does so by providing a nominal anchor that effectively eliminates price level […]
Reductions in women’s labour supply after childbirth remain a persistent driver of gender earnings inequality. Using data from West Germany from the 1960s to 2013, this column explores the evolution of the ‘child penalty’ – post-birth earnings reductions for mothers – in Germany. The child penalty increased over time because women are earning more, so […]
This blog post is part of a special series based on the April 2025 Commodity Markets Outlook, a flagship report published by the World Bank. This series features concise summaries of commodity-specific sections extracted from the report. The World Bank’s food commodity price index edged down in April, extending the 2 percent decline in 2025Q1. Over […]
In the fast-paced world of finance, ongoing digitization is disrupting the traditional rules of banking with profound consequences. Our lives have also become more digital through shopping, social interactions, news, and information gathering, to name just a few. A burgeoning amount of personal data is now being produced daily. The total amount of data created, captured, […]
Mental health represents a significant public health challenge and a critical economic and social issue for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health and substance use disorders, along with suicide, have become leading causes of mortality, morbidity, and disability in the region. This burden disproportionately affects young […]
The growing toll of global disaster and climate losses seems inescapable. The year 2024 was another record-breaking year, with global disaster losses estimated at over $350 million. In an increasingly risky world, developing country governments must juggle the difficult tradeoff of protecting their people and economies from the shocks of today, while trying to invest […]
Global external assets exceeded 200% of world GDP in 2020. Comparing the performance of foreign investments for 13 advanced economies between 1975 and 2023, this column finds that some countries consistently earn up to four percentage points higher average nominal returns than other countries. The large differences in investment performance abroad have substantial effects on […]
