Recent tensions between the US and China have raised the spectre of technological decoupling. This column explores the impact of US Entity List restrictions on Chinese firms’ innovation. It shows that US sanctions reduce the quantity and quality of patenting of the targeted Chinese firms, driven by reduced collaboration with US inventors. Sanctions in specific […]
International shipping faces significant challenges as emissions trading schemes expand, potentially leading to overlapping greenhouse gas pricing mechanisms. Concerns are rising among shipping companies that double pricing could reduce their competitiveness and raise costs. This column identifies three potential scenarios in which emissions from international shipping could become subject to multiple GHG pricing instruments, and […]
Anti-globalisation sentiment has risen significantly in recent decades. Focusing on French voting patterns since 1981, this column analyses the relationship between anti-globalisation votes and local exposure to exports and imports, and finds that anti-globalisation is driven by imports of final goods rather than intermediate goods. In fact, greater exposure of national employment to intermediate imports, […]
Industrial policy has been used by many countries throughout history. Yet, it remains one of the most contentious issues among policymakers and economists. This column outlines a theory-based empirical methodology that relies on estimating an industry equilibrium model to measure hidden subsidies, assess their welfare consequences for the domestic and global economy, and evaluate the […]
Central banks’ communication strategies are critical in shaping public inflation expectations, especially as inflation remains a pressing global concern. This column provides evidence from a survey experiment exploring how different communication mediums – text, photo, audio, and video – impact households’ inflation expectations. The findings suggest that dynamic audiovisual methods, like audio and video, are […]
Removing regulatory barriers to worker mobility such as non-compete agreements can influence worker-level outcomes. This column exploits the changes in the enforceability of non-competes to explore their interaction with investment in intangible assets and market imperfections. Banning these agreements disproportionately benefits workers employed in intangible-intensive firms. When firms develop intangible assets that give them a […]
No country is safe from the risks posed by connections between politicians and private companies; scandals involving conflicts of interest plague governments around the world. Using a detailed dataset from the Czech Republic, this column demonstrates that ties between political parties and boards of government contractors lead to overpriced contracts without any corresponding gains in […]
Most research examining how the benefits from trade vary across domestic consumers focuses on imports. This column analyses the welfare implications of consumers in Switzerland purchasing foreign goods by physically crossing into neighbouring countries. The authors find that cross-border shopping substantially lowers the cost of living for Swiss households, particularly for those living near the […]
Despite progress in gender equality, significant labour market disparities persist, particularly impacting mothers after childbirth. This column investigates how cultural norms influence women’s labour supply decisions in reunified Germany. The authors find that East German women maintain higher employment rates post-birth, even after migrating to the West, reflecting the resilience of egalitarian norms. Conversely, West […]
In March 2020, the ECB recommended that euro area banks temporarily halt dividend distributions to shareholders and suspend share buybacks. As a result, dividends and the dividend payout ratio were near zero in 2020. This column shows that the dividend ban led to an increase in credit supply in the syndicated loans market. However, the […]
