Victor D. Norman, who passed away in September 2024, was a leading figure in international economics. This column outlines the contributions he made to the field through his own research, his leadership in several research projects in Norway and Europe, and the organisation of the most pleasurable conferences and workshops in the profession. Victor Danielsen […]
Many financial institutions have pledged to minimise their exposure to climate transition risks. But moving assets away from sectors with high emissions is sometimes at odds with supporting climate transition investments, as sectors with high emissions – such as utilities and transportation – require capital to invest in greener technologies. This column analyses the tension […]
In Italy, criminal organisations infiltrate municipal bodies to control public resources and manipulate elections. Detecting this infiltration, however, is difficult. This column proposes a machine-learning model that can predict mafia infiltration before it becomes evident and flag ‘high-risk’ municipalities. Policymakers could then monitor high-risk municipalities more closely and implement stronger safeguards to prevent the misuse […]
Education is recognised as a crucial factor in breaking the cycle of poverty. This column examines how historical exposure to colonial public primary schools in Tunisia influences medium- and long-run literacy rates. It finds that increased enrolment of Tunisian students during the colonial period significantly boosted literacy decades later, while the enrolment of European pupils […]
There is a growing friction between state governments and large asset managers over environmental, social, and governance practices. This column investigates whether institutional investors’ voting patterns on socially responsible investing vary according to the political party in control of the state government where a firm is headquartered. It finds that institutional investors are less likely […]
Tensions between fiscal and monetary policies have recently become the focus of macroeconomic policy debates. But by how much have they risen? By introducing a new r-star concept for fiscal policy that can be compared to monetary r-star, this column presents a new framework for measuring fiscal-monetary tensions. Based on 140 years of data for […]
Policy initiatives in several European countries have targeted bank profits to secure public funds. These measures include introducing windfall taxes on excess profits and, in some instances, encouraging higher, taxable dividend pay outs. At face value, the case for taxing banks appears intuitive: people are facing hardship and banks are making record profits. This column […]
Wiki Finance Expo Dubai 2024 will be held on Nov 27th! FinTech, Forex, Crypto, Web 3.0, Metaverse, ESG and AI Will Be in Focus. Taking place on Nov 27, 2024, Wiki Finance Expo Dubai 2024 is one of the largest and most influential FinTech and Web3.0 events in Asia in 2024. Participation is Free Register […]
The threat that organised crime poses to state authorities is particularly conspicuous in Italy, where the Mafia, ‘Ndrangheta, and Camorra have long held sway over local economies and governance. This column explores how exposure to organised criminal violence – as opposed to general criminal violence – affects faith in political institutions and overall social trust […]
Some decades ago, development economists saw their approach as being distinctive compared to mainstream economics in general and better grounded in the reality of actual economies. This column argues that two trends over the last decades – the significant improvement in the average income of what were called developing countries and the homogenisation of economics […]
