The Middle Ages are widely understood as an era of economic immobility. This column uncovers a more nuanced picture. Wealth transmission in late medieval Florence was characterised by both mobility and persistence. While there was a notable degree of social mobility across adjacent generations, privilege tended to persist over longer horizons. Social and political networks […]
A large share of EU firms experienced supply chain disruptions in recent years. This column shares highlights from the 2024 European Investment Bank report on how to enhance the security and resilience of EU supply chains without sacrificing the benefits of the global production model. The EU internal market appears to work as a buffer […]
As governments increasingly resort to industrial policy to achieve economic and non-economic objectives, the number of subsidies has more than tripled in the last decade. This column investigates the effects of domestic subsidies on trade flows. It shows how these measures can alter comparative advantage patterns and hence affect export dynamics, especially in large emerging […]
While much of the world has benefited from international trade, some regions and individual citizens have been left conspicuously behind. This column summarises analysis from the WTO’s 2024 World Trade Report on the relationship between international trade and inclusiveness. The diverse impact of international trade across economies points more to the inadequacy of domestic policies […]
One of the narratives being pushed by Russia is that its economy is doing better than the West, and that sanctions are not working. This column looks at how the Russian economy worked before the invasion in 2022 and some of key statistics currently coming out from Russian authorities. The findings suggest that the Russian […]
Many antitrust theories of harm relate to price effects. Governments regulate retail prices, for example, to protect smaller shops from more cost-efficient rivals. But for online shopping, shipping costs must also be taken into account. Looking at Amazon, this column quantifies the role of shipping costs in the effective prices for consumers when shopping online. […]
A recent European Court of Justice ruling will force FIFA to rewrite its rules on the transfer of football players between clubs. In particular, it may have to eliminate the Article that makes any football club that hires a player in breach of his or her contract jointly and severally liable for any fines levied […]
Governments in advanced economies face growing pressure to increase public spending. This column finds that debt issuance in euro area countries whose bonds are considered relatively safe drives up interest rates in both the issuing country and in other ‘safe’ countries. This new type of spillover, which differs from contagion effects and default risk spillovers, […]
The question of whether the burden of distress in the banking sector is shared equally among households or distributed unevenly has been on top of policymakers’ minds since the global financial crisis. This column analyses how temporary banking sector losses affect households of different income levels and reveals that low-income households are disproportionally affected. While […]
Calls for a ‘joined-up approach’ linking competition, trade and industrial policy have finally been heard in Europe. This second in a two-column series looks at what such an approach might mean in practice and identifies a number of major problems with competition policy practice and enforcement that remain to be addressed. The first column in […]
