Lower capital requirements are no shortcut to European competitiveness
The European banking sector is known for high regulatory complexity, market fragmentation, and uneven implementation of international standards. However, this column argues that across-the-board reductions
Small is beautiful 2050: Europe’s digital economy as a mesh, not a hub
In response to digital dependence, Europe has decided to think bigger. This includes AI gigafactories, tripling data centre capacity, and searching for domestic champions. However,
Making markets work: The role of effective public institutions in enabling private sector growth and development
Of the roughly 3.74 billion people in the global workforce, about 400 million, or 11 percent, work in the public sector. These are the people who deliver essential services,
Energy markets under chokepoint stress: The 2026 Hormuz shock
The 2026 Middle East conflict and the disruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz generated the largest physical supply disruption in the history of
Don’t drain the swamp! Populism, bureaucracy, and economic performance
Populist leaders increasingly cast public sector experts, oversight bodies, and career civil servants as illegitimate ‘elites’ standing in the way of the popular will. But
When risks stack up: Threats to global food markets in 2026
Global food commodity markets entered 2026 on a relatively stable footing, supported by ample grain and edible oil supplies. However, escalating conflict in the Middle
Europe must prepare for a possible oil supply crunch
With falling commercial and emergency oil reserves, Europe’s oil price shock could soon become a volume crisis – a scenario for which it must prepare.
The unequal burden of oil shocks: Labour markets and monetary policy
The war in Iran has sent oil prices sharply higher, reviving the question of who bears the cost of energy shocks and how central banks
A plan to revitalise the World Trade Organization
Saving the WTO will require EU-led alliances, better subsidy disciplines and new plurilateral routes, even if some initiatives sit outside the WTO. The World Trade
Nvidia CEO joins Trump’s thorny trade mission to China
Trump embarks on the first visit by a U.S. president to China in nearly a decade eager to land some economic wins and prop up
