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Covid-19 Economy Featured Finance

When upskilling is good but not enough: Understanding labour shortages through a job-quality lens

Advanced economies are still experiencing labour shortages in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. This column examines the high labour shortages across OECD countries, focusing on wage and non-wage job quality. Real wages have generally increased, but with differences between countries and industries. Beyond pay, job insecurity, poor working conditions, and exposure to health risks […]

trade Featured News World

Moderate growth amid global trade uncertainty: The Commission’s Spring 2025 Forecast

President Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” announced on 2 April sent shockwaves through the global economy. This column introduces the European Commission’s Spring Forecast, which depicts a resilient EU economy. Yet growth is set to remain modest, reinforcing the image of a continent buffeted by external shocks and mired in low growth. Tariffs, and even more […]

Development Economy Environment Featured

Extreme weather and nature loss: can the private sector be part of the infrastructure solution?

In 2018, after 3 years of droughts, the city of Cape Town in South Africa faced severe water shortages. Dam reservoir capacity had dropped to critical levels and the city was fast approaching “Day Zero” of no water availability. Desalination, new dams, strict water usage limits – all solutions were on the table.  Solving the […]

World Business trade

Recent trade policy actions: Insights from multiple models

Recent tariff measures by the US and countermeasures by its trading partners have dominated global policy debates. Using three economic models, this column shows how the tariffs impact trade flows, output, and welfare, especially in North America and China. In the short term, tariffs act as negative supply shocks for tariffing countries (depressing output while […]

Development Featured trade World

Trade policy for developing economies

Developing economies face a far more challenging international trade environment than they did at the start of the 21st century. Yet trade remains an essential component in reaching development objectives. This column offers possible policy options for developing economies to leverage untapped opportunities for cross-border cooperation and improve domestic conditions that will make trade more […]

World Economy Featured News

Monetary policy spillovers in the global economy

Over and over in the history of the international monetary system, national policymakers have pointed to – and voiced concerns about – the effects of policy actions undertaken in foreign countries on the outlook and financial conditions in their own domestic economies. The most recent example involves the spillovers of tighter monetary policies to address […]