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poverty Education Featured World

Behind the numbers: How we measure global poverty

Did you know? According to the latest estimates from the World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP), 831 million people worldwide live in extreme poverty, surviving on less than $3.00 per day. But how is this number derived? Where does the data come from? In this blog, we take you behind the scenes. To understand how the World […]

Banking Featured Finance News World

What money will become: Seven key questions

The digital age has ushered in an era of transformation for money, triggering debates about the role of cryptocurrencies, central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, and the possible encroachment of Big Tech into the monetary system. In the midst of this upheaval, central bankers, economists, and the private sector are grappling with fundamental questions about the […]

World Economy Featured News trade

Global merchandise trade tops expectations in H1

WTO economists raised the 2025 merchandise trade growth forecast to 2.4%. Global merchandise trade outpaced expectations in the first half of 2025, driven by increased spending on AI-related products, a surge in North American imports ahead of tariff hikes, and strong trade among the rest of the world. In response, WTO economists raised the 2025 […]

Education Economy Featured News World

Reforming the education of economists in Europe: Breaking the tyranny of the top five

Many European countries have adopted the American model of doctoral training and academic evaluation. While this model suits America’s vast, mobile labour market, in Europe it has created perverse incentives and distorted research priorities. This column argues that Europe needs a more pluralistic, socially grounded, and inclusive system for the training of economists. It proposes […]

Economy Development Featured News World

Attrition in surveys in developed country field experiments

One of the remarkable things about many field experiments done by development economists is the low attrition rates that have been achieved in many surveys. In an era of increasing suspicion about scams, and distrust in strangers, the fact that people are willing to repeatedly answer often lengthy questionnaires is amazing. It can take a […]

Employment Education Featured News World

Information and the labour market

Workers often remain in their jobs even when they know they may get higher wages elsewhere, raising questions about the effectiveness of pay transparency laws. This column draws on a large German survey to examine how information frictions shape labour market outcomes. The findings suggest that workers are better informed than many policymakers assume, but […]

Lifestyle Economy Featured News

A cold case (over 160 years old): The effects of unification on Italy’s North-South divide

Few economic debates have lasted as long as the 160-year debate concerning the effects of Italian unification on the economies of Italy’s South and North. This column proposes a way to move the argument forward. The authors estimate the causal effects of unification on the agricultural share, literacy rates, and railway density in the South […]

Economy Featured News Productivity World

Geopolitical risk in the euro area

Geopolitical risk is a key concern for the euro area, yet most available measures reflect a US perspective. This column introduces a new indicator of geopolitical risk tailored specifically to the euro area, based entirely on newspaper coverage from local sources. The authors show that shocks to this index have significant recessionary and inflationary effects, […]

Gender Economy Featured Politics World

Gender and the authority of experts

Who has more authority in the eyes of the public – male or female economists? This column uses an information experiment to show that the opinions of visibly senior female economists (professors in top economics departments) carry more weight. A plausible explanation is that credentials (signals of success) may reduce or reverse stereotyped discrimination: women […]