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Economy Business Employment Featured

Employment protection legislation reforms and the rising cost of job loss

A widely cited argument in favour of easing employment protection rules is that greater flexibility in hiring and firing can lead to increased job matching efficiency and productivity, but this may come at a cost for certain groups of workers. This column examines the impact of the 2012 ‘Fornero Reform’ in Italy, which lowered the […]

transport Development Economy Environment Featured

Why going “all in” on active mobility is a sure bet for sustainable development

Every year on United Nations World Bicycle Day (June 3), we celebrate the transformative benefits of the bicycle. At the World Bank Group headquarters in Washington, DC, staff from across the institution gathered in the main atrium—as per a growing tradition—to recognize the tremendous contribution the bicycle can make to the World Bank’s mission of ending extreme […]

Energy Banking Featured Finance

Home charging and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles: A strategy for real-world emissions reductions

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles can use either fossil fuels or electricity and offer potential emission reductions, depending on the driver’s usage. This column examines how access to charging at home influences the share of driving that employees with company cars in Germany do using electricity. Access to home charging reduces the users’ fossil fuel consumption […]

Covid-19 Business Featured World

Working from home boosted growth by expanding disability employment

Individuals with a disability have remarkably low employment rates compared to the rest of the population. This column examines whether the rapid rise in the ability to work from home post-pandemic has improved disability employment. The authors estimate that in the US working from home has already increased full-time disability employment levels by over a […]

Banking Featured Finance World

Avoiding Kindleberger’s trap: A dollar coalition of the willing

In the event of dysfunction in dollar funding markets, the Federal Reserve can supply liquidity through standing central bank swaps. This column considers a scenario in which the Fed declines to extend such credit. It argues that 14 major central banks hold roughly $1.9 trillion in US safe assets. They could form a dollar coalition […]

Technology Featured World

Google, Meta win court fight against Austrian online content rule

Alphabet’s Google, Meta Platforms and TikTok on Thursday won backing from Europe’s top court in their fight against an Austrian law requiring them to delete hate speech or face fines of up to ($10.69 million). The Austrian law, enacted in 2021 and which obliges Big Tech to publish regular reports of illegal content, comes amid mounting concerns […]