The impact of fintech on lending
Fintech has improved efficiency and inclusion in banking, especially lending, but has also raised concerns about financial stability, privacy, discrimination, and overall wellbeing. This column
Communicating monetary policy by a committee: Echoes that move markets
Central banks rarely speak with one voice. At the Federal Reserve, for instance, each official brings a distinct perspective, and markets parse every speech for
Addressing food insecurity in the Middle East and North Africa: innovations in data monitoring
Food insecurity remains a critical issue affecting millions of people across the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAAP). The region faces a wide
Europe’s trade surplus, international relative prices, and the productivity growth gap
The euro area faces persistently weak productivity growth alongside a sustained trade surplus and a trendless real exchange rate. This column shows that persistent productivity
The financial sector and global dollar system
The current US administration’s approach to financial markets and institutions mixes familiar deregulatory policies with a range of other policies that are largely without precedent.
The new currency war: The US-China digital rivalry as a test of monetary discipline
Digital currencies pegged to fiat money face a built-in tension between credibility and competition, creating a ‘stablecoin paradox’. This column analyses the competing frameworks of
Crypto, tokenisation, and the future of payments
The introduction of crypto technology and tokenisation is spurring changes in the financial system. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is taking steps to integrate crypto into
Dangling fiscal surveillance: EU fiscal policies in 2024
Effectively suspended since the onset of the Covid pandemic, the EU fiscal rules were set to make a comeback in 2024. At the same time,
Why some countries win in world trade: Unpacking export competitiveness
Global export competitiveness is rapidly evolving. This column presents a novel granular decomposition of export market share changes into demand and supply effects. Applied to
How central bankers speak about climate and what this means for financial markets
Central banks have increasingly engaged with climate-related topics in their public communication, but little is known about the drivers and effects of this shift. This
