President Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement triggered a discussion of whether import tariffs can reduce trade deficits or boost certain industries. This column develops a model, calibrated to the US economy, which illustrates how a uniform import tariff generates both expansionary effects upstream and contractionary effects downstream and is highly inflationary, reflecting its hybrid nature as […]
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 […]
Economic sanctions have become an increasingly common instrument of foreign policy, promoted as a non-violent alternative to military intervention. However, their effects on labour markets remain underexplored. This column examines the case of Iran following the unprecedented international sanctions imposed in 2012 to investigate how sudden and extreme shocks to market access affect the allocation […]
