When broadband comes to banks: Credit supply, market structure, and information acquisition
Banks have long relied upon cutting-edge technologies to deliver products and improve efficiency, but there is limited evidence on the impact of fast internet on
Addressing Europe’s services dependencies
Recent shifts in the geopolitical order have created an urgent need for Europe to strengthen its strategic autonomy. This column discusses the economic security issues
When the cloud meets a thirsty world
Throughout history, water has been the quiet engine behind progress: farmers irrigate fields to grow crops; industry needs it to produce goods and generate energy;
Beyond just IT: cybersecurity as a foundation for economic growth
A cyberattack against Morocco’s National Social Security Fund, which resulted in the leakage of the personal and financial details of nearly two million people; a cyber heist of US$ 1.5 billion in Ethereum, from the
The future is Africa: Shaping AI-enabled EdTech for skilling the next generation
By 2050, one in three of the world’s children will live in Africa. Yet this demographic shift coincides with a profound learning crisis: over 70 percent
European stocks rise, dollar steadies as markets look past Venezuela turmoil
Euro zone government bond yields dropped after the data, with the benchmark ten-year German yield at 2.8561%. Stock markets continued to rally in early European
Saudi Arabia approves 2026 borrowing plan with $58bln in financing needs
The world’s top oil exporter is more than halfway through its Vision 2030 plan that calls for hundreds of billions of dollars in government investment
Big cities and globalisation
Globalisation has deepened economic inequalities between large cities and the rest. This column examines foreign trade integration in larger cities versus other regions across Brazil,
The economic consequences of earthquakes: A tale from two datasets
Economic studies of earthquakes often rely on incomplete data, excluding lower-intensity events that can still cause disruptions. This column identifies the effects of earthquakes on
Dollar choppy as risk-off mood, dovish Fed unsettle markets
The risk selloff petered out somewhat in Europe, however, to leave the euro at $1.1704, steady on the day at a near two-month high, after
