Europe faces slowing growth, ageing populations, and structural shifts. This column discusses how organisational economics can illuminate the impact of structural forces on Europe and assist in the design of policies to promote productivity and growth. Demographic change is among the most consequential challenges for European governments, and its impact hinges on organisational choices regarding […]
The starkly different paths of economic and institutional development followed by China and the West is often attributed largely to the Industrial Revolution. This column argues that institutions and culture played a key role in setting Europe and China on divergent paths well before the onset of the Industrial Revolution, but the role they played […]
The low-carbon transition requires substantial financial mobilisation, yet it is unclear whether banks’ public climate commitments represent real change or simply greenwashing. This column uses unique survey data from 335 banks across 33 emerging markets to examine their internal green practices and lending approaches. The authors find that climate-committed banks score substantially higher on green […]
How does generative AI affect real workplace productivity? This column reports results from an experiment at the National Bank of Slovakia, where staff were randomly assigned GPT-4o access while completing routine and non-routine tasks. The model improved output quality by up to 44% and cut completion time by 21%, with the largest gains on non-routine, […]
The transition from sail to steam power for cargo and passenger shipping to Australia lagged behind the North Atlantic by nearly two decades. This column explores how Brunel’s iconic ship, the SS Great Britain, succeeded where others failed, thanks to its size and innovative design that combined sail and steam power. The Great Britain made […]
