“If we were to extract that kind of boost of growth that would be very significant for the world,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said during the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Washington. Booming investment in artificial intelligence, concentrated mostly in the U.S., could contribute between 0.1% and 0.8% to global growth, but […]
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 […]
While trade debates focus on tariffs and goods, services have quietly defied deglobalisation and become an increasingly important driver of growth. Services trade not only generates productivity spillovers and labour-market gains, but it is also where future policy tensions could emerge. Yet services trade remains under-measured and under-studied. This column introduces the new Bilateral Trade […]
Manufacturing is a locus of innovation, yet standard industry data show manufacturing productivity stagnating in the US. This column argues that standard measurements understate true productivity growth in the sector, especially in industries where it is difficult to track changes in quality growth. Comparing producer and consumer price indexes, the authors show that ‘missing’ quality […]
Economic historians have long debated whether lagging regions can catch up in productivity with industrial leaders. This column shows that, under the right conditions, such catch-up can be remarkably rapid. Using newly digitised US Census of Manufactures data covering 48 states and over 120 industries from 1880 to 2007, it finds strong unconditional convergence in […]
Economic growth in Europe continues to lag behind that of the US, largely due to smaller productivity gains. This column uses a general equilibrium model to show that a more integrated capital market in Europe could strengthen investment by reducing the cost of capital (price effect) and encouraging the entry of investors more inclined to […]
Developing economies today face an investment shortfall of historic proportions. Meeting even the most modest development goals will require a huge investment push—equal to about 5 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) per year. For low-income countries, the financing gap is about 8 percent of GDP annually. It’s a prohibitive price tag that runs into trillions of […]
Citizens need clear, accessible information to make informed decisions, but today’s digital landscape can be overwhelming. This column tests whether an AI chatbot can ease election information overload for 1,500 Californian voters. The chatbot reduces the voters’ perception of the effort needed to get more information, increases voter engagement, and improves the accuracy of their […]
The World Bank has long recognized the critical importance of agricultural extension services – ranging from training and data to technology transfer – which make up the second-largest share of its agriculture portfolio. Yet farmers have often been slow to adopt the very methods and tools these services are designed to deliver—limiting their own productivity and […]
Worldwide, air pollution is an “equal opportunity offender” impacting high-, middle-, and low-income countries. While low- and lower-middle-income countries bear the brunt of air pollution, middle- and upper-middle-income countries in Europe and Central Asia are also significantly affected. With growing urbanization, they face increasing public health impacts caused by dirty air. Across the region, in cities […]
