China’s accession to the WTO increased pollution via coal powerplants, not exporters or their suppliers and consumers
As countries consider trade deals to foster development, the question of how trade impacts pollution keeps resurfacing. This column examines how China’s rapid entry into
AI, productivity, and work: Evidence from US firms
Real-time evidence from users can inform the current policy debates around artificial intelligence. This column reports on a survey of executives at typical US firms
The AI skills divide in Europe and Central Asia: Who benefits and who gets left behind
As generative artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly enters classrooms across the Balkans and Türkiye, the policy conversation often focuses on tools—chatbots, adaptive platforms, automated grading systems.
Writing code versus shipping code: Productivity effects across generations of AI coding tools
Generative AI now writes a substantial share of the world’s code, but aggregate software output has changed far less. This column uses data on more
Why some digital payment systems replace cash and others don’t
Digital payment systems promise to extend financial services to people underserved by banks, and overcoming barriers to the adoption of such systems is thus central
The early takeoff of space innovation
The conventional account of US space sector transformation credits the post-2005 entry of SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other commercial firms with revitalising a stagnant industry.
Making AI work: From promise to practice
AI is here. Over 3 billion people globally use generative AI (genAI) like ChatGPT or Baidu’s Erni Bot monthly. AI helped researchers discover new proteins (and get
New coins on the block: Digital currencies and the financial system
The crypto system is no longer a sideshow. Dollar stablecoins now put dollar claims into circulation well beyond the regulated US banking perimeter, and cryptoisation
The transatlantic divide in labour’s share of income
Across advanced economies, workers have been receiving a smaller share of national incomes. This column compares the evolution of labour’s share of income in Europe
The inefficient pricing of news
The main obstacle to market efficiency is whether investors can read, process, and quickly extract genuinely new information from articles. This column uses large language
