The Sound of Economics

Cohesion policy remains a contentious topic in the EU, central as it is to the matter of convergence between regions. The need to share economic growth throughout the bloc is particularly acute in the wake of notable electoral advances from several more populist political parties in Europe in recent years. Bruegel senior fellow Zsolt Darvas explains how his recent study, co-written with Jan Mazza...

The next presidents of the European Commission, Council and Parliament will inherit a relatively healthy European economy, but will face three formidable challenges in the next five years.   First, the incoming presidents must define Europe’s place in an increasingly bipolar world driven by a geostrategic rivalry between the United States and China . Second, global warming is a reality and tempera...

In this episode of 'The Sound of Economics', Bruegel senior fellow Georg Zachmann continues the Backstage series with an interview with Massimo Tavoni, professor at the Politecnico di Milano and director of EIEE. The discussion point is climate modelling - specifically its use and the necessity of complexity in some of its formulations. Some climate models are very straightforward, and this allows...

The European Union's next framework programme for innovation and research - 'FP9', better known as Horizon Europe - will run from 2021 to 2027. With the rise of China as an increasingly direct competitor with the EU and the US, this will be a vital period.   Bruegel senior fellow Reinhilde Veugelers, together with Michael Baltensperger, has produced an analysis for the European Parliament's Commit...

The keyword in Ukraine right now is ‘uncertainty’, as the country prepares to elect a new parliament in July only a few months after electing a new president.  Not only will the new government have a role in stabilising and growing the economy following the 2014-15 economic crisis, but they will face the challenge of a large debt repayment during their term while dealing with an aggressive Russia....

An analysis of the results of the most recent European elections reveals what Bruegel director Guntram Wolff classifies as a generally positive trend in electoral participation across the EU, with an overall increase of 7% in voter turnout since the last elections in 2014. Additionally, populist parties in the European Parliament seem to have been prevented from gaining ground. However, election r...

Giuseppe Porcaro hosts Bruegel director Guntram Wolff and visiting fellow Rebecca Christie to reflect on the key policy positions taken by the candidates for the European Commission presidency, ahead of May's elections. European elections are fast approaching. With them comes not just a visit to the polls, but the beginning of a sequence involving the European Parliament and the Council that will...

Bruegel director Guntram Wolff and Bruegel fellow Uri Dadush welcome William Alan Reinsch, senior adviser and Scholl chair in international business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, for a discussion of how China-US relations are developing in the context of unfolding trade war. With President Trump increasing tariffs on the US' imports from China and China retaliating in kind...

'The Sound of Economics' podcast continues with an instalment of the Deep Focus series, with Bruegel fellow Marek Dabrowski talking to Sean Gibson about the findings of his research paper on Russia's growth problems (co-written with Antoine Mathieu Collin). The Russian economy has weathered several crises in recent decades, most recently between 2014-16. Though this latest dip was relatively not s...

Bruegel fellows Rebecca Christie and Nicolas Véron discuss how the map of the EU's financial services industry has begun to change, and how it might eventually settle. The Brexit process has begun to unravel the supremacy of London as the financial centre of Europe, yet it remains unclear how the map of the EU's financial system will eventually be refigured. Several cities have emerged to compete...

Maria Demertzis sits down with Bruegel senior fellow André Sapir to break down the news, discussing the events leading up to the renewed EU-US trade talks, and the likely future course. On 15 April 2019, the European Council approved mandates for the Commission to resume trade negotiations with the United States, which are to be centered around eliminating industrial tariffs. Although already a br...

In this episode of the Director's cut, Guntram Wolff discusses with Alicia Garcia Herrero about the results of the 21st EU-China Summit.   The EU and China committed to further strengthen the EU-China strategic partnership at the 21st EU-China summit. Both sides agreed on a joint statement setting out the direction for EU-China relations in the years to come. Leaders expressed their joint support...

Bruegel director Guntram Wolff talks to Padmashree Gehl Sampath, a Berkman Klein fellow at Harvard University, on the consequences of ‘new manufacturing’ for European industrial policymaking. In this Director’s Cut of ‘The Sound of Economics’, Bruegel’s Guntram Wolff discusses Industry 4.0 with Harvard University Berkman Klein fellow Padmashree Gehl Sampath. Europe is yet to truly explore what int...

Bruegel director Guntram Wolff and senior fellow André Sapir discuss how potential WTO reform might position the organisation differently towards China. In this Director's Cut of 'The Sound of Economics', Guntram Wolff talks to Bruegel senior fellow André Sapir about his upcoming paper on the WTO reform, specifically what is necessary in order for the Chinese economic system to be compatible with...

This episode of 'The Sound of Economics' features Bruegel senior fellow J. Scott Marcus in conversation with Lise Fuhr, director general, European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association (ETNO). The next wave of mobile network innovation is provoking great excitement in the industry. And indeed, there is substantial potential for improvement. However, the exact form of the technology and...

Bruegel's Maria Demertzis welcomes Yale Law School professor Yair Listokin to this Director's Cut of 'The Sound of Economics', to discuss how law might be deployed as a macroeconomic tool to counter financial crisis. In this episode of Director's Cut, Bruegel's deputy director Maria Demertzis talks to Yair Listokin, a professor at Yale Law School, about the effect law could have on achieving macro...

This episode of 'The Sound of Economics' features Bruegel visiting fellow Elina Ribakova in conversation with Marc-Olivier Padis and Jean-Paul Tran Thiet about the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). Asylum is a fundamental human right and an international obligation, first recognised in the 1951 Geneva Convention on the protection of refugees. Between 2013 and 2017, 4 million asyl...

This episode of 'The Sound of Economics' features Bruegel research fellow Simone Tagliapietra in conversation with Sir Philip Lowe and Alberto Pototschnig about the progress of the European energy transition as we prepare to enter the third decade of the 21st century.  In this episode of Backstage, Bruegel's Simone Tagliapietra welcomes Sir Philip Lowe, former director general at the European Comm...

Bruegel fellow Dirk Schoenmaker walks Sean Gibson and 'The Sound of Economics' listeners through his latest working paper, focusing on how to make monetary policy in Europe more climate-friendly In this episode of the Deep Focus podcast series, Bruegel's Dirk Schoenmaker explains his proposed greener alternative to the ECB's current 'market-neutral' approach to monetary policy. Elaborating on rese...

In this episode of Director's Cut, Stephanie Segal of CSIS joins Bruegel's Guntram Wolff and Maria Demertzis for a conversation about the tension between free trade and national security issues, and the emerging threats to multilateralism. In a changing geopolitical order, with China on the rise, the linkage of economic and national security is more evident than ever. The boom of disruptive new te...

Bruegel senior fellow J. Scott Marcus joins Sean Gibson for this episode of Deep Focus on the 'The Sound of Economics', elaborating on a Bruegel study for the European Parliament into the progress made with the Commission's Digital Single Market Strategy since 2015. In a study for the European Parliament, Bruegel senior fellow J. Scott Marcus (together with co-authors Georgios Petropoulos and Timo...

Bruegel fellows Alicia García-Herrero and Uri Dadush join Guntram Wolff for this Director's Cut of 'The Sound of Economics', focusing on the progress made by China's Belt and Road Initiative, how it will continue to develop, and the reactions it has stirred across the world. China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a trade and development strategy proposed by Xi Jinping in 2013. It aims to enhanc...

This episode of The Sound of Economics features Bruegel senior fellow Zsolt Darvas in conversation with Maurizio Bussolo and Bernadette Ségol about income inequality in Europe and Central Asia, and the policy principles underpinning a possible new social contract.  Although income distribution in Europe and Central Asia reaches a fairly egalitarian standard relative to the rest of the world, the c...

Bruegel director Guntram Wolff is joined by senior fellow Zsolt Darvas to rake through the possibilities and probabilities inherent in a no-deal Brexit scenario, covering trade, the Irish border, citizens' rights and the EU budget. Bruegel senior fellow Zsolt Darvas joins Guntram Wolff for this Director's Cut, to discuss the economic fall-out of a no-deal Brexit. While the UK remains without an ag...

Bruegel fellows Reinhilde Veugelers and Simone Tagliapietra elaborate on the recent Policy Contribution they co-authored on the European automotive industry in the light of the global electric vehicle revolution. Electrification is a key trend transforming the global automotive industry, especially in the light of increased decarbonisation efforts. The speed at which the technology is being develo...