Rising tides, sinking boats: growth, climate and justice
Growth is falling, its rewards are ill-shared and it is bursting planetary boundaries. Time for a rethink.
Economy
Social Europe is an award-winning digital media publisher driven by the core values of freedom, sustainability, and equality. These principles guide our exploration of society’s most pressing challenges. This archive page curates Social Europe articles focused on economic issues, offering a rich resource for innovative thinking and informed debate.
Relocations—tilting the capital-labour balance
Public assistance for firms must be rendered conditional on constraints on their freedom to move elsewhere.
The future of work: getting ready for tomorrow today
There is no single future for the world of work—and it is up to policy-makers to shape it.
Breaking the chains: subcontracting in the EU
Johan Danielsson, Marc Angel, Gabriele Bischoff, Eero Heinäluoma, Marit Maij, Evelyn Regner, Kathleen Van Brempt and Marianne Vind
Legislation is needed to limit the length of subcontracting chains.
Another, reindustrialised Europe is possible
The far right offers no answers to the challenges Europe faces in reinvigorating its industry amid the digital and green transitions.
The ‘billions to trillions’ charade
Multilateral development banks believe private investment can meet developing economies’ climate and development needs.
Time for supply-side policy: Thatcher versus Schumpeter
Peter Bofinger explains what lies behind the conflict within Germany’s Ampelkoalition on economic policy.
No ‘business as usual’ for European industry
The choices EU leaders make in the coming years will determine whether European industry has a long-term future.
Europe cannot ‘compete’ with old economics
Mario Draghi´s report needs to address competitiveness from a systemic perspective, focusing on underlying productivity.
Democracy must set the standard
Standardisation of how artificial intelligence is deployed in the workplace is not a technical but a political matter.
Karl Polanyi against the ‘free market’ dystopia
Sixty years on from Polanyi’s death and 80 since his classic text appeared, it is time to reassess the Hungarian social scientist’s legacy.
Corporate sustainability due diligence—the time is now
After protracted battles, a directive on corporate sustainability due diligence is finally ready for endorsement.
Progressives must say ‘no’ to austerity
This week MEPs vote on the revised EU economic-governance framework. The stakes could not be higher.
Migrant labour in the ‘gig’ economy: progress or trap?
Platform work is often presented as a stepping-stone for migrant workers. It may not however feel so benign to them.
Will Boeing crash ‘shareholder value’?
Boeing’s self-inflicted woes hold broader lessons for contemporary corporate governance.
Wage inequality in Europe—and why it is falling
Institutional and economic factors supporting workers are offsetting well-adverted global trends affecting wage distribution.