Fiscal Consolidation Costs Europe Jobs and Deepens Inequality
Philipp Heimberger and Anna Matzner
New research reveals that EU fiscal tightening reduces output, raises unemployment, and widens income gaps — especially during recessions.
Economy
Analysis and debate on the European economy: growth and investment, fiscal and monetary policy, trade, industry and inequality.
Deregulating Workers’ Rights Will Not Save European Industry — It Will Only Deepen the Crisis
Judith Kirton-Darling and Isabelle Barthès
Blaming labour protections for factory closures is not industrial policy — it is avoidance dressed as reform.
The Digital Omnibus: Eroding Worker Protection and Rights
The European Commission’s “simplification” package is, in fact, a deregulatory intervention that weakens workers’ data rights.
Will the European Union Protect Workers from Deadly Heat?
Marouane Laabbas-el-Guennouni, Andreas Flouris, Sergio Salas, Sebastian Schneider, Marike Schooneveldt, Ivan Ivanov and Dimitra Theodori
Current legal frameworks leave workers dangerously exposed; only a binding directive can close the gaps.
Should Comparative Economics Still Exist?
Branko Milanovic asks whether we should continue to teach comparative economic systems to broaden students’ horizons, or if the global ubiquity of capitalism renders such historical study obsolete.
AI Note-Takers at Work: The Silent Threat to Privacy and Compliance
AI transcription tools promise efficiency but bring legal exposure, surveillance risks, and threats to fundamental rights.
Romania’s Tiger Economy Is Running Out of Fuel
Jeffrey Sommers and Cosmin Marian
The EU’s fastest-growing economy of the past two decades risks stalling unless it dramatically increases its rock-bottom spending on research and education.
Germany’s Middle-Technology Trap: Industrial Policy Blindness and the Path Out
Germany’s faith in free markets has left it squeezed between China and America — but a defence-spending loophole offers unexpected hope.
Industrial Policy 2.0: The Service Sector Path to Shared Prosperity
We must address climate change, inequality, and poverty simultaneously, but prevailing economic approaches are failing; solutions lie in an updated, experimental industrial policy focused on green and productive service job
Europe’s Industrial Crisis: Invest Now or Accept Decline
Judith Kirton-Darling and Isabelle Barthès
Across 18 sectors, only aerospace and defence remain globally competitive—Europe must abandon naivety and act decisively.
After Landmark EU Court Judgement: The EU Minimum Wages Directive Is Alive and Kicking
Torsten Müller and Thorsten Schulten
The landmark ruling validates the directive’s approach to adequate wages and collective bargaining, dealing only minor setbacks to its implementation across Europe.
The Trouble with Abundance
“Abundance” sounds appealing, but institutional competence and economic wisdom matter more than uplifting slogans.
Europe Needs Industrial Policy That Puts Workers First in an Age of Uncertainty
Susanne Wixforth and Michael Soder
Bold industrial strategy must combine green transformation with social justice to secure Europe’s economic future.
Europe Needs A Public Investment Revolution To Secure Its Economic Future
Philipp Heimberger and Cara Dabrowski
Boosting infrastructure spending would stimulate growth and employment without threatening debt sustainability.
The Real Digital Revolution At Work: Why Platformisation Matters More Than Robots
Enrique Fernández-Macías and Laura Nurski
The digital transformation of work isn’t destroying jobs through automation—it’s fundamentally reshaping how work is organised, managed and controlled.
The Digital Imperative for European SMEs
Europe’s SME digital divide persists despite EU efforts, with financial constraints and skills shortages hindering transformation.