A future-fit recovery?
Elizabeth Dirth, Jonathan Barth, Jakob Hafele, Christiny Miller and Lydia Korinek
EU member states’ National Recovery and Resilience Plans have been assessed against their capacity for transformative change—and found wanting.
Economy
Analysis and debate on the European economy: growth and investment, fiscal and monetary policy, trade, industry and inequality.
Switzerland: defending workers’ rights
In the standoff between the federal government and the European Commission on wage protection, the former has right on its side.
Teleworking in the public sector
The pandemic has accelerated teleworking in the public sector—but with inadequate planning have come mixed results.
For workers, another year of living dangerously
Workers have stood on the frontline of the pandemic, but the ITUC Global Rights Index documents an anti-worker agenda.
Revised posted workers directive: throwing out the baby with the bathwater?
Ive Marx, Ninke Mussche and Dries Lens
The EU needs to acknowledge the vital economic role of posting and differentiate the rules according to its different types.
The platform economy—time for more democracy at work
The platform economy has intensified power imbalances between companies and their workers, which only collective voice can redress.
When capital relinquishes ownership
As the ownership of firms becomes transferred to algorithmically-controlled index funds, why not put their human employees in charge instead?
A ‘vision zero’ goal for accidents at work
Eva Nordmark, Peter Hummelgaard, Johan Danielsson, Marianne Vind, Manuel Pizarro and Esther Lynch
There are no acceptable levels of workplace fatalities—a focus on prevention is needed.
Strengthening social and labour rights for farmers and farm workers
Romain Schneider, Anette Kramme, Pedro Marques and Agnes Jongerius
The opportunity of CAP reform to cultivate fairer and more sustainable agriculture must not be wasted.
Are social clauses really just hidden protectionism?
Social clauses in trade deals are sometimes represented as a premise for denial of market access to developing countries. The evidence suggests otherwise.
Trading on hope: why projections of the EU-Mercosur agreement are unreliable
Jeronim Capaldo and Özlem Ömer
The EU-Mercosur agreement, on which negotiations ended a year ago, awaits signing and ratification. They should be in no rush.
Inflation in the strongest recovery since 1945
Governments should ignore siren warnings that only hyperinflation can come from pandemic-induced investments.
Robots, jobs and the future of work
Enrique Fernández-Macías, David Klenert and José-Ignacio Antón
Apocalyptic visions of robots stealing workers’ jobs are not only misguided but have diverted attention from more significant trends.
From California capitalism to Bidenomics
Laura Tyson and Lenny Mendonca
The Biden administration’s ambitious spending and investment programmes have already proven highly successful in the country’s most dynamic state.
Migration and innovation
Oliver Koppel and Enno Kohlisch
The bad news for Germany’s sophisticated economy is innovation by indigenous Germans is declining. The good news is migrants are more than compensating.
It’s time to rewrite the macroeconomic rulebook for the euro area
Peter Bofinger contends that the economic impact of the pandemic has rendered obsolete the old eurozone fiscal rules.