The future of work has become a prominent topic for research and policy debate. However, the debate has focused entirely on paid work, even though people in industrialised countries spend on average comparable amounts of time on unpaid work. This ranges from simple daily chores like sweeping the floor and cooking, to more complicated and controversial issues like robots looking after kids or the elderly.   In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro sits down with Ekaterina Hertog and Fabian Stephany to investigate the road less travelled, Ekaterina’s research on the potential and the willingness of people to automatise unpaid domestic work. Around this topic, they discuss the aspect of work/life balance, the gender aspect, the question of services oriented towards the domestic work market and more. This was produced within the project "Future of Work and Inclusive Growth in Europe" with the financial support of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

Geopolitical conflicts like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the recent Israel-Hamas war have added uncertainties to the global energy and financial markets. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, our podcast host Rebecca Christie sits down with Senior fellows Simone Tagliapietra and Nicolas Veron to talk about the intersections of war and markets. Together they discuss the energy and financial implications of the Israel-Hamas war and the ongoing EU budget debate on the bloc’s financing needs such as the green transition and investments. They also explore how Europe may navigate through current geopolitical conflicts and keep its resistance moving forward. 

The 15 October Polish elections showed that the opposition leader Donald Tusk, former European Council president and a former Polish prime minister, has a decent chance of forming a new coalition government to take over from the right-wing Law and Justice Party that has been in power since 2015.  In this episode of The Sound of Economics, recorded 20 Oct., our podcast host Rebecca Christie sits down with Non-resident fellow Marek Dabrowski, a former deputy finance minister during Poland’s transition away from communism, and visiting fellow Paweł Karbownik, who has been an adviser to Tusk in Brussels and during the campaign.  Together they unpack how the elections turned out and what might happen next: what political and economic challenges the new government will be facing, the progress it might have in the standoff over the EU budget. They also discuss how Poland will play a more important role in policymaking as the EU looks toward new rounds of enlargement in coming years.

China's growth model, marked by excessive investment and a high savings rate, has led to the accumulation of local government debt and a skewed balance between consumption and investment. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro and Alicia García-Herrero explore this debt burden with Michael Pettis, exposing the structural problem in China’s growth model which over-relies on investment. This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!

There is a huge skill mismatch and skills shortages in the EU labour market. In 2022, despite the all-time high employment rate (74.6%), we are still seeing the highest job vacancy rate of 2.9%, which more than doubled compared to 2012 (1.3%). In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro discusses the importance of skills-based hiring with Duygu Güner and Mona Mourshed. How can this practice help remove the barriers between workers and the job market and how can it further assist digital transformation in our economy? They also discuss how to motivate workers as well as employers to adopt this new system. This is part of a special Skills series of The Sound of Economics, where we discuss how we can utilise upskilling and reskilling initiatives to protect vulnerable groups of the workforce, how to build a resilient workforce and create a better functioning EU labour market.  Relevant publications: Launching a Tech Hiring Revolution, Report by Generation Gotti, G., T. Schraepen and D. Güner (2023) ‘Technology Adoption dashboard’, Bruegel Datasets The Midcareer Opportunity: Meeting the Challenges of an Ageing Workforce, Report by Generation This podcast was produced within the project “Future of Work and Inclusive Growth in Europe“, with the financial support of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

What can we learn from other forms of intelligence and personhood, and how can we change our societies to live more equitably with one another and the non-human world? In this episode of Read with Bruegel series, Giuseppe Porcaro welcomes James Bridle to discuss his latest book ‘Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence.’ They discuss the effects of Artificial Intelligence and new technologies on our society, economics, politics and everyday life. They delve into the relationship human beings have with the other beings we share the planet with. They also discuss the contribution of art and of artistic practices and why we should build more bridges between artists, economists, and political scientists.

The EU has been using trade policy to export its standards on competition policy, environmental protection and human rights among other policy areas, which has famously become known as ‘The Brussels Effect’. But this could eventually get in the way of trade deal negotiations. For example, the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement is bogged down by Amazon deforestation concerns since 2019.  But can the EU afford to prolong the trade deal negotiations with Latin America countries, given Latin America’s increasingly important role in global economics, from the reconfiguration of the global supply chains to being a key component for critical raw materials, which is a strategic emerging consumer’s market and an indispensable natural resource for the planet? In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro invites Alan Beattie, Alicia García-Herrero and David Kleimann to discuss the state of play of EU-LATAM trade relations and how the EU should proceed to showcase its commitment to trade openness and economic engagement.

At the start of the Covid-19 crisis, the European Commission suspended the fiscal rules that applied to member states to allow countries to use fiscal policy domestically to deal with health emergency. This suspension was further extended when Russia invaded Ukraine and cause a great energy crisis in the European Union. The suspension is now meant to be lifted in 2024 when the rules will come back into full operation. In this three-year period, the European Commission has also tried to update and modernise the fiscal framework in a proposal they put forward in April 2023. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Maria Demertzis invites Jeromin Zettelmeyer and Zsolt Darvas to evaluate this proposal. As they present in a recent paper, in this framework, medium-term fiscal adjustment requirements would be determined by country-by-country debt sustainability analysis (DSA), the 3 percent deficit ceiling and simple rules requiring minimum deficit and debt adjustments (‘safeguards’). These elements are controversial, with some EU countries (and us) preferring a DSA-based approach, while others prefer to stick to simple rules.   Relevant publications Darvas, Z., L. Welslau and J. Zettelmeyer (2023) ‘A quantitative evaluation of the European Commission´s fiscal governance proposal’, Working Paper 16/2023, Bruegel The economic governance review and its impact on monetary-fiscal coordination, Zsolt Darvas, Jeromin Zettelmeyer, In-Depth analysis, European Parliament

On 13 September 2023, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, delivered this year’s State of the Union address before the European Parliament. This is the last address of her current mandate. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro hosts André Sapir, Simone Tagliapietra and Jeromin Zettelmeyer to evaluate von der Leyen’s address regarding the European Green Deal, industrial policy, economic security, Ukraine and more.

European banking supervision has developed and matured by moving from being predominantly rules-based and heavily codified, to becoming more risk-focused and adaptable to rapidly changing economic circumstances.  Backstage at the Bruegel Annual Meetings 2023, Giuseppe Porcaro and Nicolas Véron speak with Sharon Donnery, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Ireland, to discuss the evolution of European banking supervision, the increasingly central role of risk assessment, as well as the prospects for the near future.

This year’s BRICS annual summit delivered the headline announcement of the group’s expansion: in January 2024, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates will join the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa . In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro and Alicia García-Herrero are joined by Jim O’Neill, who coined the acronym BRIC, to discuss how the grouping has developed since its formation in 2009, the reasons behind this new expansion and the consequences it may have on the global economic and geopolitical landscape.

China has become a world leader in making and buying Electric Vehicles (EV), somehow under the radar. In fact, China today produces 54% of total EVs globally and with an even higher share for EV batteries.  How did China get there? In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro sits down with Alicia García-Herrero and Zeyi Yang to explore China’s EV industry. Together they discuss the country’s rapid rise in the market, its advancement on battery technology, as well as geopolitical implications with a growing chorus calling for de-risking. This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the international balance of power. In the field of defence, beyond weaponry, AI is instrumental for various Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) tasks at the strategic, operational and tactical level, as well as automated reasoning, logistics, training, and much more. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro invites Sarah Shoker to discuss the evolving role of AI in defence.  They highlight AI's role in foreign policy decision-making and prediction, but stress that balanced human judgment is crucial due to AI's limitations. Speakers urge caution in AI integration, complementing, not replacing, human reasoning. International cooperation for responsible AI norms and regulations is also needed.

The forced mass-scale shift to work-from-home during the COVID-19 pandemic has changed both employees’ and employers’ perspectives on work location, demonstrating that more jobs could be done remotely than we could have imagined before.   Since we emerged from the pandemic, there is an ongoing debate about a full-scale return to office, as well as hybrid and remote work.   Employee surveys across different countries consistently indicate that employees prefer to remain working remotely and do not want to return to the office full time. At the same time, many companies are trying to bring their employees back to the office. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro speaks to Tatiana Andreeva about her latest work researching employers’ experience of working fully remotely during the pandemic and their approaches to returning to the office following the pandemic.  Relevant publication: Mulcahy, D., and T. Andreeva (2023) ‘Employer perspectives on employee work location: collaboration, culture and control’, Working Paper 05/2023, Bruegel This was produced within the project "Future of Work and Inclusive Growth in Europe" with the financial support of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

The Sound of Economics is bringing you a summer 2023 special series, 'Read with Bruegel.' In this series, we have the pleasure of hosting renowned authors who will discuss various economic issues based on their insightful books. We hope this conversation will inspire you to explore their books and offer you some food for thought during your summer break. In this episode of the series, Nicolas Véron welcomes Ulrich Bindseil to discuss his latest book ‘Central Banking before 1800: A Rehabilitation’. Véron and Bindeil ponder the definition of central banking, whilst analysing pre-1800 central banking and the role of numerous other institutions across the European continent. They discuss the long and colourful history of central banking before 1800, from which important lessons for today's debates can be drawn.

The Sound of Economics is bringing you a summer 2023 special series, 'Read with Bruegel.' In this series, we have the pleasure of hosting renowned authors who will discuss various economic issues based on their insightful books. We hope this conversation will inspire you to explore their books and offer you some food for thought during your summer break. In this episode of the series, Simone Tagliapietra welcomes Daniel Yergin to discuss his book ‘The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations’.  The global energy order is being shaken by climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the rising tension between the West and China over critical raw materials. The discussants explore how these developments shape global supply chains, international co-operation and the course of technological advancement. They delve into what energy security might entail in different parts of the world and how varying national priorities can influence the speed of the green transition. 

The Sound of Economics is bringing you a summer 2023 special series, 'Read with Bruegel.' In this series, we have the pleasure of hosting renowned authors who will discuss various economic issues based on their insightful books. We hope this conversation will inspire you to explore their books and offer you some food for thought during your summer break. In this episode of the series, Bruegel Senior fellow Maria Demertzis welcomes Agathe Demarais, Global forecasting director, Economist Intelligence Unit, to discuss her latest book ‘Backfire: How Sanctions Reshape the World Against U.S. Interests’. From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Iran’s COVID response and China’s cryptocurrency ambitions, they discuss how sanctions are transforming geopolitics and the global economy—as well as diminishing U.S. influence. They also exchange views on global fragmentation and how to save multilateralism and cooperation. 

The Chinese economy is at a crossroads. The investment-driven growth model, which the government had relied on for the last four decades, is running out of steam. Fiscal deficits are widening and public debt is rising. Furthermore, population aging is becoming more visible and the pandemic had some scarring effects which have taken a toll both on consumer and business confidence.  The very rapid rise in wages since the global financial crisis is pushing China to get ahead in its production capabilities so it will be productive enough to continue to raise wages and avoid the middle-income trap. Pressure on the economy is further intensified by the recent increase in geopolitical tensions and fears of decoupling between the US and China.  As the Chinese economy continues to decelerate, the central government is investing heavily in innovation, doubling down on research and development (R&D) spending and STEM-oriented human capital. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro invites Alicia García-Herrero and Robin Schindowski to discuss the challenges China faces, including three potential bottlenecks that might be hindering the translation of China’s innovation efforts into productivity growth, with a specific focus on whether Chinese growth can defy gravity.  Relevant publication Schindowski, R. and A. Garcia-Herrero (2023) ‘China’s quest for innovation: progress and bottlenecks', Working Paper 08/2023, Bruegel Garcia-Herrero, A. (2023) ‘Can Chinese growth defy gravity?’ Policy Brief 14/2023, Bruegel This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox! This is an output of China Horizons, Bruegel's contribution in the project Dealing with a resurgent China (DWARC). This project has received funding from the European Union’s HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions under grant agreement No. 101061700.

In June 2018, the US Trump administration introduced tariffs on European steel and aluminium exports, starting a long-time dispute between the two trade partners. On 31 October 2021, the European Union and the United States agreed on temporary measures to settle their dispute over US Section 232 ‘national security’ tariffs on EU steel and aluminium products. In addition to opening tariff rate quotas for historical EU export volumes, the joint EU-US statement mandates negotiations on a “global steel and aluminium arrangements to restore market-oriented conditions and address carbon intensity”, with a deadline of 31 October 2023. As this deadline approaches, negotiators from Brussels and Washington are scrambling to get a deal. At the same time the discussions have been overlapping with the broader goals of supporting the green transition and need to be considered against the backdrop of the geopolitical rivalry between the USA and China.  In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro invites Kimberly Clausing and David Kleimann to disentangle the ongoing negotiations and explore the legal, diplomatic and economic consequences of these negotiations through a transatlantic perspective. Relevant publication: Kleimann, D. (2023) ‘Section 232 reloaded: the false promise of the transatlantic ‘climate club’ for steel and aluminium’, Working Paper 11/2023, Bruegel This research output received funding from Pool Fund on International Energy (PIE), within the European Climate Foundation.

Today, the mitigation of climate change is one of the most important issues worldwide. However, governments also need to prioritise geopolitical resilience and economic growth when designing their industrial policies.  In this episode of the Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Philippe Aghion, Simone Tagliapietra and Reinhilde Veugelers to discuss what an innovative, European-level industrial policy would look like and how it could address all those competing objectives.  They propose that the EU should engage in ‘co-opetition’ with the United States and China, which includes co-operation and maintaining economic ties to facilitate global decarbonisation most efficiently. At the same time, they argue that investing in new technologies in the EU is key to ensure its competitiveness and economic stability.   Relevant publication: Aghion, P., K. Ahuja, C. P. Bown, U. Cantner, C. Criscuolo, A. Dechezleprêtre, M. Dewatripont, R. Hausmann, G. Lalanne, B. McWilliams, D. Rodrik, S. Tagliapietra, A. Terzi, C. Trasi, L. Tyson, R. Veugelers, G. Zachmann and J. Zysman (2023) Sparking Europe’s new industrial revolution: a policy for net zero, growth and resilience.

The Sound of Economics is bringing you a summer 2023 special series, 'Read with Bruegel.' In this series, we have the pleasure of hosting renowned authors who will discuss various economic issues based on their insightful books. We hope this conversation will inspire you to explore their books and offer you some food for thought during your summer break. In this episode, Giuseppe Porcaro invites Isabella Hermann and Laura Horn to discuss their latest book, ‘The Palgrave Handbook of Global Politics in the 22nd Century’.  The book mirrors the format and style of existing handbooks, combining outlines and discussions of theories, structures, processes and core issues in international relations with an academic science fiction account of how these might play out over the course of the next century.

The Sound of Economics is bringing you a summer 2023 special series, 'Read with Bruegel.' In this series, we have the pleasure of hosting renowned authors who will discuss various economic issues based on their insightful books. We hope this conversation will inspire you to explore their books and offer you some food for thought during your summer break. In the first episode of the series, Bruegel Director Jeromin Zettelmeyer welcomes Martin Wolf, Chief economics commentator at the Financial Times to discuss his latest book ‘The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism’. Liberal democracy is in recession and authoritarianism is on the rise. Together, Jeromin and Martin discuss why democracy and capitalism are mutually sustaining in a world like this. They define the concept of democratic capitalism, explain why it is in a crisis and outline the proposed solutions.

China's economic ties with the Gulf States have undergone significant changes in recent years. Although historically there was little interaction between China and the Middle East, the past decade has seen a transformative shift with far-reaching implications for trade, business and politics.  According to the IMF, trade between China and the Gulf countries has doubled from approximately $90 billion to $180 billion between 2010 and 2021. Additionally, the Gulf region has become a significant recipient of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) funding. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro sits down with Karen E. Young and Alicia García-Herrero to discuss the growing economic relations between China and the Gulf States. They mention the changing dynamics of trade, investment, currency as well as potential political alliance shifts in the region. They also discuss the changing dynamics of foreign policy with a stronger focus on energy security, leaving an opportunity of leverage for the Gulf States.

In recent years, European Commission borrowing on behalf of the European Union has changed significantly in both scale and nature. This is mainly due to the financing of the Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) and NextGeneration EU (NGEU) instruments introduced in response to Covid-19. For the first time, the EU is now faced with its own debt, which will have to be paid for through the EU budget. When these programmes were launched, interest rates were at historic lows. However, they have since risen rapidly, both in absolute terms and as compared to sovereign borrowers like Germany and France. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Maria Demertzis invites Grégory Claeys and Conor McCaffrey to discuss the causes of this rise in EU borrowing costs, as well as its wider implications on the EU budget, indicated in their latest paper. Relevant piece: Claeys, G., C. McCaffrey and L. Welslau (2023) ‘The rising cost of European Union borrowing and what to do about it’ Policy Brief 12/2023, Bruegel

China’s astounding growth has slowed down over the last decade. Despite enormous progress and investment in research and development, China’s medium-term GDP growth is expected to fall to 2.4% by 2035. The Chinese economy will not grow much larger than the US economy in the foreseeable future, which has important geopolitical implications.  In this episode of the Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Alicia García-Herrero and Max Zenglein to talk about the interconnectedness of China’s long-term growth prospect and its demographics. They discuss how economic deceleration impacts innovation, productivity and the wider society, as well as potential economic and foreign policy responses from the country’s leadership. The importance and possible effects of China’s future economic trajectory on the European Union are explored too.  This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox! This is an output of China Horizons, Bruegel's contribution in the project Dealing with a resurgent China (DWARC). This project has received funding from the European Union’s HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions under grant agreement No. 101061700.

Digitalisation, robotisation and automation are changing the nature of jobs at an unprecedented rate. Newly emerging technologies are not only reducing the jobs performed by humans but also transforming the way people work. EU economies are undergoing a significant transition leading to the displacement of workers across all industries and workers find themselves in need of reskilling and upskilling to switch to jobs which are high in demand.  The European Commission has named 2023 as its European Year of Skills with the stated goal to give fresh impetus to lifelong learning, empowering people and companies to contribute to the green and digital transitions, while supporting innovation and competitiveness. In the new Skills series of The Sound of Economics, we discuss how we can utilise upskilling and reskilling initiatives to protect vulnerable groups of the workforce, how to build a resilient workforce and a create better functioning EU labour market. In the first episode of the series, Giuseppe Porcaro sits down with Duygu Güner and El Iza Mohamedou to discuss the critical importance of reskilling and upskilling, examining the obstacles workers face in adapting to this new reality, all while exploring the pathways to achieving a resilient workforce. This podcast was produced within the project “Future of Work and Inclusive Growth in Europe“, with the financial support of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

In 2022, Europe managed to safeguard the security of energy supply during a turbulent time for the energy sector. Moreover, the EU industry has, also thanks to public support, remained resilient beyond expectations. As the peak of the crisis seems to be behind us, Europe now needs to assess its longer-term industrial repercussions. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Jeromin Zettelmeyer invites Georg Zachmann and Giovanni Sgaravatti to explore the impact of energy crises on European industry and how to address these challenges.    Relevant publication: Sgaravatti, G., S. Tagliapietra and G. Zachmann (2023) ‘Adjusting to the energy shock: the right policies for European industry’ Policy Brief 11/2023, Bruegel

The tech sector has become key player in the internal interconnection between economics and geopolitics. It is an essential industry that plays a critical role in shaping national security, supply chains and the consumer side of the economy. However, navigating through the geopolitical and economic challenges facing the tech industry requires an understanding of the bigger picture. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro invites Alicia García-Herrero to discuss the ongoing trend of tech bifurcation between China and the US, the growing divide of two ecosystems and its implications on the world. This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!

EU finance ministers met at the April 2023 informal ECOFIN meeting to discuss the reform of the fiscal governance framework as proposed by the European Commission. Bruegel researchers were asked to contribute to this discussion by providing information on the long-term fiscal needs that countries will have and how well they may be able to meet these needs. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Maria Demertzis invites Zsolt Darvas and Jeromin Zettelmeyer to share their insights on the implications of long-term fiscal challenges facing the European Union.  In their latest report, the authors identify that the pandemic and subsequent price shocks triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have increased longer-term fiscal pressures in the European Union through higher debt, higher expected real interest rates and higher public investment needs.  Relevant publication: Zettelmeyer, J., G. Claeys, Z. Darvas, L. Welslau and S. Zenios (2023) ‘The longer-term fiscal challenges facing the European Union’ Policy Brief 10/2023, Bruegel This Policy Brief is a version of a paper prepared for the Working Session II of the Informal Meeting of EU Economy and Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, Stockholm, 29 April 2023.

The collapses in rapid succession of Credit Suisse in Switzerland along with the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in the United States have reawakened debates on banking policy.  In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Silvia Merler and Nicolas Véron. Together they explore the lingering effects of the recent banking turmoil and how this controversy may nudge the EU towards better compliance with international banking capital standards. They also discuss the Commission's recently adopted bank crisis management and deposit insurance (CMDI) framework, as well as the prospects of completing a European banking union. Relevant publication: The US and Swiss messes may nudge the EU towards better international bank capital standards compliance, First glance, Nicolas Véron

Cryptocurrencies have become more popular and established in recent years. Simultaneously, crypto financial services, like lending, have also emerged. Given the increasing importance of digitalisation, it is fair to ask whether these digital decentralised services will become established and normalised. In this episode of The sound of economics, Giuseppe Porcaro invites Maria Demertzis and Catarina Martins to discuss the current and future role of decentralised finance in the financial system. Together they examine whether and how the crypto world contributes to the main objectives of the financial system: reducing search costs and financing growth. Relevant publication: Demertzis, M. and C. Martins (2023) ‘Decentralised finance: good technology, bad finance’ Policy Brief 09/2023, Bruegel 

Since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1947, Africa has been crucial to China’s foreign policy. First, China supported several African liberation movements during the Cold War. Second, in November 2003, the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was created to improve cooperation between China and African states and third, Xi Jinping announced China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, which aimed to reinvigorate the old silk trading route along the East African coast. Furthermore, a relatively unknown fact is that China has made significant investments in Africa's digital space. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Alicia García-Herrero and Iginio Gagliardone to talk about China’s image and digital influence in Africa. They discuss specific examples of successful and unsuccessful media narratives built by China and assess the role that Europe plays in relation to China and Africa's digital influence. Relevant publication: The Belt and Road Initiative transformation makes it a more – not less- useful tool for China Imperial Remains and Imperial Invitations: Centering Race within the Contemporary Large-Scale Infrastructures of East Africa Comparing North-South technology transfer and South-South technology transfer: The technology transfer impact of Ethiopian Wind Farms This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox! This is an output of China Horizons, Bruegel's contribution in the project Dealing with a resurgent China (DWARC). This project has received funding from the European Union’s HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions under grant agreement No. 101061700.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a record number of people have begun to work from home. However, the seeming flexibility of remote positions is not without its limitations, since the spatial distribution of such roles is vastly uneven.  In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Fabian Stephany and Monica Stephens to explore how remote work contributes to continued urbanisation. They give special focus to the importance of digital infrastructure and the proximity of service providers, as well as the gendered dimensions of working from home and how this can affect people’s ability to work remotely.   Relevant publication:  The ‘anywhere’ jobs are not everywhere – they’re in cities, blog post by Fabian Stephany This podcast was produced within the project “Future of Work and Inclusive Growth in Europe“, with the financial support of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

In March 2023, the European Central Bank (ECB) launched its quantitative tightening (QT) policy, to unwind its portfolio of assets that resulted from its quantitative easing (QE) policy of the last decade.  Despite the scarce evidence on the effects of QT, it was never attempted in the Euro area. Most lessons can only be drawn from the 2017-19 experience in the United States. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Maria Demertzis invites Grégory Claeys and Megan Greene to discuss why the ECB has decided to go down the route of quantitative tightening and what it could mean for the future of the euro area. Relevant publication: Finding the right balance (sheet): quantitative tightening in the euro area, report by Grégory Claeys, requested by the ECON Committee, European Parliament

The Critical Raw Materials Act, proposed by the European Commission on the 16 March 2023, sets clear benchmarks for domestic capacities along the strategic raw material supply chain and to diversify EU supply.  In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro sits down with Bruegel researchers Marie Le Mouel and Niclas Poitiers to discuss critical raw materials and the role they play in the EU’s industrial policy, examining whether the proposed Act would help the bloc advance in its green and digital transformation.

When the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was first announced in 2013, its official objective was to improve connectivity. However, many things have happened since then, from the US-China trade war to US containment of China’s technological rise, as well as China’s much more belligerent approach to the West. How is the BRI changing in this new reality? In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Alessia Amighini and Alicia García-Herrero. They share the latest findings from their research, showing that the BRI has transformed itself from an economic to a much broader strategy with a political security-oriented focus. It serves as one of several devices uniting the Global South in a new and comprehensive narrative, one with a clear anti-Western tone. Beyond the BRI, this new narrative also features cooperation in the fields of digital governance, as well as academic and cultural exchanges. This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox! This is an output of China Horizons, Bruegel's contribution in the project Dealing with a resurgent China (DWARC). This project has received funding from the European Union’s HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions under grant agreement No. 101061700.

 What is happening with the Silicon Valley Bank? In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro invites Rebecca Christie and Nicolas Véron to unpack the ongoing SVB crisis and what it entails for global financial markets.

On International Women’s Day 2023, Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Nancy Folbre, one of the pioneering economists in the area of feminist economics.  Together they discuss the findings published in Folbre’s latest book The rise and decline of patriarchal systems, where she examined the contradictory effects of capitalist development. She explains why the work of caring for others is under-valued and under-rewarded in today's global economy, calling attention to the organisation of childrearing, the care of other dependants and the inheritance of assets. 

Europe has survived the energy crisis in the past year; however, it is time to look forward and prepare for winter 2023-24. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Jeromin Zettelmeyer invites Simone Tagliapietra and Ben McWilliams to present their latest paper, where they explore in detail the future of LNG imports, how much natural gas demand must be reduced to avoid crisis. They discuss the sectors which could take cuts in their energy consumption to aid in this preservation.  McWilliams and Tagliapietra paint a sober picture of Europe’s gas supply-demand balance, stating that it will remain on a tightrope walk for the next two years. They also describe the strong and decisive actions that policymakers must continue to take to avoid emergency. Relevant publication: McWilliams, B., S. Tagliapietra, G. Zachmann and T. Deschuyteneer (2023) ‘Preparing for the next winter: Europe’s gas outlook for 2023’, Policy Contribution 01/2023, Bruegel

When the sanctions against Russia were first implemented, Giuseppe Porcaro invited Nicolas Véron and Elina Ribakova on The Sound of Economics to discuss the possible implications of those sanctions. On 24 February, it will be one year since the invasion of Ukraine. As this anniversary approaches, they revisit this topic to reflect on how effective the sanctions have been, its implication on the international financial and banking system and how Russia has responded to the sanctions.  Check our special podcast series, War in Ukraine, which reflect on the implications of Russia's war in Ukraine in EU energy storage, macroeconomic implications, international finance system and more.

As China moves closer to fully re-emerging from three years of government imposed Covid isolation and as they begin to reintegrate with the rest of the world, economic expectations are high. Beijing’s recent pivot from its stringent zero-Covid strategy — which had long choked businesses — is expected to inject vitality into the world’s second-largest economy next year. But what will this reopening mean for the Chinese economy? How will it affect Chinese society and China’s relations with the rest of the world in areas such as energy consumption and price pressures? In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Bruegel’s Alicia García-Herrero and Steven Ying, the founding Managing Partner of High Impact Capital Advisor, to discuss the global implications of China’s reopening after their Covid isolation, China’s economic outlook in 2023 and the consequences this may have for Europe and the rest of the world. This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox! 

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 is a milestone in US climate policy. Unfortunately, it also contains protectionist elements, such as linking green subsidies to local content requirements (LCRs). This is prohibited under WTO rules. Legislating such LCRs is a first for the United States, and a blow to the multilateral trading system. In this episode of the Sound of Economics, Bruegel director Jeromin Zettelmeyer invites Kimberly Clausing and Sébastien Jean to discuss the policies laid out in the IRA and the impact it will have on the United States and other countries. They also discuss the global responses to the act and how EU policy makers in particular should react. Our new policy brief explains what is in the IRA, the impact on the EU and other economies, and how the EU should react.

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro invites Uri Dadush to discuss whether deglobalisation is happening worldwide. They discuss the impacts of this on the global economy and what it may mean for internal relations. In his recent research, Uri detailed how, despite the current bleak rhetoric surrounding deglobalisation, most countries have seen increased international integration across nearly all goods, services and factor markets. He acknowledges, however, that geopolitics could prevail over economics in the future of globalisation. Relevant publication: Dadush, U. (2022) ‘Deglobalisation and protectionism’ Working Paper 18/2022, Bruegel

It has been 60 years since the foundation of the Élysée Treaty, which was signed on the 22 January 1963. The treaty aimed to create close bilateral collaboration between France and Germany, to help reconcile past conflicts between the two countries and to allow them to emerge as one of the ‘engines’ of European integration. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of Bruegel’s concept as a Think Tank. The concept was developed jointly by Nicolas Véron and Jean Pisani-Ferry in 2003. The idea was later endorsed by French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who jointly declared that to help “contribute to international debates on economic, financial and trade policy, France and Germany have decided to launch a European initiative for the creation of a centre for the international economy devoted to those subjects. In this episode of The Sound of the Economics, Nicolas Véron and Jean Pisani-Ferry, two Frenchmen and founders of Bruegel, invite their German colleague, Cornelia Woll, President of the Hertie School, to revisit Franco-German relations from the signing of the Élysée Treaty, discussing the importance of those relations in European integration and how to redefine them in a modern context.

While China’s property market has been a key driver of its economy, concerns around the sustainability of the sector have circulated for many years. In this episode of the Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro and Alicia Garcia-Herrero invite Yunpeng Zhang, Lecturer and Assistant Professor from University College Dublin, to discuss the country’s urban development, the misalignments of interests between local and central government and its impact on China’s economy as well as the society. This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox! 

For the first time in over ten years, the euro area has a new member. Croatia is the latest country to join the monetary union, starting 1 January 2023. In this episode of the Sound of Economics, Jeromin Zettelmeyer sits down with Boris Vujčić, Governor of the Croatian National Bank, to discuss the implications of Croatia’s accession, the challenges they faced during the process, and the advantages they gain by now being a part of the monetary union. As the person shepherding Croatia’s accession into the euro area, Boris Vujčić will discuss the impact euro membership will have on Croatia and give his thoughts on the past, present and future of the euro.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed the course of the year 2022. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro invites Maria Demertzis, André Sapir and Jeromin Zettelmeyer to unfold the impact of the war, energy crisis and inflation, European responses to these incidents, continued confrontations on the global stage and their implications on the world. Following Bruegel’s end-of-year tradition, the guests also each introduce a book, movie or TV series that resonated with them in 2022.  Publications mentioned in the podcast:  National fiscal policy responses to the energy crisis, Dataset by Giovanni Sgaravatti, Simone Tagliapietra and Georg Zachmann  The European Commission's fiscal rules proposal: a bold plan with flaws that can be fixed, Blog by Olivier Blanchard, André Sapir and Jeromin Zettelmeyer  Is the EU fiscal rules reform going in the right direction? Podcast with Grégory Claeys, Zsolt Darvas, Maria Demertzis and Jeromin Zettelmeyer  Rewriting the rulebook of the EU fiscal framework, Event with Carlos Cuerpo, Karolina Ekholm, Vitor Gaspar, Alenka Jerkič, Maarten Verwey and Jeromin Zettelmeyer  Santa’s book/movie/series list Chums: How a Tiny Caste of Oxford Tories Took Over the UK, book by Simon Kuper How to Be Animal, A new history of what it means to be human, book by Melanie Challenger Nights of Plague, book by Orhan Pamuk  The Brexit effect: how leaving the EU hit the UK, FT Film The Swimmers, film directed by Sally El Hosaini  This England, TV series directed by Michael Winterbottom, Julian Jarrold, Anthony Wilcox and Mat Whitecross Enjoy a selection of highlighted podcasts and publications to keep you informed over the winter break. We wish you a lovely holiday season and look forward to bringing you more economic analysis in the upcoming year.

ChatGPT is the latest example of technology that appears to be able to execute tasks that would have required the services of high level academics not too long ago. Similar AI initiatives are taking place across the world, which begs the question: is automation coming for knowledge work next? In this episode of the Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro invites Maria Savona, Professor of Applied Economics at the Department of Economics at LUISS University, Rome and Professor of Economics of innovation at SPRU, Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, UK, and David Autor, Ford Professor in the MIT Department of Economics, to discuss different perspectives and lessons from the US and Europe on the design of digital automation technologies and their implications for the future of work. This podcast was produced within the project "Transatlantic expert group on the future of work", with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Bruegel, AISBL and The German Marshall Fund of the United States and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.