Woess, Josef, Buxbaum, Adi, (2015), “Why Social Investments Bring Multiple Benefits”, Social Europe Journal, 28 July Austerity measures put social cohesion at immense risk and restrain the growth dynamic in Europe. Furthermore, these measures have massively damaged the confidence of citizens in European and national institutions. Failing to solve problems such as high unemployment or a lack of social infrastructure is a very expensive option, associated with massive costs for individuals and society. …Read More

Aghion, Philippe, Akcigit, Ufuk, Bergeaud, Antonin, Blundell, Richard, Hemous, David, (2015), “Innovation, income inequality, and social mobility”, Voxeu, 28 July In recent decades, there has been an accelerated increase in top income inequality, particularly in developed countries. This column argues that innovation partly accounts for the surge in top income inequality and fosters social mobility. In particular, the positive effect of innovation on social mobility is due to new innovators. Relevant Posts Dabla-Norris, Era, Kochhar, Kalpana, Suphaphiphat, Nujin, Ricka, Frantisek, Tsounta, Evridiki, (2015),“Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality …Read More

Morris, I. (2015) “The Lunch Question – A Brief History of Inequality“, Global Affaris, STRATFOR Global Intelligence, 11 February.   At an event in Beijing last November, I had the good fortune to meet the French economist Thomas Piketty, who has sold 1.5 million copies of his book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, since it was first published in 2013. Pacing up and down in front of a packed auditorium, …Read More

Lazarowicsz, A. (2014) “A success story for the EU and seasonal workers’ rights without reinventing the wheel“, European Policy Centre (EPC) Publications, 28 March.   Despite the economic crisis with resulting high unemployment, EU economies face vacancies across the skill spectrum. At the low end there is a structural need when it comes to seasonal work. The Seasonal Workers Directive was launched at the same time as the Inter-Corporate Transferees …Read More

Schwan, Alexander, Sail, Etienne, (2013), “Assessing the economic and budgetary impact of linking retirement ages and pension benefits to increases in longevity” , European Economy,  Economic Papers, N. 512. This paper focuses on potential public pension expenditure, pension adequacy and fiscal sustainability effects when linking retirement ages and pension benefits with future increases in longevity. Simulation results show that the expected increases in public pension expenditures as a share of GDP …Read More