Liem, Cassandra, Petropoulos, Georgios, (2016), “The economic value of personal data for online platforms, firms and consumers”, 14 January Data is often referred to as the ‘oil of the twenty-first century’. This article reviews how personal data generate economic value for the three major parties of the digital market: online platforms (such as search engines, social networking sites, online videos, content sites) and their clients, companies and consumers. Relevant Posts …Read More

Maselli, Ilaria, Lenaerts, Karolien, Beblavý, Miroslav, (2016), “Five things we need to know about the on-demand economy”, Ceps publications, 8 January The last few years have witnessed the exponential growth of platforms like Uber and Airbnb and the creation of countless other less well-known examples. The expansion of the on-demand economy puts huge pressure on regulators to adapt it to the existing frameworks for labour and taxation. The rapid growth of the sector also divides …Read More

Svensson, Lars E.O., (2016), “Cost-benefit analysis of ‘leaning against the wind’: Are costs larger also with less effective macroprudential policy?”, Voxeu, 12 January. The monetary policy of ‘leaning against the wind’ involves a higher policy interest rate. It is usually justified as reducing the probability and severity of a future crisis. This column argues that the costs of the policy exceed the benefits by a substantial margin, especially when taking into …Read More

Darvas, Zsolt, (2016), “Has ECB QE lifted inflation?”, Bruegel Blog, 13 January. Euro-area headline inflation has remained close to zero since the ECB stepped up its quantitative easing programmes in early 2015, but this does not mean that QE has been ineffective: core inflation and its adjusted version for the indirect effects of low oil prices have steadily increased throughout 2015. Relevant Posts Constâncio, Vítor, Hartmann, Philipp, Tristani, Oreste, (2015), “Selected Takeaways from the …Read More

Bossone, Biagio, Cattaneo, Marco, (2016), “‘Helicopter tax credits’ to accelerate economic recovery in Italy (and other Eurozone countries)”, Voxeu, 4 January The latest report of Italy’s leading investment bank, Mediobanca, presents a thorough analysis of the country’s recent economic developments. Relevant Posts Lorenzani, Dimitri, Reitano, Vito Ernesto, (2015), “Italy’s Spending Maze Runner – An analysis of the structure and evolution of public expenditure in Italy”, Discussion Paper No. 23, European Commission publications, December Berger, Bennet, (2015), …Read More