News Archive

Inequality in the labor market between men and women in Germany is at its greatest when there are children involved, finds an international research group that has examined the development of inequality in 17 countries in Europe and North America over the past 50 years. Among 30-year-olds, mothers earn on average 70 to 80 percent less than fathers. For childless people of the same age, the difference is much smaller and has fallen to less than 5 percent. 

The outbreak of an unprecedented global health crisis about four years ago put the very foundations of our communities, economies and politics to the test. Policymakers had to learn and react fast to limit human and economic costs at the same time. This article highlights the importance of existing markets, technological features such as payments systems and economic decisions at the transactional level in combating the spread of a contagious disease while stabilizing aggregate economic activity.

Populism is on the rise. Donald Trump's presidency in the US and the Brexit referendum campaigns are two prominent examples in recent years. Several EU member states, namely France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Greece, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany, have experienced how quickly populists can win over voters in national elections. With the U.S. presidential election and the European elections in 2024, many people fear a further rise in political polarization and populism in the Western world.

In recent years, radical right-wing political groups and populist movements have gained popularity in many Western democracies. In a new EconPol Forum article, Florian Dorn, David Gstrein and Florian Neumeier summarize the existing literature on the extent to which economic factors contribute to the rise of populism. In particular, right-wing extremists gain votes in regions where the risk of poverty increases.

Economic researchers from various countries have called on the EU to view the energy crisis following the Russian attack on Ukraine as a wake-up call and to strive for better cooperation in Europe. “Not only can switching to non-fossil energy sources reduce strategic dependency: if done correctly, it can also lower electricity prices and help the EU and its member states achieve their climate targets. Further integration of the European electricity markets and gas grids is essential in order to better balance out regional shortages,” they write in new EconPol Policy Report.