EconPol Forum

EconPol Forum (formerly CESifo Forum) is a bi-monthly English-language journal to bring economic analysis on topics of worldwide interest along with policy advice to a broad range of policymakers and the public.

In September 2022 the CESifo Forum was restructured into four sections under the new EconPol brand. The first, Policy Debate of the Hour, recognizes the constantly evolving nature of policy challenges, focusing on the most pressing issues of the times. Leading researchers are invited to share their insights and policy conclusions. The Economic Policy and its Impact section assesses economic policies and develops robust evidence for their optimal design and implementation. In the Institutions Across the World section, contributors focus on the key role that institutional design plays in shaping socio-economic outcomes, often by comparing institutions across economic and political systems. Finally, Big Data-Based Economic Insights presents articles that glean economic policy advice from the exploitation of large, complex datasets.

How to Deal with the European Energy Crisis? Core Challenges for the EU

POLICY DEBATE OF THE HOUR

Andreas Goldthau and Nick Sitter, Reyer Gerlagh, Matti Liski and Iivo Vehviläinen, Daniel Gros, Mathias Mier, Svetlana A. Ikonnikova and Sofia Berdysheva, Alari Paulus, Karsten Staehr

The current energy crisis in Europe is bringing about profound changes that can accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and secure energy system. Yet, it is a supply shock of unprecedented scale and complexity, most noticeable in the markets for natural gas, coal, and electricity. Winter promises to be tough - especially for low-income households that use gas for heating and for small and medium-sized industrial companies. Short-term policy measures aim to shield consumers from the effects of the crisis: these include gas and electricity price brakes and energy subsidies for households. At the same time, many governments in the EU are now trying to increase or diversify oil and gas supplies and also accelerate structural change. The articles in the “Policy Debate of the Hour” section of this issue of EconPol Forum examine the causes of the crisis, analyze its effects, critically assess the policies already in place, and propose new short- to medium-term energy policies to better manage it and strengthen the EU’s systemic resilience to energy market volatility.

 

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The Revenue Effect of a Global Effective Minimum Tax

ECONOMIC POLICY AND ITS IMPACT

Clemens Fuest, Florian Neumeier

In October 2021, 136 countries and jurisdictions agreed on the introduction of a global effective minimum tax (OECD 2021). The plan is to impose a minimum tax rate of 15 percent on the global profits of multinational corporations (MNCs). If an MNC’s effective tax burden in a country is less than 15 percent, additional taxes will be collected until the ratio of tax payments to profits reaches a level of 15 percent. This is to affect all MNCs whose global consolidated revenue is at least €750 million.

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Working from Home Around the World

INSTITUTIONS ACROSS THE WORLD

Cevat Giray Aksoy, Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom, Steven Davis, Mathias Dolls, Pablo Zarate

The Covid-19 pandemic triggered a huge, sudden uptake in work from home, as individuals and organizations responded to contagion fears and government restrictions on commercial and social activities. Over time, it has become evident that the big shift to work from home will endure after the pandemic ends. No other episode in modern history involves such a pronounced and widespread shift in working arrangements in such a compressed time frame.

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European Labor Markets: How Can We Effectively Manage Technological and Structural Change?

POLICY DEBATE OF THE HOUR

Oliver Falck, Maria Savona, Tommaso Ciarli, Ed Steinmueller, Simone Vannuccini, Yuchen Guo, Christina Langer, Fabio Mercorio, Francesco Trentini, Valentin Lindlacher, Simon Wiederhold, Yvonne Giesing, Britta Rude, Florencia Jaccoud, Fabien Petit, Ron Boschma, Andreas Baur, Lisandra Flach, Isabella Gourevich, Filippo Bontadini, Valentina Meliciani, Ariel Wirkierman, Chao Ma, Zhong Zha

In this issue of the EconPol Forum, our authors discuss how Europe can more effectively address all these challenges and solve the associated labor market problems caused by rapid structural change. The authors also provide helpful policy recommendations for national governments and EU companies.

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