The G20 has produced mixed results. After initial high hopes and some success, negotiations within the G20 forum have slowed, progress is less visible and disagreement rather than agreement has come to the fore. Against this background, this paper revisits the basic economic and geopolitical...

In spite of the disappointing outcome of some recent summits, notably the most recent in Cannes, the G20 is and should remain the cornerstone of the global financial architecture. Its record of performance in the last three years, reviewed in this paper, is mixed but not as unambiguously...

After a thirty-year pause, discussions on the future of the international monetary system (IMS) have restarted. This is partly due to the fact that the IMS has facilitated, or at least not prevented, the economic and financial imbalances that led to the recent crisis. This paper argues that the...

In this paper Bruegel Visiting Scholar Ignazio Angeloni (European Central Bank), Ester Faia (Goethe University Frankfurt, Kiel IfW and CEPREMAP)  and Marco Lo Duca (European Central Bank) examine the links between monetary policy, financial risk and the business cycle, combining data evidence...

This paper studies inflation persistence with time-varying coefficient autoregressions for twelve central European countries,in comparison with the United States and the euro area. Inflation persistence tends to be higher in times of high inflation. Since the oil price shocks, inflation...

This paper provides new evidence about the budgetary consequences â?? for patent offices â?? of the coexistence of the forthcoming Unitary Patent (UP) with the current European Patent (EP). Simulation results illustrate a dilemma between (1) high UP renewal fees to ensure enough financial...

The faltering Doha round has led to a renewed focus on large regional trade agreements. There are two super-RTAs in the making in the Asia-Pacific and one in the Atlantic, all with rather ambitious negotiation targets, and presented as alternate means to reset global trade rules and take the...

Japan is the most rapidly aging country in the world. This is evidence that the social security system, which consists of the pension system, healthcare system and other programmes, has been working well. The population is shrinking because of a falling birth rate. It is expected that the...

â?¢ The single market is often perceived as the panacea for Europeâ??s economic troubles. It is believed that completing the single market would boost welfare, stimulate growth and increase European competitiveness. â?¢ However, identifying and quantifying the channels through which market...

The euro areaâ??s political contract requires member nations to rely principally on their own resources when confronted with severe economic distress. Since monetary policy is the same for all, national fiscal austerity is the default response to counter national fiscal stress. Moreover, the...