This paper analyses some of the factors behind the diverging productivity performances of the US and the EU over the 1990s and develops some conjectures regarding the likely developments for the current decade. The 1990s were characterized by two features the disappearance of the process of...

This paper looks at the experience of South East Europe which -- for the purposes of this paper -- includes the former states of Yugoslavia except for Slovenia (i.e. Croatia, Serbia-Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia), Albania, and the two EU candidate countries, Bulgaria and Romania....

Russia was in the direst straits even before the Ukraine crisis erupted on a grand scale in 2014. The sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea have deterred investments still further and instigated capital flight. The oil price slump of late 2014 and the related collapse of the rouble...

Vladimir Putin's presidency will last until 2024 – longer than most other Russian or Soviet leaders ruled. This Policy Note provides a brief review of past economic developments and reform attempts. We argue that past reforms have in effect failed yet the main economic challenges currently...

Biosphärenreservate bieten einen Rahmen für Prozesse zur nachhaltigen Regionalentwicklung. Durch das Beispiel des Biosphärenreservats Jeju Island sowie einen internationalen Vergleich werden Hinweise für eine erfolgversprechende Ausgestaltung aufgezeigt. Nach einem Überblick zum Vorgehen...

Climate change poses three specific but interrelated policy challenges: climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation (which includes building up resilience) and managing transition risks. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a multilateral institution with global reach and...

Starting from a world in which resources have become scarce and planetary boundaries have been reached or exceeded, the paper discusses how these changes affect our understanding of (economic) progress and sustainable development. In doing so, the paper addresses three important points in the...

The loss of biodiversity and the degradation of natural ecosystems pose a significant threat to the broader economy and financial stability that central banks and financial supervisors cannot ignore. To gain further insights into the implications of nature and ecosystem service degradation for...

Biodiversity - the variety of life on Earth - is essential for sustaining the healthy ecosystems that our economy and banks depend on. Despite the clear benefits of a healthy natural world for people and the economy, humanity is putting immense pressure on nature and biodiversity. Economic...