Culture and the economy -- Stability cultures and independent central banking -- The German Stabilitätskultur -- A stability culture for europe -- Stability culture and the financial crisis in America

While the level of disparities across regions in 10 advanced European economies studied in this paper mostly reflects productivity gaps, the increase since the Great Recession has resulted from diverging unemployment rates. Following the pandemic, this could be further exacerbated given...

The war in Ukraine is taking a growing toll on Europe's economies. The worsening energy crisis has depressed households' purchasing power and raised firms' costs, only partly offset by new government support. Central banks in the region and the world are acting more forcefully to bring high and...

The pass-through effects of oil price shocks on wage and consumer price inflation vary with the states or structural characteristics of an economy. The effects have declined over time in Europe and been higher in emerging European economies than in advanced economies. The pass-through to wages...

Refugees from Ukraine face multiple vulnerabilities, with many requiring humanitarian assistance to meet basic needs. In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, host countries in Europe and beyond have adopted measures to support refugees, including residency rights, free movement across...

We estimate that the recent surge in international fossil fuel prices will raise European households' cost of living in 2022 by close to 7 percent of consumption on average. Household burdens vary significantly across and within countries, but in most cases they are regressive. Policymakers have...

This paper analyzes the implications of disruptions in Russian gas for Europe's balances and economic output. Alternative sources could replace up to 70 percent of Russian gas, allowing Europe to avoid shortages during a temporary disruption of around 6 months. However, a longer full shut-off of...

We use a decomposition methodology to analyze the factors underlying the differentiated output losses of European countries in 2020. Our findings are fourfold: First, 2020 growth outcomes can be explained by differences in mobility, underlying growth trends, and pre-pandemic country...