This thesis aims at shading light on three issues which are at the forefront of the European Commission’s agenda. The first two chapters deal with the issue of state subsidies and their impact on market competition and development. Both papers design a theoretical setting where such impact can...

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the European Commission's approach to state aid for foreign direct investment in a competition policy framework. The Commission shows to consider variable cost aid (VCA) to be more distortive than start-up or fixed cost aid (FCA). This paper addresses that...

Biometric technologies have in principle the potential to significantly improve worker productivity, security and safety. However, they are also a source of new risks, including exposure to potential personal data abuse or the psychological distress caused by permanent monitoring. The European...

With the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines, countries are beginning to imagine a future in which workers' and employers' choices are not conditioned by the pandemic. The crisis hit everyone hard but also generated an opportunity. It has shown that workers with suitable jobs can efficiently work...

Jean Pisani-Ferry discusses the development of globalisation during the last decade and the challenges ahead. The speed and magnitude of the transformation affecting the world economy are larger than initially envisaged, while domestic policy reforms and redistribution have often been...

The ongoing financial crisis has revived the longstanding debate about fair value accounting. This policy contribution by Nicolas Véron argues that in times of market disruption, no accounting standards could lead to consensual outcomes, and that fair value remains better than proposed...

This policy contribution by Bruno von Pottelsberghe argues that the number of priority filings should be used as a patent-based measure of Europe's innovation performance. It also identifies several policies that may affect the R&D-patent relationship.

Nicolas Véron comments on the proposal for governance reform ('constitution review') published in May 2008 by the IASC Foundation, the private-sector body which oversees the setting of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). He emphasizes the unprecedented nature of this global...