Sectoral convergence in R&D intensities among firms is a concept that, although rarely formalized, has been at the center of discussions of industrial and non-industrial actors, such as entrepreneurs, institutions and academics. Far from being a settled issue, the subject has seen very limited...

This paper analyses the potential impacts on global trade initiated by the Belt and Road Initiative. The Initiative is examined as a collection of planned transport-corridor developments and discusses their impact on maritime trade flows.

In this EconPol Policy Brief Daniel Gros cautions countries with high debt ratios not to simply rely on low interest rates to make their (Covid-19) debt sustainable. Now that the health emergency is subsiding, governments have to chart a new course for public finance. The starting point is a...

Die wirtschaftliche Seite der Energiewende wird oftmals verkürzt entlang von Kostenbelastungen und zusätzlichen Aufwendungen im Inland diskutiert. Die Transformation des Energiesystems gewinnt jedoch auch international an Bedeutung und eröffnet zusätzliche Wachstumschancen für die Anbieter...

In Afghanistan ist nach dem Abzug der Truppen der Vereinigten Staaten und der Nordatlantischen Vertragsorganisation (US- und NATO-Truppen) sowie der Machtübernahme der Taliban eine starke Zunahme von Verfolgung, politischer Gewalt und Menschenrechtsverletzungen zu erwarten. Von den...

The countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) is a relatively new macroprudential tool, but the number of countries that have set a positive buffer level increased significantly over recent years. Furthermore, during the Covid-19 crisis, many countries released their countercyclical capital buffers,...

The main purpose of this report is to analyse the main features of the current crude oil pricing system; to describe the structure of the main benchmarks currently used namely Brent West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Dubai-Oman; to clearly identify the various financial layers that have emerged...