

The Sound of Economics
Bruegel
The Sound of Economics brings you insights, debates, and research-based discussions on economic policy in Europe and beyond.
The podcast is produced by Bruegel, an independent and non-doctrinal think tank based in Brussels. It seeks to contribute to European and global economic policy-making through open, fact-based, and policy-relevant research, analysis, and debate.
The podcast is produced by Bruegel, an independent and non-doctrinal think tank based in Brussels. It seeks to contribute to European and global economic policy-making through open, fact-based, and policy-relevant research, analysis, and debate.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 26, 2022 • 57min
War in Ukraine: What is the effect on Central and Eastern Europe?
In this episode of the Sound of Economics Live, Bruegel Director Guntram Wolff hosted Beata Javorcik, Chief Economist of the EBRD, to discuss how the ongoing war in Ukraine is affecting Central and Eastern Europe. Drawing on the EBRD’s recent activity in Ukraine and it’s neighbourhood, Ms Javorcik reflected on the impact of the conflict not just on Ukraine, but also on the EU countries geographically closest to the conflict.
Check our special podcast series, War in Ukraine, which reflect on the implications of Russia's war in Ukraine in EU energy storage, macroeconomic implications, international finance system and more.

Apr 22, 2022 • 38min
War in Ukraine: sanctions on Russia two months in
As Russia’s war on Ukraine continues, Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Nicolas Véron and Elina Ribakova to take look at the list of sanctions imposed on Russia so far and the implications on the global financial system and central banks.
Check our special podcast series, War in Ukraine, which reflect on the implications of Russia's war in Ukraine in EU energy storage, macroeconomic implications, international finance system and more.

Apr 13, 2022 • 33min
Making remote work, work
For people who want to go back to the old way of work, the train has left the station. COVID-19 has given a huge impetus to working from home for those jobs that can, where more individuals are able to choose when and where they are most productive, and companies can choose what they want remote work to look like.
Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by J.Scott Marcus and Lisette Sutherland to explore remote work on both sides of the Atlantic. Together they discuss work-life balance, gender gaps, skill acquisition, modernisation of workflows, technology adoption, managerial culture and flexibility enhancement.
Relevant publication:
COVID-19 and the accelerated shift to technology-enabled Work from Home (WFH), J. Scott Marcus, Georgios Petropoulos and Antonio Aloisi
This podcast was produced within the project “Transatlantic expert group on the future of work “, with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Bruegel AISBL and The German Marshall Fund of the United States and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

Apr 6, 2022 • 35min
War in Ukraine: The EU’s ban on Russian coal
On 5 April 2022, the EU announced that it will ban coal imports from Russia. The move — aimed squarely at energy imports for the first time — comes as a direct response to reports that Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukraine. In this live podcast, Giuseppe Porcaro discusses with Simone Tagliapietra unpack how the coal ban will presumably be implemented, and what it means in terms of direct and indirect consequences.

Apr 6, 2022 • 41min
What to expect from China's innovation drive?
China is investing heavily in science and technology: from 2011 to 2021, internal R&D spending jumped from 869 billion to 2.79 trillion Yuan. What has been the effect of this increase, and is it commensurate with the amount of spending? Giuseppe Porcaro sits down with Alicia Garcia-Herrero, Reinhilde Veuglers and Naubahar Sharif, to discuss the innovation system in China, the strengths and weaknesses of its state-led R&D strategy, and what lies ahead for the international situation where geopolitics seems to overshadow cooperation.
This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics.
ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!

Mar 31, 2022 • 45min
War in Ukraine: How to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels?
The EU has proposed a plan to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels before 2030, as well as responding to rising energy prices. In this episode of the Sound of Economics Live Bruegel's own Guntram Wolff and Georg Zachmann welcome Diedrik Samsom to present REPowerEU and to discuss how feasible it is.

Mar 23, 2022 • 35min
Online labour: Can we all just move to Tahiti?
The internet is changing the way we work. In this episode, Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Laura Nurski and Fabian Stephany to discuss the utilisation of online work across countries and occupations, what it means for the society, and how policymakers should better regulate it.
This podcast was produced within the project “Future of Work and Inclusive Growth in Europe“, with the financial support of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

Mar 10, 2022 • 56min
War in Ukraine: reflections on the economic consequences for Russia
In this episode of the Sound of Economics Live Maria Demertzis and Guntram Wolff host Russian economist Sergei Guriev, to discuss how the war in Ukraine will affect the Russian economy.

Mar 9, 2022 • 45min
War in Ukraine: A conversation with Oleg Ustenko
In this episode of the Sound of Economics Live Guntram Wolff hosts Oleg Ustenko, Economic Advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. They discuss the economic situation in Ukraine as well as humanitarian needs and Ukraine’s request to ban Russian exports of fossil fuels.

Mar 3, 2022 • 48min
War in Ukraine: China-Russia relations
While most of the world condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, China abstained, but did not go as far as vetoing the UN resolution. How do Sino-Russian relations affect China’s stance and how are these relations likely to be impacted by recent developments?
In this episode of the Sound of Economics Live, Giuseppe Porcaro, Alicia García-Herrero and Elina Ribakova continue our look at the war in Ukraine by examining the state of relations between these two major powers.
This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics.
ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!