The Sound of Economics

From flights cancelled and restaurants closed to companies either slowing or stopping their production, COVID-19 is shutting our economies down. How can the EU reboot them? What should be our fiscal and monetary response to the pandemic? Will our economic system ever be the same once everything is over? This week, Guntram Wolff is joined by Jean Pisani-Ferry and Maria Demertzis to discuss the EU's response to the coronavirus. This podcast is a member of the EuroPod network. Disclaimer: due to the current circumstances, this episode was recorded remotely. Therefore, the sound quality isn't the same as in our previous episodes.

The field of economics, like many others, seems to be biased towards men. How are women disadvantaged? Makfire Alija and Katja Knezevic join Nicholas Barrett and Niclas Poitiers to discuss the systematic hurdles. 

The coronavirus is going to hit the global economy hard, but how hard? What can policymakers plan for the months ahead? Nicholas Barrett asks Guntram Wolff and Maria Demertzis about economic symptoms and treatments 

When it comes to global carbon emission is a tax the best form of defence? To make the European Green Deal work, the EU is considering a levy on carbon-intensive goods manufactured beyond its borders. But will a carbon border tax spawn a massive bureaucracy and lead to accusations of protectionism? To find out, Nicholas Barrett talked to Georg Zachmann and Ben McWilliams from Bruegel and Gabriel Felbermayr, President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy

As China and the US battle for global supremacy, the EU seems to remain in the shadows. But what if the EU had been shaping the world economy all along without anybody noticing? Could its soft power be strong enough to shape regulations all over the world? What impact does such influence have over its own economy? This week, Giuseppe Porcaro and Guntram Wolff are joined live by Ashoka Mody, Professor in International Economic Policy at the Princeton University, and Anu Bradford, author of the book "The Brussels Effect: How the European Union rules the world".

As the Coronavirus continues to spread, schools have closed, flights have been canceled and entire towns have been quarantined. Most of those who contract the virus will undoubtedly survive, but can the same be said for globalisation? Is it time for economists to question the virtue of international supply chains? Should policymakers in the west be thinking twice about our material dependency on Chinese manufacturing? And is an economic contagion as dangerous as its medical equivalent? To discuss this, Nicholas Barrett is joined by Nicolas Veron and Niclas Poitiers, and down the line from Spain, by Alicia Garcia Herrero.

The European Green Deal is one of the landmarks of Ursula von der Leyen's Commission. But, without an ambitious investment behind it, what could be its potential implications for the EU? Could it go as far as to threaten the EU's single market? This week, Renew Europe's vice-president, MEP Luis Garicano, joins Guntram Wolff and Maria Demertzis to discuss not only the European Green Deal but also the EU Budget and the Banking Union.  Disclaimer: this episode was recorded on the 20th of February, before Bruegel hosted the event "The Ressurection of the European Banking Union". 

Despite the political antagonism, the EU and Russia are not only geographically, but also economically, reliant on each other: European houses are heated using Russian natural gas and Russia is highly dependent on European investment. Should the EU develop closer political ties with Russia? How much leverage does the EU have when dealing with the Kremlin? This week, Nicholas Barrett is joined by Niclas Poitiers and Marta Domínguez-Jímenez to discuss European foreign direct investment in Russia.

From cashless payments to digital banking, finance has become intangible and global. But, while speed and convenience have made our international transactions easier, have we become more vulnerable? How can the EU respond to the increased risk of hybrid threats? This week, Nicholas Barrett is joined by Jukka Savolainen, Director of Community of Interest “Vulnerabilities and Resilience” at the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, and Maria Demertzis, to discuss the risks that hybrid threats pose to the financial system.  

While the US and China have been setting the pace when it comes to Artificial Intelligence, the European Union seems to be lagging behind. What are the Commission's plans to finally catch up? Will AI increase the gap between big and small companies? Nicholas Barrett asked Julia Anderson and Guntram Wolff