The Sound of Economics

In this episode of “The Sound of Economics” we examine the issue of inclusive growth and inequality in Europe. We asked Zsolt Darvas, Senior Fellow at Bruegel, to explain us how is it possible to define and measure inclusive growth. We spoke to Jana Hainsworth, President of the Social Platform, about the negative effects of social inequalities. We also asked her which new policies should be implemented to support inclusive growth. Luca Visentini, Secretary General of the European Trade Unions Confederation, and Markus J. Beyrer, Director General of Businesseurope, also shared their opinion. Finally, Zsolt Darvas highlighted the key policy recommendations from the Bruegel Blueprint “An Anatomy of inclusive growth”. SPEAKERS Zsolt Darvas, Senior Fellow, Bruegel Jana Hainsworth, President, Social Platform Luca Visentini, Secretary General, European Trade Union Confederation Markus J. Beyrer, Director General, BusinessEurope CREDITS Presented by Giuseppe Porcaro Produced by Vanessa Cotterell and Giuseppe Porcaro

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, we focus on trade relations between the EU and China. We asked Alicia Garcia Herrero, Senior Fellow at Bruegel, where relations between China and the EU stand at the moment, and why their trade relations are so important. Currently the US seems more interested in the Pacific than its Atlantic alliance. Does this situation leave any room for the EU and China to get closer? We asked Pascal Lamy, former General Director- of the World Trade Organisation. Lawrence Lau, Professor of Economics at the University of Hong Kong, told us why he believes that both China and the EU can benefit from closer relations. We spoke with Jianwei Xu, Visiting Scholar at Bruegel, about the effects of Brexit on the EU-China relations: what would happen if the UK strikes a free trade agreement with China before the EU does? Finally we discussed the Chinese Belt and Road initiative, which aims to reduce transportation costs between China and the EU. We asked professor Lau what this initiative entails, and Alicia shared her opinion on potential opportunities and dangers that the initiative can bring to Europe. SPEAKERS Alicia Garcia Herrero, Senior Fellow, Bruegel Pascal Lamy, former General Director, World Trade Organisation Lawrence Lau, Professor of Economics, University of Hong Kong Jianwei Xu, Visiting Fellow, Bruegel CREDITS Presented and produced by Vanessa Cotterell and Giuseppe Porcaro

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, we discuss the issue of indebtedness and debt resolution with Carmen Reinhart, Professor of the International Financial System at the Harvard Kennedy School. Professor Reinhart highlights the scale of the debt overhang in many advanced economies. She also presents evidence that deleveraging has been notably slow since the last global financial crisis. She discusses how this overhang is affecting the speed of recovery, and calls for debt restructuring – especially in the private sector. We also hear from Bruegel Research Fellow Maria Demertzis, who explains the significance of non-performing loans and argues for simplified bankruptcy laws. SPEAKERS: Carmen Reinhart, Professor of the international financial system, Harvard Kennedy School Maria Demertzis, Research Fellow, Bruegel CREDITS Presented by Giuseppe Porcaro Produced by Vanessa Cotterell and Giuseppe Porcaro

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, a panel of experts from Bruegel and the Financial Times discuss the outlook for the UK and Europe. There is still a lot of uncertainty about the future, but some key questions are becoming clear. What will be the impact of Brexit on politics and business? Is the UK retracting not only from Europe, but also from globalisation? How should Europe react to what is happening in the UK, and could the EU offer any flexibility on migration and ECJ jurisdiction? This episode was recorded in conjunction with a Bruegel/Financial Times event about Brexit. Notes from this event, along with video and audio recordings, are available on the event page: http://bruegel.org/events/ft/ SPEAKERS Lionel Barber, Editor, Financial Times James Blitz, Whitehall Editor, Financial Times Guntram Wolff, Director, Bruegel Maria Demertzis, Research Fellow, Bruegel CREDITS Presented by Giuseppe Porcaro Produced by Vanessa Cotterell and Giuseppe Porcaro

This episode of The Sound of Economics focuses on innovation. There is widespread agreement that innovation is vital for European economy, but how can we get from smart ideas to economic growth? We asked Reinhilde Veugelers, Senior Fellow at Bruegel, why innovation matters for our economies, and why it is important for the components of the innovation system to be interconnected. Dominique Guellec, Head of Science and Technological Policy in the Directorate of Science at the OECD, to shared with us his opinion on the main weaknesses in European innovation. We also spoke with Scott Stern, Professor of Management of Technology at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He outlined why he believes Europe needs to think local if it wants to get the full economic benefit of innovation. We asked Karen Wilson, another Senior Fellow at Bruegel, why Europe seems to fare badly on this compared to other regions such as the US. She stressed the importance of completing the Single Market to support high-growth firms. Access to capital is a vital factor for expansion of innovative firms. Karen shared her opinion on what the EU can do on this topic, while Reinhilde discussed why funding for innovative growth should come from capital markets. SPEAKERS Reinhilde Veugelers, Senior Fellow, Bruegel Dominique Guellec, Head of Science and Technological Policy, Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, OECD Scott Stern, Professor of Management of Technology, MIT Sloan School of Management Karen Wilson, Senior Fellow, Bruegel CREDITS Presented by Bryn Watkins Produced by Vanessa Cotterell, Giuseppe Porcaro, Bryn Watkins

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, we focus the issue of decarbonisation and the fight against climate change. Decarbonisation is at the heart of EU energy and climate policy. And the recent ratification of the Paris Agreement makes decarbonisation targets some of the EU’s most important international commitments. Progress towards the 2020 targets has been impressive. But the 2020 framework is now being replaced by new targets. The EU wants an 80-95 percent reduction in emissions by 2050, with an intermediate target of 40 percent by 2030. We asked Simone Tagliapietra, Research Fellow at Bruegel, what progress the EU has already made towards its climate targets and what will change with the new emission targets. We also spoke with Georg Zachmann, Senior Research Fellow at Bruegel, about the recent drop in Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions and the future of EU’s emission trading scheme. Lászlo Varro, chief economist at the International Energy Agency, shared his insights on which energy sources will be most important in the future. We discussed with Connie Hedegaard, former European Commissioner for Climate Action, which other sectors need to be prioritised in the fight against climate change. SPEAKERS Simone Tagliapietra, Research Fellow, Bruegel Georg Zachmann, Senior Fellow, Bruegel Lászlo Varro, Chief Economist, International Energy Agency Connie Hedegaard, former European Commissioner for Climate Action CREDITS Presented by Antonija Parat and Bryn Watkins Produced by Vanessa Cotterell and Bryn Watkins

The Future of Europe by Bruegel

The Sound of Economics is a series of podcasts about economic policy, brought to you by Bruegel. Each episode focuses on a key economic policy debate. In this episode we are joined by Jeffry Frieden, Professor of Government at Harvard University. EPISODE 3 Many in the EU look to the USA as a model for monetary union in the Eurozone. But how easy was it to create such a union, and what can Europe learn from the USA’s experience? This podcast was recorded when Jeffry Frieden visited Bruegel on 25 May 2016 to give a lecture on the topic. Bruegel also published an essay by Frieden, based on his lecture. CONTENTS 1. Building the US monetary union 2. The dollar | From minute 11:30 3. Lessons for Europe | From minute 13:15 SPEAKERS Jeffry Frieden, Professor at Harvard University Presenters: Áine Quinn & Bryn Watkins PRODUCERS Giuseppe Porcaro & Vanessa Cotterell Read the essay: http://bruegel.org/2016/05/lessons-for-the-euro-from-early-us-monetary-and-financial-history/ Watch the lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_jMFt5wl-U

The sound of economics is a series of podcasts about economic policy, brought to you by Bruegel. Each episode will look at a key economic policy debate, discuss why it is important and explore some of the work that Bruegel's researchers have done in the area. This is a special edition about the UK leaving the EU: On 23 June, the UK voted to leave the European Union, and the UK government will soon begin the process to withdraw from the European Union. What will this huge change mean for the future of the European Union and its member states? What is the process of leaving, and what signal should the EU give to the UK? What issues are on the table as the UK negotiates a deal with the EU? CONTENT Initial reactions Process of leaving the EU Future of Europe Producers – Giuseppe Porcaro & Vanessa Cotterell SPEAKERS Guntram Wolff – Director, Bruegel Maria Demertzis – Research Fellow, Bruegel Nicolas Véron – Senior Research fellow, Bruegel Presenters – Áine Quinn & Bryn Watkins, Bruegel Read more: http://bruegel.org/tag/brexit/ http://bruegel.org/2016/06/the-day-after-brexit-what-do-we-know/

The sound of economics is a series of podcasts about economic policy, brought to you by Bruegel. Each episode will look at a key economic policy debate, discuss why it is important and explore some of the work that Bruegel's researchers have done in the area. This episode is about European fiscal rules. EPISODE 1 The strong fiscal tightening implemented in many European countries since 2010 has contributed to the poor economic recovery in Europe. This raises doubts about the effectiveness of the EU’s fiscal rules in achieving their two main objectives: public debt sustainability and fiscal stabilisation. A key indicator in the framework is the structural budget balance, but it is very difficult to measure. Recommendations made based on the structural budget balance are often revised when initial estimates turn out to be wrong. Another problem with the current EU fiscal framework is the opaque web of ‘flexibility’ clauses. This leads to never-ending bargaining between member states and the European Commission about the implementation of the rules, which undermines trust in them. A recent Bruegel policy contribution by Gregory Claeys, Zsolt Darvas and Alvaro Leandro analyses and assesses the framework and proposes a new set of rules. Producers – Giuseppe Porcaro & Vanessa Cotterell CONTENT The current European fiscal framework and its flaws — until min. 07:50 Bruegel scholars propose new fiscal rules — from min. 07:50 Is a European fiscal council a good idea? — from min. 11:30 SPEAKERS Gregory Claeys — Research Fellow, Bruegel Zsolt Darvas — Senior Fellow, Bruegel Jochen Andritzky — Secretary General of the German Council of Economic Experts Filippo Taddei — Chief Economist of the Democratic Party, Italy Presenters — Áine Quinn, Bryn Watkins, Bruegel Read more: A proposal to revive the European Fiscal Framework by Gregory Claeys, Zsolt Darvas, Alvaro Leandro bruegel.org/2016/03/a-proposal-…n-fiscal-framework/ How to reform EU fiscal rules by Grégory Claeys & Zsolt Darvas http://bruegel.org/2016/04/how-to-reform-eu-fiscal-rules/ Filling the gap: open economy considerations for more reliable potential output estimates by Zsolt Darvas & Andras Simon bruegel.org/2015/10/filling-the…l-output-estimates/