The Sound of Economics

The complexities of AI regulation

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie is joined by Bertin Martens, Bruegel Senior fellow and Werner Stengg, expert of EVP Margre...

South Korea's semiconductor strategy

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan sits down with Alicia García-Herrero and June Park to talk about South Korea’s semiconductor ...

What to do with frozen Russian assets

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie invites MEP Johan Van Overtveldt and Bruegel Senior fellow Nicolas Véron to talk about th...

Strengthening EU competitiveness

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie sits down with Oya Celasun, Deputy Director of the International Monetary Fund’s Europea...

Skills anticipation for the green transition

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the final episode of The Skills podcast series, Rebecca Christie discusses with Duygu Güner and Francesca Rosso on skills anticipation. They talk ...

Ten years of Europe’s banking union

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie sits down with Nicolas Véron and Harald Waiglein to look at the status of Europe’s bank...

Industrial strategies for Europe’s green transition

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie invites Chiara Criscuolo and Reinhilde Veugelers. The speakers argue that the current pace...

China’s third attempt to internationalise its currency

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan invites Alessia Amighini and Alicia García-Herrero to discuss China’s latest push to internat...

Taking stock of EU economic security

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie sits down with Isabelle Mejean and Niclas Poitiers to discuss EU economic security. They s...

A year in review

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie invites Heather Grabbe, Jean Pisani-Ferry, Fiona M. Scott Morton and Jeromin Zettelmeyer t...

Expectations and outcomes of the 24th EU-China summit

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On 7 December 2023, the 24th EU-China Summit took place in Beijing, where President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and President of ...

Ukraine’s future with the EU

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ukraine is an official EU candidate since June 2022. In mid-December 2023, the leaders of EU countries are meeting to discuss whether to start officia...

The state of play in global tax deal

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

About 140 nations have come together to agree on a 15% global minimum corporate tax rate and a way to make sure tech companies and other multinational...

The role of civil society in skills development

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Civil society plays an important role in skills development. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie and Duygu Güner are joined b...

Greening EU fiscal rules

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie is joined by Ester Barendregt, Zsolt Darvas and Jeromin Zettelmeyer to discuss how to fini...

The evolution of EU-China relations

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of ZhōngHuá Mundus, Yuyun Zhan sits down with Alicia García-Herrero and Giuseppe Porcaro, founders of the podcast and newsletter se...

Can/Should robots look after the young and the old?

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The future of work has become a prominent topic for research and policy debate. However, the debate has focused entirely on paid work, even though peo...

EU financial stability in times of war

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Geopolitical conflicts like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the recent Israel-Hamas war have added uncertainties to the global energy and financial...

Charting Poland’s post-election path

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The 15 October Polish elections showed that the opposition leader Donald Tusk, former European Council president and a former Polish prime minister, h...

Understanding local government debt in China

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

China's growth model, marked by excessive investment and a high savings rate, has led to the accumulation of local government debt and a skewed balanc...

Skills-based hiring: tackling the labour shortages

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There is a huge skill mismatch and skills shortages in the EU labour market. In 2022, despite the all-time high employment rate (74.6%), we are still ...

Read with Bruegel: Ways of being

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What can we learn from other forms of intelligence and personhood, and how can we change our societies to live more equitably with one another and the...

The state of play in EU-LATAM trade

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The EU has been using trade policy to export its standards on competition policy, environmental protection and human rights among other policy areas, ...

Evaluating the European Commission’s fiscal governance proposal

20 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

At the start of the Covid-19 crisis, the European Commission suspended the fiscal rules that applied to member states to allow countries to use fiscal...

Assessing the State of the Union 2023

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On 13 September 2023, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, delivered this year’s State of the Union address before the Europe...

Assessing the risks and prospects of European banking system

07 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

European banking supervision has developed and matured by moving from being predominantly rules-based and heavily codified, to becoming more risk-focu...

What to expect from the BRICS expansion

31 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This year’s BRICS annual summit delivered the headline announcement of the group’s expansion: in January 2024, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, S...

The story of China’s electric vehicle industry

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

China has become a world leader in making and buying Electric Vehicles (EV), somehow under the radar. In fact, China today produces 54% of total EVs g...

Artificial Intelligence in defence, diplomacy, and decision-making

22 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the international balance of power. In the field of defence, beyond weaponry, AI is instrumental for various ...

Why do employers want employees back in the office?

16 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The forced mass-scale shift to work-from-home during the COVID-19 pandemic has changed both employees’ and employers’ perspectives on work locatio...

Read with Bruegel: Central Banking before 1800: A Rehabilitation

09 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Sound of Economics is bringing you a summer 2023 special series, 'Read with Bruegel.' In this series, we have the pleasure of hosting renowned aut...

Read with Bruegel: The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Sound of Economics is bringing you a summer 2023 special series, 'Read with Bruegel.' In this series, we have the pleasure of hosting renowned aut...

Read with Bruegel: Backfire: How Sanctions Reshape the World Against U.S. Interests

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Sound of Economics is bringing you a summer 2023 special series, 'Read with Bruegel.' In this series, we have the pleasure of hosting renowned aut...

Assessing China's quest for innovation

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Chinese economy is at a crossroads. The investment-driven growth model, which the government had relied on for the last four decades, is running o...

Section 232 Tariffs on Steel and Aluminium

12 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In June 2018, the US Trump administration introduced tariffs on European steel and aluminium exports, starting a long-time dispute between the two tra...

The triple purpose of EU industrial policy

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today, the mitigation of climate change is one of the most important issues worldwide. However, governments also need to prioritise geopolitical resil...

Read with Bruegel: The Palgrave Handbook of Global Politics in the 22nd Century

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Sound of Economics is bringing you a summer 2023 special series, 'Read with Bruegel.' In this series, we have the pleasure of hosting renowned aut...

Read with Bruegel: The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Sound of Economics is bringing you a summer 2023 special series, 'Read with Bruegel.' In this series, we have the pleasure of hosting renowned aut...

China's growing economic ties with the Gulf States

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

China's economic ties with the Gulf States have undergone significant changes in recent years. Although historically there was little interaction betw...

Debt dynamics: Exploring EU borrowing in changing times

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In recent years, European Commission borrowing on behalf of the European Union has changed significantly in both scale and nature. This is mainly due ...

China’s growth: what is to come?

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

China’s astounding growth has slowed down over the last decade. Despite enormous progress and investment in research and development, China’s medi...

Skills-shift: navigating the future of work

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Digitalisation, robotisation and automation are changing the nature of jobs at an unprecedented rate. Newly emerging technologies are not only reducin...

How should the European Union’s industry respond to the energy crisis?

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2022, Europe managed to safeguard the security of energy supply during a turbulent time for the energy sector. Moreover, the EU industry has, also ...

US-China tech bifurcation

10 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The tech sector has become key player in the internal interconnection between economics and geopolitics. It is an essential industry that plays a crit...

The EU’s long-term fiscal challenges

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

EU finance ministers met at the April 2023 informal ECOFIN meeting to discuss the reform of the fiscal governance framework as proposed by the Europea...

Europe's takeaway from recent banking turmoil

26 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The collapses in rapid succession of Credit Suisse in Switzerland along with the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in the United States hav...

The economic value of decentralised finance

19 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cryptocurrencies have become more popular and established in recent years. Simultaneously, crypto financial services, like lending, have also emerged....

China’s influence in African media narratives and digital space

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1947, Africa has been crucial to China’s foreign policy. First, China supported several African liberation...

Why are remote jobs only happening in the cities?

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a record number of people have begun to work from home. However, the seeming flexibility of remote positi...

Quantitative tightening in the euro area

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In March 2023, the European Central Bank (ECB) launched its quantitative tightening (QT) policy, to unwind its portfolio of assets that resulted from ...

Assessing Europe’s strategy on critical raw materials

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Critical Raw Materials Act, proposed by the European Commission on the 16 March 2023, sets clear benchmarks for domestic capacities along the stra...

The Belt and Road Initiative 2.0 is all about security

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was first announced in 2013, its official objective was to improve connectivity. However, many things have hap...

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

 What is happening with the Silicon Valley Bank? In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro invites Rebecca Christie and Nicolas Vé...

Why do patriarchal systems survive?

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On International Women’s Day 2023, Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Nancy Folbre, one of the pioneering economists in the area of feminist economics. ...

Europe’s gas outlook for 2023

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Europe has survived the energy crisis in the past year; however, it is time to look forward and prepare for winter 2023-24. In this episode of The Sou...

How useful have the EU’s financial sanctions on Russia been?

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When the sanctions against Russia were first implemented, Giuseppe Porcaro invited Nicolas Véron and Elina Ribakova on The Sound of Economics to disc...

What China’s reopening will mean for the global economy

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As China moves closer to fully re-emerging from three years of government imposed Covid isolation and as they begin to reintegrate with the rest of th...

How should Europe react to the Inflation Reduction Act?

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 is a milestone in US climate policy. Unfortunately, it also contains protectionist elements, such as linking...

Is deglobalisation already happening?

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro invites Uri Dadush to discuss whether deglobalisation is happening worldwide. They discuss...

The Élysée Treaty: 60 years on

23 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It has been 60 years since the foundation of the Élysée Treaty, which was signed on the 22 January 1963. The treaty aimed to create close bilateral ...

The boom, bust and future of China's real estate sector

18 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While China’s property market has been a key driver of its economy, concerns around the sustainability of the sector have circulated for many years....

Croatia’s accession into the euro area

11 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time in over ten years, the euro area has a new member. Croatia is the latest country to join the monetary union, starting 1 January 202...

Economic policy wrapped up 2022

21 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed the course of the year 2022. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro invites Maria Demertzi...

Transatlantic Perspectives on Digital Automation Technologies

16 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

ChatGPT is the latest example of technology that appears to be able to execute tasks that would have required the services of high level academics not...

China-India relations and their impact on Europe

14 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

India has recently surpassed the United Kingdom to become the fifth largest economy in the world, standing directly behind the US, China, Japan and Ge...

The charm of central bank digital currencies in a polarised world

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

95 percent of the world economy (measured by GDP) is exploring the idea of launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC), and many countries includ...

Democracy does not die with a bang but a whimper

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Authoritarianism is becoming increasingly normalised in the 21st century. As anti-democratic movements take root globally in a wide range of demograph...

Reflections on COP27

23 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

 In this episode of the Sound of Economics Live, Giuseppe Porcaro invites John Murton, Johanna Nyman and Simone Tagliapietra look at what was said an...

Is the EU fiscal rules reform going in the right direction?

22 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On 9 November, the European Commission presented its long-awaited proposal for a reformed EU economic governance framework. The proposal intends to fo...

Lessons from China’s semiconductor technology push

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From cars and phones to satellite technology, semiconductors play a key role in many of our modern utilities and consumer goods. As such, semiconducto...

Changing labour markets, changing social protection

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Social protection is the mechanism that addresses amongst other issues, poverty reduction, education, health, social inclusion, and empowerment. In th...

The dominance of the platform economy

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Internet was supposed to liberate us from powerful institutions. But the reality might be he who fights too long against dragons becomes a dragon ...

Is the world economy headed for recession?

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Maria Demertzis and Grégory Claeys are joined by Ayhan Kose, Chief Economist of Equitable Growth, Finance,...

Decoding China’s 20th Party Congress

18 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The 20th National Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party commenced on 16 October and will run for seven days. The Congress takes place every fi...

China's rise in the Western Balkans

12 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

 The rise in Chinese influence in the Western Balkans over the last decade is among the most significant geopolitical developments in Europe. As an e...

Inequality across the atlantic

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The COVID-19 pandemic, Russian invasion of Ukraine, energy crisis and the resulting high inflation have created new worries about inequality on both s...

What should the European Political Community look like?

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The European Political Community is a new political grouping proposed by the French president Emmanuel Macron that would include the EU countries, the...

Learning from the European Central Bank's policy mistakes

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In July 2022, by the time the European Central Bank (ECB) lifted its deposit rate from negative to zero, headline inflation in the euro area had reach...

Will Ukraine’s refugees return?

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ukraine, a country of over 40 million people, has seen about 15% of its population flee the country. Will many that have fled Ukraine return, or will ...

Assessing the State of the Union 2022

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On 14 September 2022 Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, delivered the State of the Union address before the European Parliame...

Can China get its economy back on track?

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

 China’s GDP growth plummeted to only 0.4% YoY in Q2 2022, the worse performance after Q1 2020 when the first wave of COVID-19 hit Wuhan. Apart fro...

Re-revisiting The European Union’s energy crisis

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Europe’s energy system faces unprecedented physical and institutional stress. Jeromin Zettelmeyer sits down with Simone Tagliapietra and Georg Zachm...

Autumn 2022 economic outlook: a new chapter

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jeromin Zettelmeyer starts his mandate as Bruegel Director on 1 September 2022. What made him move to Brussels? What does he have to say about the cu...

Lessons from the rise in self-employment

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Independent work, self-employment and the gig economy have been evolving in the past decade, changing our understanding of traditional employment. How...

China’s tales of the future

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Narratives of the future play an important role in shaping our reality. Depending on the point of view from which they are crafted, they can describe ...

Artificial intelligence and job quality

27 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence and automation are increasing in role, and no industry is immune. From doctors to gig workers, advances in AI are becoming a k...

Securing the supply of semiconductors to Europe

20 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Drawing lessons from the ongoing shortages in chip supply, the United States, China and the European Union are adopting industrial policies to secure ...

Revisiting Europe’s energy independence

14 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With the winter on the horizon, it is more important than ever for Europe to be independent in energy. Russian gas cuts, sanctions and embargoes have ...

How has the pandemic affected the BRI?

06 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Since its announcement in 2013, BRI has only grown in economic and political relevance. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns,...

A decade of economic policy

30 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As his time as Bruegel Director comes to an end, Guntram Wolff sits down with Giuseppe Porcaro to discuss the highs, lows and shifts of economic polic...

Understanding Sri Lanka's current crisis

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sri Lanka is experiencing an episode of political and economic instability the country has not seen since the civil war. The growing anti-government s...

Growth for good?

15 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Guntram Wolff invites Bruegel veteran Alessio Terzi to talk about his recently published book ‘Growth for good’, which lays out an agenda to enro...

War in Ukraine: Ukraine's place in the EU

14 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the Sound of Economics Live, Bruegel Director Guntram Wolff hosts Ľubica Karvašová (Prime Minister’s office Slovakia), Alexand...

Is China bailing Russia out?

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alexander Gabuev joins Bruegel’s Giuseppe Porcaro and Alicia García-Herrero to discuss China’s ambiguous stance towards Russia’s invasion of U...

An embargo on (most) Russian oil

31 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

European leaders have finally agreed on a Russian oil embargo. What are the implications? How long will it take to enforce and what should be the next...

Taming inflation?

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The latest economic forecasts published by the European Commission as well as IMF show low growth and high inflation. Maria Demertzis is joined by Gré...

Job quality is about more than working conditions

19 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

People spend a significant portion of their lives at work; job thus has a huge impact on a person’s well-being. This week on The Sound of Economics,...

The cost of China's dynamic zero-COVID policy

11 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Chinese government is determined to continue its Zero-COVID policies, but at what cost? Dialling in from Beijing, Jörg Wuttke, President of the E...

Global trade Down Under

04 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bruegel’s Giuseppe Porcaro and André Sapir sit down with Tim Yeend, Associate Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia. ...

War in Ukraine: What is the effect on Central and Eastern Europe?

26 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...