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Economy


Social Europe is an award-winning digital media publisher. We use the values of freedom, sustainability and equality as the foundation on which we examine society’s most pressing challenges. We are committed to publishing cutting-edge thinking and new ideas from the most thought-provoking people. This archive page brings together Social Europe articles on the economy.

The beginning of a new globalisation

Branko Milanovic 21st February 2022 1 Comment

This time, Branko Milanovic writes, it is labour—not capital—which will be globalised.

Germany on the way to adequate minimum wages

Thorsten Schulten 8th February 2022

The hike to €12 is also a strong signal on the planned European minimum-wages directive.

‘They’re taking our jobs’—really?

Piero Esposito, Stefan Collignon and Sergio Scicchitano 7th February 2022

It is widely believed that migrants have displaced indigenous workers—but it’s false.

The Metaverse is a labour issue

Valerio De Stefano, Antonio Aloisi and Nicola Countouris 1st February 2022

The Metaverse has been talked about only in terms of gee-whiz technologies.

Inflation: raising rates is not the answer

Jens van 't Klooster and Hielke Van Doorslaer 27th January 2022

As inflation has re-emerged, so have calls for general monetary tightening.

Cutting workplace accidents and diseases to zero

Claes-Mikael Ståhl 27th January 2022

The pandemic has focused attention on health and safety. But workers were already dying just trying to make a living.

The price increases that matter for the poor

Jayati Ghosh 18th January 2022

Rich-country governments are not adequately addressing the causes of food-price inflation—the world’s poor continue to suffer as a result.

Amazon and the power of big digital platforms

Dario Guarascio, Andrea Coveri, Claudio Cozza and 2 more 17th January 2022

Platform power is often traced to markets, implying anti-trust action. The source, and the solution, lie elsewhere.

First collective agreement for platform workers in Spain

Luz Rodríguez 13th January 2022

The agreement follows a critical Supreme Court judgment and the ‘riders’ law’ deriving from social dialogue.

Not only a vaccine waiver: WTO reform is urgent

Ugo Pagano 11th January 2022

‘Intellectual property rights’ as the foundation of ‘free’ markets is a notion difficult, intellectually, to sustain.

Learning accounts—filling the training gaps

David Kunst 10th January 2022

Individual learning accounts can make the right to training tangible for all but EU member states will need to raise their commitment.

Spain’s labour reform: less transience, more balance

Ane Aranguiz 6th January 2022

While still subject to political negotiations, the labour-market reform agreed by Spain’s social partners should bring more security.

Higher public debt = lower growth?

Philipp Heimberger 4th January 2022

The pandemic-induced crisis has seen fiscal policy relaxed. Ill-evidenced orthodoxy must not be allowed to reinstate austerity.

Digitalisation and telework—the ‘new normal’?

Rolf Schmucker 23rd December 2021

New working arrangements could hold out more self-determination for workers. Too often they have meant more stress.

The ECB needs a better narrative

Peter Bofinger 20th December 2021

Giving the public impression that inflation is ‘too low’, Peter Bofinger writes, is not a good look for the bank.

EU strategic autonomy must mean fairer trade

Claes-Mikael Ståhl 16th December 2021

If ‘strategic autonomy’ is to define the EU’s relation to the world, linked trade deals must not mean dependence for workers.

The dark side of the logistics boom

Dorien Frans and Nadja Dörflinger 16th December 2021

Online shopping is simple and convenient for customers. But the logistics workforce may pay the price.

Will European recovery ever be co-determined by social actors?

Bart Vanhercke and Amy Verdun 14th December 2021

The EU’s plan for recovery offered an opportunity for meaningful involvement of social actors. The outcome? Patchy.

A better deal for the world’s workers

Dani Rodrik 14th December 2021

Boosting earnings and the dignity of work requires strengthening bargaining power and supplying good jobs to those who most need them.

European Commission takes the lead in regulating platform work

Valerio De Stefano and Antonio Aloisi 9th December 2021

The draft directive published today is already breaking the united front of the platform companies.

EU borrowing—time to think of the generation after next

Rebecca Christie, Grégory Claeys and Pauline Weil 9th December 2021

Financing post-pandemic recovery via EU borrowing has proved remarkably straightforward. So why keep it temporary?

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Towards a new Minimum Wage Policy in Germany and Europe: WSI minimum wage report 2022

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