Publications

Social Tax Expenditures: The Case of Quebec

 , , and | 5 October 2021
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Social Protection, Tax Expenditures
While the world is weathering the COVID-19 storm, the role of sound social protection systems has become even more crucial. Designing social protection expenditures that are fit for purpose and that contribute to coming back stronger while leaving no one behind is imperative. Public intervention ... continue reading

Digital Trade: Top Trade Negotiation Priorities for Cross-Border Data Flows and Online Trade in Services

 , , , , and | 16 September 2021
Trade, Policy Briefs | Tags: Digitalization, Services Trade, WTO
This policy brief sets out recommendations to achieve a new multilateral framework of trade rules in the digital arena, thereby facilitating continued digital transformation of services and growth in cross-border flows of data. The present moment is critical. Successful conclusion of World Trade Organization (WTO) ... continue reading

Tax Expenditures—The $1.5 Trillion Elephant in the (Budget) Room

 and | 16 September 2021
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Income Tax, Inequality, Tax Expenditures
The Biden administration FY 2022 Budget proposal includes $2.4 trillion of additional revenue over the next 10 years. Higher tax rates on high-income individuals and corporations account for $990 billion. At the same time, the budget proposes $1.35 trillion of new tax expenditures from exemptions, ... continue reading

Is Artificial Intelligence Coming for Your Job?

 and | 13 July 2021
Trade, Blog | Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Employment, Innovation
Artificial intelligence (AI) potentially generates big changes to the way we live and work. In a recent study we simulate the uptake of AI-enabled automation software in engineering and manufacturing. It shows an S-shaped adoption path – slow at the beginning and accelerating as a ... continue reading

Get My Tax Base if You Can

 | 25 June 2021
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Developing Countries, Minimum Tax Rate, Tax Competition
The headlines from the G7 summit in Cornwall might suggest that the groundwork has just been laid for the most fundamental overhaul of the international tax regime in decades. The twin proposal accords additional taxing rights to states with large consumer markets and introduces a ... continue reading

Press Release: New Global Tax Expenditures Database by CEP and DIE: Shedding Light on Hidden Government Spending

 | 16 June 2021
Press Releases | Tags: Tax Expenditures, Tax Incentives, Tax Reform
The Council on Economic Policies (CEP) and the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) today launch the Global Tax Expenditures Database (GTED). The database went live today at www.GTED.net and will be officially launched at 15.00 CEST with an online conference featuring ... continue reading

ECB and Climate Change: The Direction is Clear – But Ambition and Speed are Lacking

 | 7 June 2021
Monetary, Blog | Tags: Central Banks, Monetary Policy Operations, Sustainability
All public institutions urgently need to address the colossal challenges posed by climate change. Central banks are no exception, and their representatives are well aware of this. Jens Weidmann, President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, for example, is convinced "that we can all do more to mitigate ... continue reading

Systemic Risk Buffers – The Missing Piece in the Prudential Response to Climate Risks

 | 1 June 2021
Monetary, Policy Briefs | Tags: Climate Risk, European Systemic Risk Board, Macroprudential Regulation, Systemic Risks
Climate-related financial risks can potentially destabilize the financial sector. This fact is acknowledged by the major international financial bodies – the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – as well as by the Central Banks and ... continue reading

Services Trade and the Gender Wage Gap: The Case of India

 and | 31 May 2021
Trade, Blog | Tags: India, Inequality, Services Trade, Wage Gap
India’s female labour force participation rate is less than half of the global average and the gender wage gap is substantial. With higher tertiary graduation rates and excelling in frontier skills for the future, women constitute a talent pool that India can ill afford to ... continue reading

Governing Finance – The Case for a New Playbook

 and | 7 April 2021
Monetary, Blog | Tags: Central Banks, Climate Change, Digital Finance, Employment, Financial Supervision, Governing Finance, Inequality, Sustainability
Finance impacts all aspects of our lives, from our economies to social cohesion to the ecological systems we depend on for our very survival. As a result, the implications of how we govern finance are fundamental, and ultimately existential. Yet, alarmingly, we are not talking ... continue reading

Governing Finance for Sustainable Prosperity

 and | 7 April 2021
Monetary, Discussion Notes | Tags: Central Banks, Climate Change, Digital Finance, Employment, Financial Supervision, Governing Finance, Inequality, Sustainability
Finance impacts all aspects of our lives, from our economies to social cohesion to the ecological systems we depend on for our very survival. As a result, the implications of how we choose to govern finance are fundamental, and ultimately existential. Whether we succeed in improving ... continue reading

Assessing Pension-Related Tax Expenditures in South Africa

 and | 6 April 2021
Fiscal, Research Papers | Tags: Inequality, Pensions, South Africa, Tax Expenditures
In 2016, the South African government introduced a comprehensive reform to simplify and harmonize the pension system in order to incentivize pension savings and increase the fairness of the retirement system. Using administrative tax micro-data, we assess the impact of the 2016 reform and find that it triggered ... continue reading

“If Something Cannot Go on Forever, It Will Stop“

 | 1 April 2021
Fiscal, Monetary, Policy Briefs | Tags: Covid-19, Debt, Democracy, Environment, Financial Stability, Health Systems, Inequality, International Cooperation, Resilience
“If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” This famous observation was made by Herb Stein, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. It became famous largely because it was just that, obvious. Yet, what is no less obvious is that public policy is ... continue reading

Trade in Environmental Services: The Quiet Revolution

 and | 29 March 2021
Trade, Blog | Tags: Environment, Services Trade, Sustainable Development
A significant number of WTO members have taken steps to revive the discussions on the role that traded environmental goods and services could play in a green recovery. This is encouraging. While technology offers significant opportunities for a green recovery, more needs to be done ... continue reading

Services Trade Governance in the Digital Economy

 | 26 March 2021
Trade, Policy Briefs | Tags: Digitalization, Services Trade, Trade Policy
Services are at the frontier of the transformation to a digital economy. R&D as well as information and communication technology drive the transformation and make services more tradable across borders. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) governing global services trade was designed in ... continue reading
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