Publications

Digital Trade in Africa: A Research Agenda

 and | 20 April 2026
Trade, Books | Tags: Africa, Digital Economy, Digital Trade, Services Trade
Africa’s digital economy is poised for significant growth, driven by initiatives like the recently adopted Digital Trade Protocol under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to reduce trade barriers and enhance regional integration. ... continue reading

Japan Shifts to a New Fiscal Anchor

 | 15 April 2026
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Debt, Fiscal Rules, Japan
Japan is redefining the framework that anchors its public finances. Following the belated approval of the 2026 financial year budget, attention will turn to the Sanae Takaichi administration’s shift from a single-year primary balance target towards a medium-term approach centred on stabilising the debt-to-gross domestic product ratio. ... continue reading

How Can Ministries of Finance Support the Low-Carbon Transition Through Coherent ‘Policy Packages’?

 | 13 April 2026
Fiscal, Monetary, Blog | Tags: Carbon Pricing, Energy, Industrial Policy, Policy Coherence, Tax Expenditures
The transition towards greener and more resilient economies is one of the defining economic opportunities of our time. From growth and innovation to enhanced competitiveness and long-term savings, the potential gains are substantial. ... continue reading

Insurance Protection for Climate-Resilient Progress

 | 27 March 2026
Fiscal, Monetary, Commentary | Tags: Climate Risks, Insurance, Vietnam
This op-ed was first published in the Vietnam Investment Review. The World Bank has estimated that about $300 billion of the country’s commercial and industrial assets are vulnerable to climate-related disasters. Patrick Lenain, senior associate at the Council on Economic Policies, looks at the gaps ... continue reading

Fortifying the Role of Finance After Indonesia’s Floods

 and | 14 March 2026
Monetary, Commentary | Tags: Climate Risks, Financial Stability, Governing Finance, Indonesia, Macroprudential Policy
The floods are a stark reminder that finance is never neutral. When well governed, it can absorb shocks, speed reconstruction and strengthen resilience. When misaligned, it can amplify fragilities and lock in future risks. ... continue reading

Upgrading Housing: the Potential and Limits of Borrower-Based Measures

 , , , , and | 3 March 2026
Monetary, Discussion Notes | Tags: Credit Risk, Energy, Financial Stability, Housing, Macroprudential Policy
This paper explores how borrower-based measures (BBMs) can be adjusted to provide additional funding for housing-related energy-efficiency investments without compromising financial stability objectives. ... continue reading

Governing Tax Expenditures: Lessons from Four Advanced and Emerging Market Economies

 , and | 2 March 2026
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Brazil, Domestic Revenue Mobilization, France, India, Tax Expenditures, United Kingdom
This blog builds on four Tax Expenditures Country Reports published within the series hosted by CEP and IDOS, and shows how Brazil, France, India, and the United Kingdom govern tax expenditures across three critical dimensions: benchmark definition, reporting, and evaluation. ... continue reading

The Macroprudential Response to Climate Systemic Risk: Four Essential Pillars

 , , and | 26 February 2026
Monetary, Policy Briefs | Tags: Climate Risks, Financial Stability, Macroprudential Policy, Portugal, Systemic Risks
While existing macroprudential policy toolkits can already be deployed to address climate-related systemic risk, their implementation shall account for the data available to assess climate-related risks, the state of knowledge about them, and the institutional frameworks in which macroprudential instruments operate. ... continue reading

How Ministries of Finance can Support Coherent Climate Policy Packages

 | 26 February 2026
Fiscal, Discussion Notes | Tags: Carbon Pricing, Decarbonization, Energy, Industrial Policy, Innovation, Policy Coherence, Tax Expenditures
The success of the low-carbon transition will depend less on isolated climate measures than on the ability of governments to design and sustain coherent policy packages that align fiscal, energy, and industrial objectives. ... continue reading

Confronting Climate Change in the Philippines: Building Resilience while Cutting Emissions

 | 13 February 2026
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Carbon Pricing, Climate Risks, Energy, Renewables, The Philippines
Climate change is not a distant threat for the Philippines. Preparing for a warmer and more volatile future will require building on past progress in investing into climate change adaptation, combined with carbon pricing and cleaner power generation. ... continue reading

Scale and Oversight of Tax Expenditures in Ireland

 and | 10 February 2026
Fiscal, Testimonies | Tags: Ireland, Parliaments, Tax Expenditures
Tax expenditures are introduced to promote investment, employment, welfare policy objectives, or environmental goals, among others. Yet systematic evaluations remain rare ... ... continue reading

Services Trade under the WTO

 | 31 January 2026
Trade, Research Papers | Tags: Services Trade, Trade Governance, WTO
The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is one of the four pillars of the World Trade Organization (WTO), established in 1995. Although services have always been traded, they were considered non-tradable both by policy makers and by scholars at the time. ... continue reading

Industrial Policy: ‘Europe Can No Longer Afford the Inefficiency of a National Patchwork’

 and | 30 January 2026
Fiscal, Commentary | Tags: Competition, Decarbonization, Europe, Fiscal Space, Industrial Policy
Faced with American and Chinese competition, Europe must undertake a radical shift: move from a mosaic of national subsidies to a unified and more intelligent industrial policy, argue Patrick Lenain and Rens van Tilburg.  ... continue reading

Who is Afraid of AI? Who Should Be?

 , , , , , , , , , and | 26 January 2026
Trade, Policy Briefs | Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Employment, Innovation
What are the consequences of the rise in AI for workers? Will AI create or destroy jobs? Conceptually, AI can both substitute for and complement human labour. ... continue reading

Direction Ahead for Low-Carbon Development Finance in Vietnam

 | 15 January 2026
Fiscal, Monetary, Commentary | Tags: Economic Growth, Energy, Governing Finance, Industrial Policy, Vietnam
Climate finance is featured prominently in international climate negotiations, and a number of countries have published climate finance strategies outlining investment needs for mitigation and adaptation. Yet a narrow focus on climate finance risks missing the point. ... continue reading
Show More