Discussion Notes

Central Banks and the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy

| 22 March 2018
Monetary, Discussion Notes | Tags: Central Banks, Environment, Macroprudential Regulation, Quantitative Easing
Climate change is a fundamental challenge for our societies. Containing it will require a profound and radical transformation of our economic system, including a substantial reorientation of investments toward low-carbon technologies. The question to what extent central banks can and should contribute to this effort ... continue reading

Monetary Policy, Macroprudential Regulation and Inequality

| 12 April 2017
Monetary, Discussion Notes | Tags: Inequality, Interest Rates, Macroprudential Policy
The 2008 global financial crisis profoundly changed the role of central banks in the economy. First, central banks engaged in strong expansionary monetary policy, using new unconventional tools to boost economic activity. Second, they were key to containing financial instability, which led them to implement ... continue reading

Inheritance Taxation, Corporate Succession and Sustainability

| 6 March 2017
Fiscal, Discussion Notes | Tags: Inheritance Tax, SMEs, Tax Expenditures
Inheritance and estate tax rates are highly heterogeneous across countries. Indeed, the lack of a broadly accepted model of optimal inheritance taxation is reflected in statutory tax rates ranging from 0% in several countries including Australia, Canada and Sweden to 55% in Japan. ... continue reading

Tax Expenditures and Sustainability. An Overview

| 11 November 2016
Fiscal, Discussion Notes | Tags: Employment, Energy, Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Health, Housing, Inequality, Innovation, Patent Boxes, Pensions, Tax Expenditures, VAT
Fiscal policy has significant effects on a broad sustainability agenda covering long-term economic, social and environmental goals. However, whereas a myriad of actors scrutinize taxation as well as direct government spending with regard to their impact on sustainability, a key feature of fiscal policy has ... continue reading

Measuring and Understanding Trade in Service Tasks

, and | 24 May 2016
Trade, Discussion Notes | Tags: Employment, Services Trade
Improvements in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have had differential impacts on the costs of offshoring service tasks. As a result, services with stronger tradability characteristics are at a higher risk of being offshored. This has increased the need for coming up with proper measures ... continue reading

Trade and Employment. An Overview

| 29 February 2016
Trade, Discussion Notes | Tags: Employment
The bulk of economic research on the impacts of trade has for a long time neglected aggregate effects on jobs. While research grants an important role of trade for employment, empirical studies often struggle to attribute employment outcomes to trade policies in the long run. ... continue reading

The Impact of Interest Rates on Electricity Production Costs

| 25 June 2015
Monetary, Discussion Notes | Tags: Energy, Interest Rates
Putting the economy on an environmentally sustainable path requires substantial investments in green energy technologies. Long-term interest rates play a crucial role for energy investments. Against this background, we study the impact of interest rates on the costs of producing electricity with different technologies, using ... continue reading

Services Trade and Employment

| 7 June 2015
Trade, Discussion Notes | Tags: Employment, Global Value Chains, Services Trade
Driven by spectacular technological advances and the emergence and intensification of global value chains, trade in services has been the most dynamic part of global trade over recent years. All regions of the world have witnessed growth in services trade, albeit at different paces. Europe ... continue reading

Monetary Policy and Sustainability. The Case of Bangladesh

and | 31 May 2015
Monetary, Discussion Notes | Tags: Employment, Energy, Financial Inclusion
Central banks have wide ranging effects on the economy and society as a whole. Their decisions on monetary policy and sustainability are closely intertwined. Nonetheless, the links between the mandates, objectives and instruments of central banks and a broad sustainability agenda are rarely reflected in ... continue reading