The mirage of cheaper labor
In their quest for competitiveness many countries are fixated on cutting the cost of labor, in particular by reducing social-insurance contributions. But it that the right solution?
Electricity tariffs: why the bill is so high
For a long time the price of CO2 permits stayed very low. But, starting in 2019, the reform to Europe’s carbon market mechanism has drastically reduced the number of permits in circulation.
R&D: Europe’s knowledge economy in trouble
In March 2000, at a summit meeting in Lisbon, European Union countries agreed on an ambitious objective: to make the EU, by 2010, “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”.
