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on European Economics |
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Issue of 2024–12–23
ten papers chosen by Simon Sosvilla-Rivero, Instituto Complutense de Análisis Económico |
| By: | Eichhorst, Werner (IZA); Krause-Pilatus, Annabelle (IZA); Dolls, Mathias (Ifo Institute for Economic Research); Lay, Max (Ifo Institute for Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the crisis resilience of European welfare states. We analyse the capacity of social policy arrangements to contain poverty and inequality and avoid exclusion before, during and after periods of economic shocks. To achieve this goal, the paper takes a broad perspective to include different layers of protective arrangements, notably upstream systems such as unemployment insurance (UI), job retention and employment protection that are complemented by minimum income support (MIS) schemes. Together, these multiple layers play a crucial role in providing income and job protection in situations of crisis. In that respect we also distinguish systematically between regular/permanent policies (automatic stabilisers) and discretionary, typically temporary crisis response measures. We use a mixed-method approach that combines quantitative and qualitative research, such as descriptive and multivariate quantitative analyses and microsimulation methods based on EUROMOD. This is combined with in-depth case studies covering a sample of five countries that represent different welfare state types (Nordic, Continental, Mediterranean, Liberal and Central/East European) so that we can show the complex mechanisms of multi-layered protection at work and how the policies in place have evolved over time in response to crisis episodes, disentangling the role of automatic stabilisers and discretionary elements. Our observation period ranges from the mid-2000s to the early 2020s and allows us to cover both the Great Recession of 2008/09 and its aftermath as well as the Covid-19 pandemic. We find consistent differences in terms of crisis resilience across countries and welfare state types. In general, Nordic and Continental European welfare states with strong upstream systems and minimum income support show better outcomes in core socio-economic outcomes such as poverty and exclusion risks. However, labour market integration shows some dualisms in Continental Europe. The study shows that minimum income support holds particular importance if there are gaps in upstream systems or cases of severe and lasting crises. |
| Keywords: | minimum income support, crisis resilience, unemployment insurance, job retention, welfare states |
| JEL: | J65 J68 I38 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17463 |
| By: | KATTEL Rainer; SOETE Luc |
| Abstract: | European policymakers face difficult trade-offs when aiming to increase economic growth and industrial competitiveness, stepping up efforts in green and digital economies, and coming to terms with new security realities requiring increased investments. As European and several national elections in 2024 have shown, this is not an easy circle to square. This paper makes an argument for the European Union to develop a coherent and overarching approach to security investments aligned with the current green and digital agendas and based on a broadening of two of Europe’s unique, long-standing policy frameworks. The first is the area of research and innovation policy, where the nature of the multi-level governance between the EU and its Member States has been one of “shared parallel competence”, implying that EU Member States can carry out national science and research policies in parallel to the EU. This institutional set-up offers the opportunity to broaden, in a relatively straightforward way, the current European Research and Innovation Area (ERA) into a European Defence Research and Innovation Area (EDRIA). The second framework is the EU’s regional, so-called cohesion policy, which could be described as Europe’s “secret” weapon. The integration of security issues into European regional policies represents, in the current insecure international geo-political environment, a logical, new expression of intra-regional European solidarity, and offers the opportunity to enlarge current cohesion policy towards a European territorial security policy. |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc139401 |
| By: | RODRÍGUEZ-POSE Andrés; DIJKSTRA Lewis (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | The European Union (EU) is at a critical juncture as it grapples with a series of structural challenges that have eroded its global competitiveness. While the EU remains an economic leader, the relative decline in its global standing, exacerbated by increasing within-country polarisation and stagnation in many regions, has raised concerns about its long-term economic prosperity and political stability. We argue that improving European competitiveness cannot be achieved without enhancing cohesion across the EU. Economic, social, and territorial inequality, particularly in regions caught in development traps, undermine the Union’s economic potential and its capacity to deliver on other fronts, such as the green and digital transitions or the functioning of the Single Market. Cohesion also contributes to economic prosperity by increasing involvement in the European project and stemming the rise of Euroscepticism. Addressing inequalities through a reformed cohesion policy is, therefore, necessary for the EU to regain its competitive edge and maintain unity in the face of global challenges. |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc139556 |
| By: | MCCANN Philip; JANSSEN Matthijs; STIERNA Johan (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | Mission-oriented innovation policies, as adopted by the European Union and several member states, tie top-down prioritization of societal problems to bottom-up problem-solving capacities. A critical challenge is to create resonance between (supra)national missions and the daily reality of field-level actors located in strong or weak regions with different problems, capabilities and institutions. Possibilities for synchronising those two worlds depend on how actors perceive risk and uncertainty, and on how these reframe the salience, credibility and legitimacy of missions. We conceptualise ‘local missions’ as both embedded in and re-scoping overarching missions, and discuss possibilities to support them through EU Cohesion policy. |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc139535 |
| By: | RANEA PALMA Angela (European Commission - JRC); GONZALEZ TORRES Maria (European Commission - JRC); PEREZ ARRIBAS Zahara (European Commission - JRC); DONATELLO Shane (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | Public administrations have a duty to promote sustainability policies and also to lead by example, serving as a reference point for the private sector and society in general, by committing to its fulfilment. In this sense, EU GPP criteria are a very valuable voluntary instrument, which allows the different institutions to use public money in an environmentally friendly way. In 2020, the Commission initiated the revision of the EU GPP criteria for the building sector in an ambitious context, with the European Green Deal calling for a transition to a circular and sustainable economy, as well as a climate-neutral Europe. The building sector, due to its high environmental impact, is key to achieve a circular and sustainable economy, as well as the decarbonisation of Europe and should not miss the opportunity to design buildings with less impact over their life cycle. The aim of this revision is to update the criteria for office buildings and to expand the scope to also include educational buildings and social housing. The process has kept into consideration the coherence with existing and upcoming legislation and policy tools, bearing in mind the alignment with Level(s). Market and technical analyses of current trends show significant room for improvement, especially in terms of reskilling the sector, increasing awareness and reducing environmental impact by promoting passive features, renewable sources, circularity and occupants’ conservative behaviours. In light of the already observable effects of climate change on the environment and how it affects the buildings in which we live and work, designing for adaptation to extreme weather events becomes a must. The set of EU GPP criteria proposals aim to consider the European context which is highly diverse in terms of building practices, encompassing climate, culture, social and economic factors. It strives to be ambitious, versatile, easy to implement and simple in its application. Moreover, the synergies between the different criteria make this voluntary instrument an even more powerful weapon to make the building sector more sustainable, of course taking into account the necessary trade-offs. |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc138891 |
| By: | DE PRATO Giuditta (European Commission - JRC); CALZA Elisa (European Commission - JRC); FABIANI Josefina (European Commission - JRC); SOGUERO ESCUER Jorge (European Commission - JRC); VAZQUEZ-PRADA BAILLET Miguel (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | This Science for Policy Brief (SfP Brief) presents the Digital Techno-Economic ecoSystem (DGTES) methodological approach developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) for mapping the digital ecosystem and provide original analytical insights to enhance EU competitiveness and economic security. DGTES analyses digital and industrial transformations across 15 Digital Areas (DAs) like AI, quantum technologies, and 5G. Since DGTES can serve to study different topics or critical technologies to address policy-relevant questions, this SfP Brief we apply the DGTES methodology to assess investment flows from 2009 to 2023, including EU funds and venture capital. This work underscores substantial EU investments in cloud computing, AI, 5G, and robotics, and illustrates its application with the hypothetical "Artificial EU" firm case study. |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc139065 |
| By: | ROGGE Karoline; KIVIMAA Paula |
| Abstract: | With this concept paper we aim to stimulate discussions on how the new policy objective of open strategic autonomy (OSA) should be fitted together with the existing objective of achieving just sustainability transitions (ST) – and what the practical means are to pursue these dual policy objectives more effectively together. Both OSA and ST are vital for the future of Europe and require profound and rapid structural changes. Hence, recognising synergies and trade-offs between the two and seeking ways to align them is important. We do so by drawing both from academic literature and recent EU policy developments to examine these objectives and their interconnections. We start by introducing the conceptualisation and challenges around OSA and related terms, followed by explaining policy mix thinking in transition studies and recent attention to policy intervention points and transformative outcomes. We then deliberate how OSA should be addressed in the context of public policy influencing ST by integrating it as an additional policy objective into the transition policy mix – a mix that requires coordination across multiple policy fields. We discuss how security policy, green industrial policy and trade policy generate connections between ST and OSA. |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc139504 |
| By: | FARACA Giorgia (European Commission - JRC); RANEA PALMA Angela (European Commission - JRC); SPILIOTOPOULOS Christoforos (European Commission - JRC); RODRIGUEZ MANOTAS Judit (European Commission - JRC); SANYE MENGUAL Esther (European Commission - JRC); AMADEI Andrea Martino; MAURY Thibaut (European Commission - JRC); PASQUALINO Roberto (European Commission - JRC); WIERZGALA Piotr; PEREZ CAMACHO M Nati (European Commission - JRC); ALFIERI Felice (European Commission - JRC); BERNAD BELTRAN David (European Commission - JRC); LAG BROTONS Alfonso (European Commission - JRC); DELRE Antonio (European Commission - JRC); PEREZ ARRIBAS Zahara (European Commission - JRC); ARCIPOWSKA Aleksandra (European Commission - JRC); LA PLACA Maria Grazia (European Commission - JRC); ARDENTE Fulvio (European Commission - JRC); MATHIEUX Fabrice (European Commission - JRC); WOLF Oliver (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) recently entered into force with the aim of making sustainable products the norm. In this report, the relevance of a number of product groups and horizontal requirements for potential action under ESPR was evaluated on the basis of several parameters: environmental impacts and improvement potential, market relevance, policy coverage in the EU, cost reflections, and contribution towards an EU Open Strategic Autonomy. As a result of the analysis, eleven final products (Textiles and footwear, Furniture, Tyres, Bed mattresses, Detergents, Paints and varnishes, Lubricants, Cosmetics, Toys, Fishing gears, Absorbent hygiene products), seven intermediate products (Iron and steel, Commodity chemicals, Non-ferrous, non-aluminium metal products, Aluminium, Plastic and polymers, Pulp and paper, Glass) and three horizontal requirements (Durability, Recyclability, Recycled content) are identified as potential priorities for the next steps of preparation of the first ESPR Working Plan. This report represents the JRC’s final analysis of new product priorities for the ESPR. However, the results illustrated are not final decisions: they do not bind the Commission, and are without prejudice to what may ultimately be prioritised for first action under ESPR, included in the first ESPR Working Plan, or undertaken under other EU policy frameworks. |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc138903 |
| By: | Conteduca, Francesco Paolo; Giglioli, Simona; Giordano, Claire; Mancini, Michele; Panon, Ludovic |
| Abstract: | In this work, we analyse the most recent shifts in trade patterns amid increasing ge-oeconomic fragmentation. We document five facts about the recent reconfiguration of global, US and EU trade flows. First, a broad retreat from globalization is not tak-ing place. Second, selective decoupling along geopolitical lines is ongoing, and is driven mostly by the weakening of specific trade relationships. Third, while the US dependency on China has been dropping since 2018, for the EU a decline is visible only in 2023, largely driven by few advanced technology products. Fourth, not all dependencies from China are diminishing. US and EU import shares of selected Chinese goods critical for the green transition have indeed even increased. Fifth, US supply chains from China are lengthening, at least for some production lines, as Chinese products increasingly flow through third countries to reach the US market; for the EU it is too early to tell. In general, micro data for Italy indicate that reduc-tions in dependencies from China may be less significant than those emerging from aggregate data, as some EU hubs are increasingly exporting products originated in China to other EU partners such as Italy. |
| Keywords: | Trade fragmentation; Global Value Chains; Trade policy; International Trade |
| JEL: | F10 F14 |
| Date: | 2024–10–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:122657 |
| By: | WOOLFORD Jayne (European Commission - JRC); BACHTROEGLER-UNGER Julia; BURTON Anna; LALANNE Marie (European Commission - JRC); GULDA Krzysztof |
| Abstract: | This research quantifies the extent to which the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) supported the provision of education and training relevant to the needs of territories and their smart specialisation (S3) domains in the 2014-2020 programming period. |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc139680 |