Productivity and competitiveness in the euro area: A view from France (VOX)



The politics of CEOs (VOX)


Alma Cohen, Moshe Hazan, Roberto Tallarita, David Weiss

Trade wars may ‘bloc up’ world trade (VOX)

Against the backdrop of new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and retaliation from targeted countries, notably China, the trade wars of the 1930s have received renewed attention. This column argues that they mainly served to intensify a pre-existing trend towards the formation of trade blocs. The trade wars of the present day may therefore serve a similar purpose as those in the 1930s, that is, the intensification of China- and US-centric trade blocs.

David Jacks, Dennis Novy

Acknowledging and pricing macroeconomic uncertainties (VOX)


Lars Peter Hansen, Thomas Sargent

Paid family leave and breastfeeding: Evidence from California (VOX)

Mothers in the US breastfeed their infants at higher rates today than at any point in documented history, but low-income mothers have become less likely to do so. A leading reason for mothers to stop breastfeeding is the need to return to work. This column uses data on over 270,000 mother-child pairs in California, which implemented paid family leave in 2004, to examine the relationship between paid family leave and breastfeeding. It finds that paid family leave significantly increases overall breastfeeding duration, suggesting that paid family leave may lead to longer-term health improvements for children and mothers, particularly among disadvantaged families.

Jessica Pac, Ann P. Bartel, Christopher J. Ruhm, Jane Waldfogel

How privatisation impacts workers: Evidence from Brazil (VOX)

In the early days of his administration, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced plans to privatise several of the country’s largest state-owned enterprises and airports. Fearing such a move would lower both wages and employment, labour unions organised in opposition to Bolsonaro’s plans. This column looks anew at evidence testing whether privatisation offers more than merely an immediate infusion of revenue, and finds that while increases in efficiency might contribute to Brazil’s overall economic growth, privatisation could also expose the country’s most vulnerable workers to significant risk of decreased wages.

David Arnold

Willing to pay for security: Gig workers, freelancers, and the self-employed want steady jobs (VOX)

Is the rise of ‘atypical’ work arrangements – such as self-employment, freelancing, gig work and zero-hour contracts – a result of workers wanting such jobs or because they have no other choice? This column reports evidence from the UK and the US that while atypical workers may like flexibility, they would prefer a steady job. Indeed, workers would agree to earn less in order to increase their employment security.

Nikhil Datta

Walmart Supercenters fight food insecurity (VOX)

Modern money theory and its implementation and challenges: The case of Japan (VOX)


Sayuri Shirai