Member states’ EU ambassadors today agreed on the Council’s partial negotiating mandate on the proposed Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP). The platform will support investments in critical technologies in the fields of digital and deep tech, clean tech and biotech in the EU. It will reduce the EU’s strategic dependencies and enhance its long-term competitiveness. The Council’s negotiating mandate is partial, because its position on additional financial support for STEP will depend on the final outcome of the horizontal negotiations...

Read more

Cheaper cross-border payment services would benefit people and economies worldwide Kieran Murphy January 3, 2024 Faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border payment services have the potential to improve many lives by supporting economic growth, international trade, global development, and financial inclusion. The Group of Twenty has prioritized such progress. That’s because the financial links between countries, particularly between emerging market and developing economies, face several challenges that must be addressed, including high costs and inconsistent charges depending on the countries being linked, as we explore...

Read more

Inflation in the eastern euro area: reasons and risks 10 January 2024 By Matteo Falagiarda Within the euro area, countries in central and eastern Europe have recently experienced the highest inflation rates. But why, exactly? The ECB Blog looks at the reasons for these higher prices and highlights the resulting risks and vulnerabilities. Since 2021 inflation in euro area countries in central and eastern Europe (EACEE) has significantly outpaced that of the euro area as a whole. The differentials have narrowed in recent months...

Read more

New experimental statistics on distribution of household wealth in euro area provide quarterly information to policy makers, in line with national accounts First new data show that household net wealth in euro area increased by 29% over last five years, with homeowners’ net wealth increasing more than that of non-homeowners Inequality, as measured for example by share of wealth held by top 5% versus bottom 50%, decreased slightly over past five years The European Central Bank (ECB) has today...

Read more

ECB Blog post |  Catastrophes caused by climate change, such as rising sea levels or more frequent extreme weather events, will harm our economies. And this will put a strain on the finances of people, companies and governments alike. Because of the risks to individual banks, banking supervisors have already taken steps to enhance how banks identify, assess and manage these institution-specific risks. Such supervisory measures are necessary steps focusing on the risks that climate change may pose to individual...

Read more

Beginning in the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution ushered in a series of innovations that transformed society. We may be in the early stages of a new technological era—the age of generative artificial intelligence (AI)—that could unleash change on a similar scale. History, of course, is filled with examples of technologies that left their mark, from the printing press and electricity to the internal combustion engine and the internet. Often, it took years—if not decades—to comprehend the impact of these...

Read more

IMF Blog post |  Policymakers need fuller view of consequences of illicit flows, including tallies of the fiscal, monetary, financial, and structural costs. The fight against financial crime isn’t lost, but the world needs to do more to limit the economic impact of crime. Money laundering is a necessary component of the organized crime that too frequently spans borders, skirts taxes, funds terrorism and corrupts officials—and it comes with hefty macroeconomic costs. Bad actors are also embracing new technologies on top...

Read more

High energy prices triggered by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine prompted governments to reduce excise taxes during 2022, leading to lower tax levels in many countries, according to new OECD analysis. Revenue Statistics 2023 shows that the average tax-to-GDP ratio in the OECD fell by 0.15 percentage points (p.p.) in 2022, to 34.0%. This was only the third such decline since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008-09: the level fell by 0.6 p.p. in 2017 and by 0.1 p.p....

Read more

IMF Blog post |  Ensuring a lower-carbon future is not only necessary but also good for the economy, according to the latest climate scenarios from the Network for Greening the Financial System, a group of 127 central banks and financial supervisors working to manage climate risks and boost green investment. The NGFS data come as world leaders gather in Dubai for the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28, to forge agreement on how to keep the planet from overheating. As the Chart of the...

Read more