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Begin New Search Content Type Working Paper Publishing Institution Centre for European Policy Studies

1. Programming Brexit: How will the UK’s IT sector fare?

Author:
Mikkel Barslund and Matthias Busse
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The British economy has always been able to rely on a continuous inflow of high-skilled workers from the rest of the EU and the UK is currently home to over three million EU citizens and. As a result of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, however, the image of the UK in the eyes of foreign workers may have become tarnished. By using LinkedIn data, the authors of this study analyse the movements of IT professionals between the EU and the UK and thereby illustrate what is at stake for the UK, as exemplified by this particular ‘shortage sector’. LinkedIn data show that on an annual basis the UK gains over 6,000 IT experts more than it loses to the EU. Moreover, these mobile IT professionals tend to be much more qualified than domestic IT experts are. This reliance on the EU for IT recruitment – one in ten new hires comes from the EU – suggests that even if the UK is not aiming to restrict high-skilled immigration, curbing overall immigration could have unintended negative consequences for its capability to attract talented EU nationals in the future. The UK government should perhaps bear this in mind during negotiations with the EU27.
Topic:
Science and Technology and Brexit
Political Geography:
Europe

2. Tightening by Stealth: Why keeping the balance sheet of the Federal Reserve constant is equivalent to a gradual exit

Author:
Daniel Gros
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Exiting from unconventional monetary policies is now a key issue for central banks, and especially for the US Federal Reserve. This paper argues that the Fed already began this exit some time ago, and that the relevant part of its balance sheet has already shrunk by about one-quarter of GDP. Pursuing the current policy of reinvesting would lead to a full exit within ten years.
Topic:
International Affairs and Global Political Economy
Political Geography:
America

3. The Dutch Referendum on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement

Author:
Guillaume Van der Loo
Publication Date:
04-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
In an advisory referendum held in the Netherlands on April 6th, over 61% of the voters rejected the ratification of the Association Agreement (AA) between the EU and Ukraine. If the Dutch government were to act on the outcome of the referendum, which had a low turnout of 32%, an unprecedented situation would emerge in which an EU international agreement cannot enter into force because a member state is not in a position to ratify it. Although the political character of this referendum and the Dutch Advisory Referendum Act (DRA) and the geopolitical implications of the AA itself have already been the subject of heated discussions in the Netherlands and beyond, the legal implications of this referendum remain unclear.
Topic:
Diplomacy and Geopolitics
Political Geography:
Ukraine, Netherlands, and European Union

4. Framing Banking Union in the Euro Area: Some empirical evidence

Author:
Diego Valiante
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Evidence shows that financial integration in the euro area is retrenching at a quicker pace than outside the union. Home bias persists: Governments compete on funding costs by supporting 'their' banks with massive state aids, which distorts the playing field and feeds the risk-aversion loop. This situation intensifies friction in credit markets, thus hampering the transmission of monetary policies and, potentially, economic growth. This paper discusses the theoretical foundations of a banking union in a common currency area and the legal and economic aspects of EU responses. As a result, two remedies are proposed to deal with moral hazard in a common currency area: a common (unlimited) financial backstop to a privately funded recapitalisation/resolution fund and a blanket prohibition on state aids.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Europe

5. The Crowding-out Effect of Mandatory Labour Market Pension Schemes on Private Savings: Evidence from renters in Denmark

Author:
Mikkel Barslund and Søren Arnberg
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This paper aims to estimate the crowding-out effect of the Danish mandatory labour market pension reforms begun in 1993 on the level of total household savings for renters. The effect is identified via a large panel of individual administrative records utilising the differences in speed, timing and sectoral coverage of the implementation of the reform in the period 1997 to 2005. Little substitutability was found between current mandatory labour market pension savings and private voluntary savings. Each euro paid into mandatory labour market pension accounts results in a reduction in private savings of approximately 0 to 30 cents, depending on age. This low rate of substitution is only, to a minor extent, explained by liquidity constraints. The results point to mandatory pension savings having a large effect on total household savings. Thus, pension reforms that introduce mandatory savings have macroeconomic implications.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, and Reform
Political Geography:
Denmark

6. Future of Skills in Europe: Convergence or polarisation?

Author:
Miroslav Beblavý and Marcela Veselkova
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
In this Working Paper, based on nearly 20 papers produced by the Centre for European Policy Studies, Slovak Governance Institute and the Conference Board Europe, we examine whether the current trends in the areas of education and skills are pushing the European Union, towards convergence or polarisation. We cover a wide range of questions related to this main issue. No easy answers, but several cross-cutting messages emerged from the research. We demonstrated that there is increasing complexity in what a 'low-skilled' person is and how well (or poorly) s/he fares in the labour market. There are undoubtedly powerful forces pushing for more polarisation, particularly in the labour market. Our research confirmed that early childhood education plays an important role, and it also appears to be increasingly uncontested as a policy prescription. However, the other frequently emphasised remedy to inequality - less selection in secondary education, particularly later division of children into separate tracks - is more problematic. Its effectiveness depends on the country in question and the target group, while education systems are extremely difficult to shift even on a long-term basis. A different, more-nuanced type of warning to policy-makers is delivered in our research on returns to higher education by field of study, which showed hidden rationality in how students choose their major.
Topic:
Economics, Education, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Europe

7. The EU's Use of 'Targeted' Sanctions: Evaluating effectiveness

Author:
Clara Portela
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This study analyses the use by the European Union of the novel concept of 'targeted sanctions' in the framework of its Common Foreign and Security Policy. It examines two sets of sanctions regimes featuring different degrees of efficacy: in Myanmar and Zimbabwe, the EU wielded measures in support of human rights and democracy objectives in the absence of a United Nations mandate, while it supplemented UN sanctions to stop nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea. The study highlights a number of facilitators of, or hindrances to, the efficacy of sanctions, such as the degree of support by regional powers or the presence of UN legitimation. It concludes that the EU sanctions regimes could be optimised by using more robust measures, designing them on the basis of ex ante assessments, enabling faster upgrades, monitoring their impact and adjusting them regularly and improving outreach efforts.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Economics, Regional Cooperation, and Sanctions
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, United Nations, and Zimbabwe

8. The Potential Evolution of the European Energy System to 2020 and 2050

Author:
Arno Behrens, Jonas Teusch, and Caroline Coulie
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This paper assesses the impact of decarbonisation of the energy sector on employment in Europe. Setting the stage for such an assessment, the paper provides an analysis of possible pathways to decarbonise Europe's energy system, taking into account EU greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for 2020 and 2050. It pays particular attention to various low-carbon technologies that could be deployed in different regions of the EU. It concludes that efficiency and renewables play a major role in any decarbonisation scenario and that the power sector is the main enabler for the transition to a low-carbon economy in Europe, despite rising electricity demand. The extent of the decline in the share of fossil fuels will largely depend on the existence of carbon capture and storage (CCS), which remains a major source of uncertainty.
Topic:
Economics, Energy Policy, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Europe

9. Inflation-Targeting, Flexible Exchange Rates and Macroeconomic Performance since the Great Recession

Author:
Thomas Barnebeck Andersen, Nikolaj Malchow-Møller, and Jens Nordvig
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Has inflation targeting (IT) conferred benefits in terms of economic growth on countries that followed this particular monetary policy strategy during the crisis period 2007-12? This paper answers this question in the affirmative. Countries with an IT monetary regime with flexible exchange rates weathered the crisis much better than countries with other monetary regimes, predominantly countries with fixed exchange rates. Part of this difference in growth performance reflects differences in export performance during the initial years of the crisis, which in turn can be explained by real exchange rate depreciations. However, IT seems also to confer other benefits on the countries above and beyond the effects from currency depreciation.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Denmark

10. The EMS Crisis of the 1990s: Parallels with the present crisis?

Author:
Daniel Gros
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The EMS crisis of the 1990 s illustrated the importance of a lack of confidence in price or exchange rate stability, whereas the present crisis illustrates the importance of a lack of confidence in fiscal sustainability. Theoretically the difference between the two should be minor since, in terms of the real return to an investor, the loss of purchasing power can be the same when inflation is unexpectedly high, or when the nominal value of government debt is cut in a formal default. Experience has shown, however, that expropriation via a formal default is much more disruptive than via inflation.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe and Italy