Why is China cracking down on big tech?
This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics.
ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!
A wave of government regulations is being imposed on China’s digital sector, from gaming platforms to GDPR-like privacy regulations, to a draft regulation cracking down on recommendation algorithms. In the meantime, we have also seen a wave of crackdowns on big tech, from Jack Ma of Alibaba, to the case of Didi. What is going on in China’s digital space? What is the general direction going forward? In this episode Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Bruegel senior fellows Alicia García-Herrero and Mario Mariniello and by guest speaker Rui Ma, creator of Tech Buzz China which educates investors, funds and entrepreneurs on Chinese tech companies.
The state of trade: the EU's trade policy
Bruegel Director Guntram Wolff and Senior fellow Alicia García-Herrero welcome Bernd Lange MEP, Chair of the European Parliament’s committee on International Trade to talk big issues in EU trade policy: EU-US trade relation, how to deal with China, strategy on the WTO as well as what trade can achieve in the area of climate change and human rights.
Can COP26 save the planet?
With COP26 around the corner, Bruegel Director Guntram Wolff hosts Italy’s Minister for Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani. In this live episode they discuss what the Italy G20 Presidency would like to see from Glasgow: the need for adaptation and mitigation, adequate financing of the transition for the most vulnerable and the need to focus on measuring data and metrics.
Rethinking fiscal policy
The pandemic and subsequent downturn have seen EU countries deploy unprecedented fiscal support, while the EU as a whole complemented this with an architectural innovation in the form of the Next Generation EU fund. As European economies begin to recover, is it time to return to pre-pandemic fiscal rules or is it time to reform them? If yes, then what should be changed and how?
Bruegel’s Deputy director Maria Demertzis takes a deep dive with Senior fellow Zsolt Darvas and Rolf Strauch, Chief economist of European Stability Mechanism.
Will ‘common prosperity’ address China’s inequality?
This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics.
ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!
The concept of “common prosperity” has deep roots in the Chinese Communist Party. It was already used in the 1950s and the late 1970s under different leaderships. On August 17 2021, President Xi Jinping highlighted this concept again, calling for China to achieve “common prosperity”, seeking to narrow a yawning wealth gap that threatens the country’s economic ascent and the legitimacy of Communist Party rule. Since then, there have been simultaneous crackdowns on business sectors and individuals, many of which fall under the umbrella of ‘common prosperity’.
Why is this term being brought up again? Why now? What policies have followed? What does the regime want to achieve? Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Bruegel Senior fellow Alicia García-Herrero and Minxin Pei, Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College and a non-resident senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States to discuss.
Is tech redefining the workplace for women?
Today, work is often segregated by gender — with great ramifications for women across the world. Will increased use of technology decrease or increase current discrepancies? What can we do today in our schools and workplaces to help women in the future?
Bruegel’s own Giuseppe Porcaro spoke to Bruegel Research Fellow Laura Nurski and the Technical University of Vienna’s Professor Sabine Theresia Köszegi about the future of work and gender. Together, they explore the contemporary challenges women face in the workplace, and the potential for solutions in the future.
Want to learn more about gender and the future of work? In this podcast, Sabine recommends the UNESCO report “I’d blush if I could” closing gender divides in digital skills through education.”
You can also learn more about our Future of Work project at our website, https://www.bruegel.org/the-future-of-work-and-inclusive-growth-project/
A green fiscal pact
Past crises and consolidation episodes have resulted in major public investment cuts. However, in order to meet the European Union’s climate goals, the additional public investment needed is between 0.5 percent and 1 percent of GDP annually during this decade. How does the EU grapple with just how far-reaching the economic implications of the green transition will be?
In a paper presented at the recent ECOFIN in September, Bruegel Director Guntram Wolff and Senior fellow Zsolt Darvas advocate for a ‘green golden rule’, that exempts net green public investment from the debt and deficit rules of the Stability and Growth Pact. They explain more in detail with Yuyun Zhan in today’s episode.
Read more:
Darvas, Z. and G. Wolff (2021) ‘A green fiscal pact: climate investment in times of budget consolidation’, Policy Contribution 18/2021, Bruegel
Exploding energy prices
Wholesale gas prices have reached record highs in the past months, leaving EU governments scrambling for emergency aid to help households cope with their rising bills. However, this is not only about energy: though its origins might be environmental, there are diplomatic, social and economic consequences for governments and citizens. And less than two months after the EU’s bold ‘Fit-for-55’ climate initiative, a gas crisis is threatening the EU’s green agenda.
In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro hosts Bruegel scholars Simone Tagliapietra and Georg Zachmann on the back of their recent blog post on the price of electricity.
Recommended readings:
Rethinking the security of the European Union’s gas supply (2016)
Is Europe’s gas and electricity price surge a one-off? (2021)
Unboxing the State of the Union 2021
On 15 September Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, delivered the State of the Union address before the European Parliament. She took stock of efforts of the past year to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and presented priorities for the year ahead, addressed the most pressing challenges and propose ideas for shaping the future of the EU, from NextGenerationEU to the European Green Deal and Europe’s Digital Decade.
In this episode of The Sound of Economics Live, Giuseppe Porcaro hosts Grégory Claeys, Maria Demertzis and Alicia García-Herrero to evaluate the State of the Union address.
A Late Bloomer: where is China’s climate plan?
This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics.
ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!
As the largest global emitter of greenhouse gases, China is key to the success of the upcoming COP26 and the global effort for climate neutrality by the mid-century. Yet two months ahead of the Glasgow convention, China has yet to present a concrete policy path to become net-zero by 2060. Why is China taking so long to announce its carbon reduction plan? Giuseppe Porcaro hosts Bruegel China expert Alicia García-Herrero, climate economist Simone Tagliapietra and Dr. Michal Meidan, Director of the China Energy Research Program from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, to discuss climate, Chinese affairs and energy economics.