The Sound of Economics

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, a panel of experts from Bruegel and the Financial Times discuss the outlook for the UK and Europe.There is still a lot of uncertainty about the future, but some key questions are becoming clear.What will be the impact of Brexit on politics and business? Is the UK retracting not only from Europe, but also from globalisation? How should Europe react to what is happening in the UK, and could the EU offer any flexibility on migration and ECJ jurisdiction?This episode was recorded in conjunction with a Bruegel/Financial Times event about Brexit. Notes from this event, along with video and audio recordings, are available on the event page: http://bruegel.org/events/ft/SPEAKERS Lionel Barber, Editor, Financial Times James Blitz, Whitehall Editor, Financial Times Guntram Wolff, Director, Bruegel Maria Demertzis, Research Fellow, BruegelCREDITS Presented by Giuseppe Porcaro Produced by Vanessa Cotterell and Giuseppe Porcaro

This episode of The Sound of Economics focuses on innovation. There is widespread agreement that innovation is vital for European economy, but how can we get from smart ideas to economic growth?We asked Reinhilde Veugelers, Senior Fellow at Bruegel, why innovation matters for our economies, and why it is important for the components of the innovation system to be interconnected.Dominique Guellec, Head of Science and Technological Policy in the Directorate of Science at the OECD, to shared with us his opinion on the main weaknesses in European innovation.We also spoke with Scott Stern, Professor of Management of Technology at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He outlined why he believes Europe needs to think local if it wants to get the full economic benefit of innovation.We asked Karen Wilson, another Senior Fellow at Bruegel, why Europe seems to fare badly on this compared to other regions such as the US. She stressed the importance of completing the Single Market to support high-growth firms.Access to capital is a vital factor for expansion of innovative firms. Karen shared her opinion on what the EU can do on this topic, while Reinhilde discussed why funding for innovative growth should come from capital markets.SPEAKERS Reinhilde Veugelers, Senior Fellow, Bruegel Dominique Guellec, Head of Science and Technological Policy, Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, OECD Scott Stern, Professor of Management of Technology, MIT Sloan School of Management Karen Wilson, Senior Fellow, BruegelCREDITS Presented by Bryn Watkins Produced by Vanessa Cotterell, Giuseppe Porcaro, Bryn Watkins

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, we focus the issue of decarbonisation and the fight against climate change.Decarbonisation is at the heart of EU energy and climate policy. And the recent ratification of the Paris Agreement makes decarbonisation targets some of the EU’s most important international commitments.Progress towards the 2020 targets has been impressive. But the 2020 framework is now being replaced by new targets. The EU wants an 80-95 percent reduction in emissions by 2050, with an intermediate target of 40 percent by 2030.We asked Simone Tagliapietra, Research Fellow at Bruegel, what progress the EU has already made towards its climate targets and what will change with the new emission targets.We also spoke with Georg Zachmann, Senior Research Fellow at Bruegel, about the recent drop in Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions and the future of EU’s emission trading scheme.Lászlo Varro, chief economist at the International Energy Agency, shared his insights on which energy sources will be most important in the future.We discussed with Connie Hedegaard, former European Commissioner for Climate Action, which other sectors need to be prioritised in the fight against climate change.SPEAKERS Simone Tagliapietra, Research Fellow, Bruegel Georg Zachmann, Senior Fellow, Bruegel Lászlo Varro, Chief Economist, International Energy Agency Connie Hedegaard, former European Commissioner for Climate ActionCREDITS Presented by Antonija Parat and Bryn Watkins Produced by Vanessa Cotterell and Bryn Watkins

The Future of Europe by Bruegel

The Sound of Economics is a series of podcasts about economic policy, brought to you by Bruegel. Each episode focuses on a key economic policy debate. In this episode we are joined by Jeffry Frieden, Professor of Government at Harvard University.EPISODE 3 Many in the EU look to the USA as a model for monetary union in the Eurozone. But how easy was it to create such a union, and what can Europe learn from the USA’s experience?This podcast was recorded when Jeffry Frieden visited Bruegel on 25 May 2016 to give a lecture on the topic. Bruegel also published an essay by Frieden, based on his lecture.CONTENTS 1. Building the US monetary union 2. The dollar | From minute 11:30 3. Lessons for Europe | From minute 13:15SPEAKERS Jeffry Frieden, Professor at Harvard University Presenters: Áine Quinn & Bryn WatkinsPRODUCERS Giuseppe Porcaro & Vanessa CotterellRead the essay: http://bruegel.org/2016/05/lessons-for-the-euro-from-early-us-monetary-and-financial-history/Watch the lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_jMFt5wl-U

The sound of economics is a series of podcasts about economic policy, brought to you by Bruegel. Each episode will look at a key economic policy debate, discuss why it is important and explore some of the work that Bruegel's researchers have done in the area. This is a special edition about the UK leaving the EU: On 23 June, the UK voted to leave the European Union, and the UK government will soon begin the process to withdraw from the European Union. What will this huge change mean for the future of the European Union and its member states? What is the process of leaving, and what signal should the EU give to the UK? What issues are on the table as the UK negotiates a deal with the EU? CONTENT Initial reactions Process of leaving the EU Future of Europe Producers – Giuseppe Porcaro & Vanessa Cotterell SPEAKERS Guntram Wolff – Director, Bruegel Maria Demertzis – Research Fellow, Bruegel Nicolas Véron – Senior Research fellow, Bruegel Presenters – Áine Quinn & Bryn Watkins, Bruegel Read more: http://bruegel.org/tag/brexit/ http://bruegel.org/2016/06/the-day-after-brexit-what-do-we-know/

The sound of economics is a series of podcasts about economic policy, brought to you by Bruegel.Each episode will look at a key economic policy debate, discuss why it is important and explore some of the work that Bruegel's researchers have done in the area.This episode is about European fiscal rules.EPISODE 1The strong fiscal tightening implemented in many European countries since 2010 has contributed to the poor economic recovery in Europe. This raises doubts about the effectiveness of the EU’s fiscal rules in achieving their two main objectives: public debt sustainability and fiscal stabilisation.A key indicator in the framework is the structural budget balance, but it is very difficult to measure. Recommendations made based on the structural budget balance are often revised when initial estimates turn out to be wrong.Another problem with the current EU fiscal framework is the opaque web of ‘flexibility’ clauses. This leads to never-ending bargaining between member states and the European Commission about the implementation of the rules, which undermines trust in them.A recent Bruegel policy contribution by Gregory Claeys, Zsolt Darvas and Alvaro Leandro analyses and assesses the framework and proposes a new set of rules.Producers – Giuseppe Porcaro & Vanessa CotterellCONTENTThe current European fiscal framework and its flaws — until min. 07:50Bruegel scholars propose new fiscal rules — from min. 07:50Is a European fiscal council a good idea? — from min. 11:30SPEAKERSGregory Claeys — Research Fellow, BruegelZsolt Darvas — Senior Fellow, BruegelJochen Andritzky — Secretary General of the German Council of Economic ExpertsFilippo Taddei — Chief Economist of the Democratic Party, ItalyPresenters — Áine Quinn, Bryn Watkins, BruegelRead more:A proposal to revive the European Fiscal Framework by Gregory Claeys, Zsolt Darvas, Alvaro Leandro bruegel.org/2016/03/a-proposal-…n-fiscal-framework/How to reform EU fiscal rules by Grégory Claeys & Zsolt Darvas http://bruegel.org/2016/04/how-to-reform-eu-fiscal-rules/Filling the gap: open economy considerations for more reliable potential output estimates by Zsolt Darvas & Andras Simon bruegel.org/2015/10/filling-the…l-output-estimates/