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European importers currently pay for oil in dollars, but energy trading in more than one currency used to be commonplace, according to Bruegel’s Elina Ribakova. She argues that a return to the days of multiple trading currencies could yield multiple benefits — and please Russia, which naturally would like to “de-dollarise” trade.

Well-intentioned efforts to export European-style laws, regulations, and standards covering things like labor and product safety to developing countries risks backlash and unintended consequences, Avenir Suisse warns in a new blog post.

Contrary to assertions by populists of both left and right that the rich are under-taxed, the Austrian Economics Center finds that they pay a disproportion share of taxes based on national income.  If anything, they are over-taxed… like everyone else.

The Adam Smith Institute takes on the critical housing shortage in the UK, which is driving up prices and locking many people (especially young, would-be first time homebuyers) out of home ownership, and suggests the commonsense — in fact, only — solution: build more houses.  That includes opening up “green belts” around big cities, which […]

Unlike the United States, which saw a sharp increase in preventable deaths among working-age people over the last two decades, the rate of mortality from “deaths of despair” (including suicide, alcoholism, drug overdoses, and so on) has declined sharply in Germany, according to the DIW Berlin.  Read about it here.

The German Economic Institute has a new paper on “Inclusive Growth,” a vague term which nevertheless represents the only way forward out of the chaos ensuing from the populist reaction to globalization.  Read more here.

Fondation Robert Schummann is helping readers keep track of the changes in the Common Agricultural Policy in the age of “susbidiarity.” For one thing, what does that word mean?

Spain’s continuing political and economic woes aren’t going unnoticed – certainly in Spain. Civismo’s Jose Maria Rotellar dishes out a scorching critique of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s economic policies in this scathing blog post.

Most British politicians seem to take it for granted that the UK will be able to successfully seek an extension of Article 50, delaying Brexit beyond March 29 to allow last-minute negotiations to continue. But what if it’s not that simple? Is the UK sleepwalking into No Deal? Larissa Brunner and Fabian Zuleeg from the […]

The European Economic Advisory Group is preparing the release of its latest forward-looking report, and it’s not exactly striking a cheery tone with the subtitle, “A Fragmenting Europe In a Changing World.”  In fact, considering the other trends outlined in the report, a fragmenting EU may be the least of our worries.