Hello, Action Policy Digest readers!
Organized as a monthly newsletter, it presents an overview of the current international policy debate. You find below a selection of the best ideas from the most influential think tanks, structured in four areas: (i) Finance, (ii) Innovation and Development, (iii) European Affairs and (iv) Social Policy.
“Digital giants at the gate: Tech ownership of banks and the regulatory response“. Should tech firms be allowed to own banks? This column explores the merits of permitting tech firms to operate a licensed bank and outlines their state of play and regulatory environment in seven jurisdictions.
“Knowledge flows and global value chains“. Trade and industrial policy can support productivity growth through global value chains by providing the right legal environment that supports the formation of long-term business relationships.
“A critical look at the ESG market“. Considering the potential implications of ESG exposures for long-term financial stability, it is in the public interest to critically evaluate ESG criteria and reporting requirements to clear a path for more meaningful and more operational corporate objectives that contribute to the green, digital and just transition.
“The real effects of exchange rate depreciation: The role of bank loan supply“. This column uses German data to show that large banks with high net foreign currency asset exposure increase lending to export-intensive firms and – through interbank markets – to small banks without foreign currency asset exposure but with a high share of exporting firms in their portfolio.
“Superhuman science: How artificial intelligence may impact innovation“. Modeling innovation as a costly multi-stage search process, we explore how improvements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) could affect the productivity of the discovery pipeline in allowing improved prioritization of innovations that flow through that pipeline.
“The Great Upgrade: Website technologies in the pandemic“. Digital technologies have played a crucial role in helping firms weather the worst of the COVID shock. This column uses a dataset containing information on 150 million active websites around the world to measure the impact of COVID-19 on technology adoption. “Fiscal support and monetary vigilance: economic policy implications of the Russia-Ukraine war for the European Union“. Policymakers must think coherently about the joint implications of their actions, from sanctions on Russia to subsidies and transfers to their own citizens, and avoid taking measures that contradict each other.
“The EU Data Act“. Towards a new European data revolution?
“Will the Digital Services Act save Europe from disinformation?“. In negotiating the Digital Services Act, EU law-makers balanced tackling disinformation with protecting free speech. The Commission’s last-minute proposal for stricter regulation of tech platforms during crises undermines this balance. “Owning up to sustainability risks: the EU should champion international standards“. To keep European Union capital markets open and integrated, new international standards should be reflected in future European law and accounting practice to provide further incentives for a reallocation of capital, reflecting in particular climate risks.
“The global inequality boomerang“. Global inequality has fallen over the last three decades, despite a rise in inequality within some large countries. This column argues that the decline in global inequality will reverse in the coming years, due to a turnaround in the between-country component of inequality.