International Macroeconomics
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The EU Recovery Fund and Italy: An Update
This piece delves into Italy’s economic challenges, the pivotal role of the EU Recovery Fund, and the implications for regional development and Eurozone integration. It discusses how the fund’s allocation impacts Italy’s struggle with regional disparities, economic stagnation, and the potential for future EU fiscal policies. A must-read for understanding the complexities of Italy’s economic…
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Modern Kinship: On Revitalizing Community and Connection
In recent decades, modern countries, communities, and families have witnessed decreasing connectedness. Despite efforts to revitalize communities, feelings of disconnection and loneliness are steadily increasing, suggesting that perhaps part of the problem lies undiagnosed. This article argues that something fundamental is indeed being overlooked in the discussion regarding community, and urges reforms in the way…
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SGFER x Reatch: Inflation, Real Estate and Macroeconomic Outlook 2023 Panel Discussion
A couple of weeks ago, we co-organised a panel discussion together with Reatch. Prof. Dr. Winfried Königer, Dr. Alexander Gruber and Thomas Veraguth lead a vivid and insightful discussion about real estate, inflation and the global economic outlook. In case you missed our event, we have transcribed the discussion for you to follow up.
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American Dreaming: On Economic and Geographic Mobility in the United States’ Rust Belt
The United States, once the Land of Opportunity, has witnessed a tragic decline of income mobility and a rise of cyclical poverty. This article suggests the close connection between geographic mobility and economic mobility as a key root of poverty traps. With this in mind, short and long term policies are outlined in order to…
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Redefining Corruption’s Measurement: A Way for More Efficient Markets and Safer Investments
With the increasing importance of ethics and social sustainability in our societies, financial services must adapt in order to remain appealing. Despite its critical importance, financial experts frequently overlook corruption.
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The Feasibility of Sovereign Debt Cancellation
A bold plan to cancel the European Central Bank’s $3 trillion in public debt, presented as an alternative way to reduce Eurozone debt ratios after a pandemic spending spree, has been dividing economists. It is a law in finance that when government deficits balloon, so do demands for debt forgiveness. And, indeed, this time is…
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The GameStop Frenzy Showed How Desperately We Need A Narrative Finance
In January 2021 GameStop, a brick-and-mortar games vendor, saw its stock rise 1,700 percent. Institutional investors like the hedge fund Melvin Capital had approximately shorted 140 percent of GameStop’s public float, which some retail investors on Reddit took note of. Redditors also believed that the stock was undervalued and in January the situation reached its…
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Alternatives to ESG
With the 13th of the UN Sustainable Development Goals aiming to take urgent action to combat climate change, many countries turned their attention to the reduction of emission to achieve net- zero by 2025. As a result, investments in low-carbon solutions are increasingly gaining importance and it poses the question of the role of the…
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The Economics of Bitcoin and Digital Assets
Just recently, Bitcoin was able to surpass a market capitalization of 1 Trillion US-Dollars. What is driving this exponential price move, and what are the fundamental economic mechanisms behind it? This piece examines some of the micro- and macroeconomic phenomena surrounding the new asset class of cryptocurrencies.