In the past 200 years, the world has experienced unprecedented economic development as well as profound demographic changes. Many dimensions of these dynamic processes are not well understood. What are the underlying forces behind the different dimensions of economic and demographic development,...

Issues to be addressed include: What is special about the public sector? Public sector efficiency. Public debt sustainability. Changes in the role and size of public sector. Incentives in the public sector. Tax-spending mix. Optimal public policy. Delay of reforms. Rent seeking, tax evasion and...

A new generation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) is in the making: larger and deeper than most that have been signed earlier. Their focus has moved away from the elimination of tariffs to regulatory cooperation and a WTO-Plus agenda. At the same time, theoretical and empirical modelling...

Behavioural political economy uses behavioural concepts in explaining decisions of politicians, candidates for political office, voters, lobbyists, and others in the political and policymaking arena. Decision-makers may be subject to bounded rationality. Utility maximisation may be based on...

Subsidies to fossil energies are largely wasteful as they serve to increase carbon emissions, weaken public budgets and importers’ energy security, and in most cases impact income distribution adversely. Reform of energy subsidy policies is sorely needed in many countries, and is an important...

Topics: - Risk management during working life - Risk management during retirement years - The art of choosing - Supervision of fully funded pensions: solvency and transparency - Risk sharing and distribution among generations: full funding, pay-as-you-go, taxation - The labor market -...