The European Union, in the face of mounting geo-political and climate challenges, needs a more effective innovation policy. Currently, its broad experimentalist approach to innovation policies gives Member States and regions autonomy for policy design. However, this often needs more effective...

This paper analyses energy vulnerability and resilience in the EU. First, a comprehensive review of the relevant literature is carried out, discussing key concepts and indicators used to assess countries' relative positioning vis-à-vis energy shocks. Second, we rely on a large set of indicators...

To address Europe's environmental, economic, and geopolitical challenges, the European Commission has decided to proactively accelerate digital transformation and decarbonization through industrial policies. As the annual green investment gap exceeds 2 percent of the EU's GDP, of particular...

Within the context of the green industrial policies debate, this paper seeks to examine the progress of policy implementation regarding the upskilling and reskilling of workers under the European Just Transition Fund (JTF) 2021-27. Specifically, it focuses on distinct regions in three countries:...

Globale Warenketten (GWK) sind ein zentrales Merkmal der Epoche der Hyperglobalisierung. Leitunternehmen aus den ökonomischen Zentren organisieren globale Produktionsnetzwerke und Lieferanten aus dem globalen Süden produzieren gemäß deren Vorgaben. Die Vorteile daraus sind sehr ungleich...

The international transfer of dual systems of vocational education and training (VET) has grown on a global scale. This is due to low youth unemployment rates and high economic productivity in German-speaking countries, where the dual systems are historically rooted. At the governance level, an...

Research and debates around mineral extraction in the context of social-ecological transformation have dedicated limited focus on price-making processes. Drawing on the systems of provisioning approach, this paper assesses price-making and related institutions in mineral provisioning as...

Despite frequent debates on commodity prices, limited attention has been paid to the processes, strategies and practices through which commodity prices are 'made' and related institutions and infrastructures. 'World commodity prices' are not passively 'discovered' but are outcomes of contested...

The Paris Agreement reaffirmed the commitment to provide USD 100 billion in international climate finance to developing countries by 2020. This Working Paper delves into the history and challenges of international climate finance. We emphasize the complexities tied to diverse definitions and...

The eco-technological fix to the climate crisis renders certain resources, such as lithium, as "critical". We argue that criticality is actively produced in socio-technological processes, involving three interrelated levels - demand, supply and price perceptions, policies linked to green...