Space capabilities are a core element of any modern defence arsenal. In Europe, how­ever, military space capabilities are limited and dependence on the United States remains high. Europe must develop its capabilities in order to reduce dependencies and enhance its capacity to act on its own,...

Die EU will bis 2030 ihre CO₂ -Emissionen um 55% gegenüber dem Wert von 1990 und bis 2040 um 90% gegenüber 1990 senken. Um diese ambitionierten Klimaziele umzusetzen, müssen in den nächsten Jahren die verfügbaren Emissionsrechte massiv verknappt werden. Das wird zu einem starken Anstieg...

Technological sovereignty is Europe's foundation for competitiveness and democracy. Europe must lead - not follow - in key industrial technologies. Strategic autonomy requires shared European investment and scaling. Industrial policy must balance resilience with open innovation. Governance of...

The semiconductor industry comprises two distinct sectors: advanced chips for smartphones or data centers and less advanced ones for cars. While political and media attention focuses on advanced chips, European industry does not use them. NVIDIA and TSMC dominate the supply of the most advanced...

R&D in the semiconductor industry is concentrated in a few countries: Japan, Korea, China, the United States, and Taiwan. European countries' R&D cooperation centers around Europe and the US, with relatively little cooperation with Asia. Diversifying R&D partnerships may secure access to R&D...

Since inheritances and their concentration are growing, inheritance taxes have been attracting increasing interest recently. Inheritance taxes are relatively widespread in Europe, being levied in 17 EU member states and a further ten European countries. Behavioral responses, tax design, and...

Conventional wisdom holds that American material superiority leaves Europe with little room for manoeuvre. We dispute this. Raw power is not leverage. Leverage arises from asymmetric dependencies—the capacity to impose costs without incurring proportionate harm. Examining macroeconomic ties,...

Die EU will bis 2030 ihre CO₂ -Emissionen um 55% gegenüber dem Wert von 1990 und bis 2040 um 90% gegenüber 1990 senken. Um diese ambitionierten Klimaziele umzusetzen, müssen in den nächsten Jahren die verfügbaren Emissionsrechte massiv verknappt werden. Das wird zu einem starken Anstieg...

The relationship between Credit Default Swaps (CDS) and cash bonds plays a pivotal role in providing market participants with important information which directly affects investment and risk management strategies. Particularly relevant is the CDS-Bond basis, defined as the difference in basis...

This paper provides new evidence on how the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) affects productivity and employment in Europe. Using matched EIBIS-ORBIS data on more than 12,000 non-financial firms in the European Union (EU) and United States (US), we instrument the adoption of AI by EU...

This paper investigates the relationship between corporate income tax rates (CITR) and firm-level productivity growth using AMADEUS data of 304,410 observations from 79,842 European firms from 2006 to 2019. The results imply a robust non-linear relationship: higher CITRs are positively...

• Europe must urgently strengthen its defence capabilities and secure strategic autonomy to avoid vulnerability to external pressures. • The proposal outlines a European Future of Defence Architecture focusing on next generation military technologies and strategic enablers (like AI, cyber,...

This paper investigates the relationship between corporate income tax rates (CITR) and firm-level productivity growth using AMADEUS data of 304,410 observations from 79,842 European firms from 2006 to 2019. The results imply a robust non-linear relationship: higher CITRs are positively...

The discussion on Artificial Intelligence (AI) often centers around its impact on productivity, but macroeconomic evidence for Europe remains scarce. Using the Acemoglu (2024) approach we simulate the medium-term impact of AI adoption on total factor productivity for 31 European countries. We...

This paper examines the existence and extent to which the "Baumol cost disease" could have affected aggregate growth in Europe. This would arise if lower productivity sectors began to account for an increasing share of output which would then put downward pressure on the prospective growth rate...

Football referees possess substantial discretion in allocating stoppage time, a decision that is comparatively opaque yet potentially consequential for match outcomes. This paper examines whether stoppage time allocation contributes to home advantage in contemporary European professional...

This paper documents the labour market position of artists across Europe and examines how it co-varies with public cultural spending. Using EU-LFS micro-data for 2009-2023, we compare artists to non-artists using harmonised measures of wage rank, employment, and non-standard work. Using...

We provide initial estimates of the additional weapons and troops Europe will need to defend itself, assuming an effective US withdrawal from Europe. Russia's military production has ramped up: In 2024, Russia produced and refurbished an estimated 1,550 tanks, 5,700 armoured vehicles and 450...

Wir liefern erste Schätzungen über die zusätzlichen Waffen und Truppen, die Europa zur Selbstverteidigung benötigen würde, falls sich die USA aus Europa zurückziehen. Die russische Militärproduktion wurde hochgefahren: Es wurden schätzungsweise 1.550 Panzer, 5.700 gepanzerte Fahrzeuge...

We study how Europe could replace US support for Ukraine both (i) financially, in terms of the fiscal effort required, and (ii) militarily, in terms of weapon production. Financial effort: The financial challenge of replacing US aid is limited. Currently, European governments are spending just...

Europa muss seine Militärausgaben deutlich erhöhen, aber wie? Diese Frage beantworten wir mit einem Blick in die Geschichte. Wie haben Regierungen in der Vergangenheit in ähnlichen Situationen reagiert? Wie wurden Aufrüstung und Kriege typischerweise finanziert - durch Schulden, Steuern oder...

Europe must rapidly increase its military spending, but how? We collect 150 years of data to study what governments in similar situations have done. How were past military buildups financed? What was the relative importance of debt financing, budget cuts, and taxes? Our main finding is that...

Die Unzulänglichkeiten der Bahn in Deutschland sind bekannt: Zugausfälle, Verspätungen, Streckensperrungen, Stellwerk- und Signalprobleme. Doch was muss getan werden, um ihre Leistungen zu verbessern? Die Studie vergleicht die Situation in Deutschland mit der in Österreich, der Schweiz,...

Seit dem Beginn des russischen Angriffskriegs im Februar 2022 hat sich die ukrainische Wirtschaftsleistung stark verringert. Gemäß Schätzungen internationaler Organisationen belief sich das ukrainische BIP Ende 2024 auf real rund 77 Prozent des Vorkriegsniveaus. Hinzu kommen massive...

Globale Krisen zeigen die Anfälligkeit von Lieferketten, besonders in Deutschland und Europa. Strukturelle Veränderungen wie Digitalisierung, Dekarbonisierung und regionale Sicherheit erhöhen den Bedarf an importierten Rohstoffen. Bestehende Abhängigkeiten werden dadurch vertieft,...

This article analyses aspects of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in its international context from a game theory perspective, with particular attention to the possible use of the brinkmanship strategy by US President Donald Trump.

Europe can no longer rely on the United States for its defence but is currently lacking essential capabilities to assure security itself. European countries should not give up on NATO but seek to close capability gaps by developing the European defence industrial base. The EU can play an...

Vladimir Putin underestimated the war against Ukraine on several levels, both in terms of the response within Ukraine and, above all, in terms of the response from the US and Europe. What can we learn from this? What policies should Europe pursue? What signals should it send to Putin to prevent...

The security situation in Europe and Germany has fundamentally changed, particularly due to Russia's war of aggression and the declining reliability of transatlantic security guarantees. At the same time, the global race for technological supremacy is intensifying. Germany must now initiate a...

The process of transition and growth in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) provides interesting insights, considering the countries' historical relationship with the Soviet Union. The 20 years after the Eastern enlargement of the European Union show an integrative power within the Single Market....

• Die Unsicherheit im Markt für US-Staatsanleihen nimmt zu und Investoren suchen nach Alternativen. Für Europa entsteht daraus eine historische Chance, einen großen und liquiden europäischen Anleihenmarkt zu schaffen und dadurch die Finanzierungskosten europäischer Staatsschulden zu...

A circular economy can help prevent the severe impacts of our resource consumption and can be a solution to the massive dependence on raw materials from other countries. The EU has proposed several circular economy measures since the launch of its Circular Economy Action Plan in 2015, including...

In den vergangenen Monaten haben sich die Debatten darüber verschärft, ob Europa noch auf die erweiterte nukleare Abschreckung der USA vertrauen kann - oder ob es eigene Alternativen dazu erwägen muss. Ein bloßer Entweder-oder-Ansatz erhellt hier aber wenig. Es bedarf einer differenzierten...

This paper identifies existing labour market challenges associated with ageing in Europe and Central Asia. It presents a general overview and provides ideas to stimulate social dialogue. In 2024, there were 28 persons aged 65 years and above per 100 persons aged 15 to 64 years and this ratio is...

The level of government support significantly influences the performance of European railways. However, prior analyses have largely focused on the sector as a whole, neglecting the distribution of public budget contributions between the upstream infrastructure manager and downstream service...

Die Mitgliedstaaten der Europäischen Union streiten wieder einmal über Geld. Genauer gesagt darüber, wie viel Geld sie für Verteidigung zahlen wollen, woher dieses Geld kommen soll und ob sie es gemeinsam ausgeben möchten. Unstrittig ist in Brüssel und den Hauptstädten, dass Europa sich...

• In diesem Papier formulieren wir fünf Leitprinzipien für die europäische Aufrüstung. Die europäische Aufrüstung sollte (i) innovationsgetrieben sein, um die technologischen Fähigkeiten, die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und das Produktivitätswachstum Europas zu stärken; (ii) auf einem...

This working paper provides a comprehensive overview of Europe's cleantech innovation landscape, highlighting both the sector's substantial maturity and the key challenges holding back the scale-up of clean technologies. It distils insights from four interlinked research studies - mapping the...

This working paper assesses the economic impact of EIF-supported equity investments in the Lower Mid-Market (LMM) segment across Europe between 2007 and 2023. Using advanced causal inference techniques, the study compares over 1,700 investee firms with a matched control group to isolate the...

• We present five guiding principles for European rearmament. Europe's rearmament should be (i) innovation-driven to support European technological capabilities, competitiveness, and productivity growth; (ii) aim for a rapid increase in production capacities for a high-low mix of military...

Die Cybersicherheit von Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft in Europa ist stark abhängig von den Vereinigten Staaten. Konkret dominieren US-amerikanische Unternehmen den weltweiten Markt für Cybersicherheits-Anwendungen ebenso wie für Informationen über entsprechende Bedrohungen. Bei der...

Nearly two decades of green bond issues have ignited various research questions and fields surrounding the topic. It is therefore time to take stock. Green bonds were launched with the goal of greening the financial sector by investing the generated funds into sustainable projects that support...

Das Thema NAV-Spreads europäischer Immobilienaktien wird derzeit vor allem im Kontext von Bewertungseffizienz und Marktentwicklung diskutiert. Eine fachspezifische Analyse der Bestimmungsfaktoren von NAV-Spreads und deren zeitlicher Dynamik im europäischen Vergleich wurde bislang nur begrenzt...

As countries rapidly urbanize, settlements are expanding into hazardous flood zones. This analysis considers spatial urbanization patterns and the evolution of flood exposure between 1985 and 2020 in 55 countries in the Europe and Central Asia region. The evidence in this report suggests that...

The arbitrary sanctioning of Russia by Europe and the United States in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war does not correspond to the definition of property rights as an aspect of juridical rights, and nor does the definition of proprietary rights or property rights in political economy accord...