The Sound of Economics

Sri Lanka is experiencing an episode of political and economic instability the country has not seen since the civil war. The growing anti-government sentiment, the power struggle between the Parliament and the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, mixed with the economic situation has reached a boiling point, and an outbreak of riots and protests in the streets. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Bruegel Senior fellow Alicia García-Herrero, and Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, international security and geopolitics analyst and strategic advisor from Sri Lanka, to discuss the crisis in Sri Lanka, its relation to China's BRI, and to understand its consequences for Europe, China, as well as the world. This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!

Guntram Wolff invites Bruegel veteran Alessio Terzi to talk about his recently published book ‘Growth for good’, which lays out an agenda to enroll capitalism in the fight against climate catastrophe. With Diane Coyle, they take a deep dive into the book and share their view on the growth or degrowth debate.

In this episode of the Sound of Economics Live, Bruegel Director Guntram Wolff hosts Ľubica Karvašová (Prime Minister’s office Slovakia), Alexander Duleba (Research Centre of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association), and André Sapir to debate a proposal by the Slovak government to aid Ukraine’s accession to the EU. Check our special podcast series, War in Ukraine, which reflect on the implications of Russia’s war in Ukraine in EU energy storage, macroeconomic implications, international finance system and more.

Alexander Gabuev joins Bruegel’s Giuseppe Porcaro and Alicia García-Herrero to discuss China’s ambiguous stance towards Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, how this impact China’s relationship with other countries and if Russia is becoming more dependent on China. This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!

European leaders have finally agreed on a Russian oil embargo. What are the implications? How long will it take to enforce and what should be the next steps? Bruegel’s Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by MEP Luis Garicano, Simone Tagliapietra and Georg Zachmann to talk sanctioning Russia.

The latest economic forecasts published by the European Commission as well as IMF show low growth and high inflation. Maria Demertzis is joined by Grégory Claeys and Megan Greene to discuss the economic outlook on both sides of the Atlantic. They discuss the possibility of stagflation, inflation duration and its implications, interest rates increasing and the risks that it entails, as well as other ways of containing inflation.

People spend a significant portion of their lives at work; job thus has a huge impact on a person’s well-being. This week on The Sound of Economics, Giuseppe Porcaro is joined by Laura Nurski and Janine Berg to discuss how to enhance job quality, how technology will impact its dimensions and how to involve workers in the design of technology. This podcast was produced within the project “Future of Work and Inclusive Growth in Europe“, with the financial support of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. On 7 June we hold the Annual Conference of the Future of Work and Inclusive Growth project. Half-way through this three-year project, we invite you to join us in discussing how inclusive the digital future of work will be, as we focus on job quality, digital skills and productivity. Relevant publication: Nurski, L. and M. Hoffmann (2022) ‘Beating burnout: identifying bad jobs and improving job quality’, Policy Contribution 07/2022, Bruegel

The Chinese government is determined to continue its Zero-COVID policies, but at what cost? Dialling in from Beijing, Jörg Wuttke, President of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, joins Bruegel’s Alicia García-Herrero and Giuseppe Porcaro to discuss the impact of lockdowns on the country’s economy and its growth targets, as well as European companies’ re-evaluation of their China strategy.  This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!

Bruegel’s Giuseppe Porcaro and André Sapir sit down with Tim Yeend, Associate Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia. They discuss current global trade environment, Australia’s perspective on the WTO, supply chains, economic coercion as well as EU-Australia bilateral trade relationship.

In this episode of the Sound of Economics Live, Bruegel Director Guntram Wolff hosted Beata Javorcik, Chief Economist of the EBRD, to discuss how the ongoing war in Ukraine is affecting Central and Eastern Europe. Drawing on the EBRD’s recent activity in Ukraine and it’s neighbourhood, Ms Javorcik reflected on the impact of the conflict not just on Ukraine, but also on the EU countries geographically closest to the conflict. Check our special podcast series, War in Ukraine, which reflect on the implications of Russia's war in Ukraine in EU energy storage, macroeconomic implications, international finance system and more.