CEPR - Centre for Economic Policy Research

Europe has abundant savings but invests them poorly, and its citizens are increasingly unsure that state pensions will be enough. Writing for CEPR’s Europe 2050 series, Giancarlo Corsetti (European University Institute), Mathias Skrutkowski and Rolf Strauch (both ESM - European Stability Mechanism) argue that funded pensions and simple savings and investment accounts answer productivity and fiscal imperatives at once. Drawing on the Netherlands, the Nordic countries, the United Kingdom and the cautionary Baltic experience, they identify four design principles for a hybrid pension system. They close with a vision of Europe in 2050 in which most member states have introduced automatic enrolment, pension funds have financed a surge in R&D, and Europe has produced a new generation of global champions. https://ow.ly/nuK3510430v

For three decades, software companies have paid independent researchers to identify security vulnerabilities in their code. But how effective are bug bounty programmes, and how is AI changing the way software flaws are discovered? In the latest episode of VoxTalks Economics, Tim Phillips speaks with Tobias Kretschmer (Imperial College London and CEPR) about his research into the design and effectiveness of bug bounty programmes. Drawing on data from the Bugcrowd platform, they discuss the trade-offs between open and invitation-only programmes. Opening programmes to more researchers can increase the number of vulnerabilities discovered, but also brings more duplicate and lower-quality submissions, increasing the burden of reviewing them. They also consider what AI-assisted vulnerability detection means for the future of bug bounties, and why evaluating submissions remains a crucial part of software security. 🎧 Listen to the episode: https://ow.ly/6QRs5104tIv #VoxTalksEconomics #Cybersecurity #ArtificialIntelligence #Economics

Day 2 of the 5th Kiel-CEPR Conference on Geoeconomics is underway at the Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office) Germany in Berlin. Day 1 was such an exciting, busy day that we didn’t get the chance to post, so here are a few highlights in pictures. The day brought a policy keynote by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, a keynote by Carmen Reinhart and a high-level panel. The panel “Security, Freedom and Prosperity – Geoeconomics in the Age of Uncertainty” brought together: 🔸 Johann Wadephul, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs 🔸 Susanne Wiegand, Supervisory Board Member of Brenntag SE, CSG N.V. and Quantum-Systems GmbH, and DGAP Board Member 🔸 Moritz Schularick, President of the Kiel Institute Moderator: Sarah Kelly, Anchor-at-Large and host of “Conflict Zone”, DW Thank you to Annette Knobloch for welcoming us at the Federal Foreign Office. Organized by the Kiel Institute and CEPR - Centre for Economic Policy Research with the Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office) Germany, in partnership with CEPR Geoeconomics and Security, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, IEP Bocconi - Institute for European Policymaking at Bocconi University, the ReCIPE research initiative and Sciences Po Department of Economics. Media partner: Deutsche Welle Stay tuned! 📸 Tanja Schnitzler

Europe’s problem, argues Marco Ventoruzzo (Università Bocconi), is not simply too little harmonisation but a mismatch between regulatory functions and institutional levels. Writing for CEPR’s Europe 2050 series, he observes that in company law firms face twenty seven sets of rules without a genuinely usable choice between them. His answer is “competitive harmonisation”: common European infrastructure combined with European supervision where cross border risks and economies of scale demand it. https://ow.ly/v5J551041Ao

#CallForPapers - Fifth High-Level Conference on Global Risk, Uncertainty, and Volatility Risk and Uncertainty in an Era of Technological Transformation The Schweizerische Nationalbank, the Division of International Finance of the Federal Reserve Board, and the Bank for International Settlements – BIS are jointly organising the fifth conference on Global Risk, Uncertainty, and Volatility. Theoretical and empirical paper submissions that address risks and uncertainty related to recent technological innovation are welcomed. Please send completed papers to GRUV@snb.ch More information: https://ow.ly/PUCY51041mV Organisers: Nina Hugelshofer, Kerstin Kehrle, Florence Miguet Heimlicher, and Thomas Moser (Swiss National Bank); Giuseppe Fiori, Juan M. Londono, Sai Ma, and Ilknur Zer (Federal Reserve Board); Leonardo Gambacorta (Bank for International Settlements and CEPR) and Giovanni Lombardo (BIS).

The CEPR Virtual IO Seminar continues! The next session will take place on 11 November. Tómas Dominguez-lino (The University of Chicago Booth School of Business) will present: "Critical Minerals, Geopolitics, and the Green Transition". Discussant: Harald Fadinger (Universität Wien and CEPR) All sessions take place on Wednesdays at 3PM (Paris time) on Zoom. https://ow.ly/zF6250ZQsOR

Is a directly elected President of Europe unthinkable? Loukas Tsoukalis (ELIAMEP (Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy, Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po) accepts that it is, today, but argues in this contribution to CEPR’s Europe 2050 series that a horizon of 2050 gives us the luxury of thinking it through. The choice, he argues, is between combining forces under a new European patriotism and settling for the status of vassal. Tsoukalis is clear that a President can only come as the culmination of a long process, and sets out the steps. https://ow.ly/tHuO5103hh7

Next session of the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE - CEPR Webinar Series on Financial regulation in the era of fragmentation, AI, and geopolitics Session 4: Sustainable Finance Regulation: Quo Vadis? Tuesday, 10 November via Zoom 5PM (CET), 4PM (GMT), 11AM (EST) The webinar will feature two presenters, Dr. Tadas Zukas (University of Zurich) and Nikolai Badenhoop (Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE) and will be moderated by Zacharias Sautner (University of Zurich, SFI Swiss Finance Institute, and CEPR). https://ow.ly/LJ475103iTq

Writing from a UK perspective for CEPR's #Europe2050 initiative, John Van Reenen (The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and CEPR) argues Europe's future should be one of variable geometry. He sets out a Europe of “concentric and overlapping circles” that offers an alternative to the United States and China, and in which non EU countries could become associate members. Defence is his lead example. With the US commitment to NATO in doubt, spending must rise but also become more efficient, through common standards, easier entry for SMEs and start ups, an expanded European Defence Force and British participation in SAFE. The second half of the paper is a personal history of Brexit as a warning about populism. Britons are now, in his word, “Bregretful”: about twice as many think leaving was wrong as think it was right, and the UK has grown more like the rest of Europe in its taxes, rights and attitudes to the EU. https://ow.ly/60kY5103giO

Registration is open for the 3rd Economic Policy: Papers on European and Global Issues (EP:PEGI) conference, hosted at the OECD Economy on 2 December. Theme: Global Interdependence, Global Imbalances, and Economic Security Trade and financial linkages increasingly determine who is exposed to whom, and Europe sits at the centre of them. Academics and policymakers will present and discuss new research on: - The international reserve system and implications for the euro - Global imbalances, industrial policy and Europe - Europe’s role in global foreign exchange beyond the dollar - Chokepoints and the transatlantic gap The day opens with a policy panel featuring Olivier Blanchard (CEPR), Nico Lange, Stefano Scarpetta (OECD), Moritz Schularick (CEPR) and Beatrice Weder di Mauro (CEPR President), moderated by Martin E. Sandbu (Financial Times), and closes with remarks by D. Filiz Unsal (OECD). 📍 OECD, Boulogne, Paris & Online 🗓️ Wednesday 2 December 2026 Register to attend in person: https://ow.ly/p43J5103gj2 Register to join online: https://ow.ly/eOpy5103gj1 Full programme: https://ow.ly/9p625103gjx