Visnja Vukov
Comparing Central and Eastern Europe with the Western Balkans, Visnja Vukov argues that the EU’s governance of economic integration is a decisive lever of transformation. When the EU prioritises and credibly enforces these requirements, it constrains rent-seeking and weakens state capture. When the EU defers them, however, governments can entrench clientelist political–economic coalitions Read more
Martino Comelli
Sweden is a social-democratic beacon with one of the world's deepest stock markets. Contradiction? Martino Comelli argues that welfare states actively build financial markets through social policy design. Funded pensions and housing subsidies create investable assets; generous public pensions crowd finance out. The same spending level can produce radically different capitalisms Read more
Lucia Quaglia
Over recent decades, central banks have gained new powers. Nowadays, they are involved in areas as diverse as the greening of the economy and in digital finance. But is it a problem, wonder Lucia Quaglia and Amy Verdun, that despite their broader role, central banks remain independent from politicians? Read more
Albrecht Rothacher
In 2026, Bulgaria will likely join the eurozone. On the surface, the economic indicators look good. But Albrecht Rothacher and Martin Bull argue that this may be another example of the will of Brussels triumphing over hard socioeconomic reality. Bulgarians, they warn, should brace themselves for a fiscal shock Read more
Cristian Márquez Romo
Increasing inequality does not always result in governments increasing redistribution, even when the public is in favour of it. To understand this puzzle, Cristian Márquez and Hugo Marcos-Marne examine the preferences of the governmental elites implementing public policy Read more
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