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Inflation began to increase rapidly all around the world towards the end of 2021, and it remained elevated throughout 2022. Higher energy prices contributed significantly to the increase in inflation. However, core inflation, excluding the direct contribution of energy prices, was also significantly above the European Central Bank's inflation target, which was partially due to the highly expansionary monetary policy implemented during the pandemic. Drawing on historical evidence, this article discusses how the European Central Bank should respond to the increase in inflation. Higher interest rates are necessary to counteract the Bank's previous expansionary policy. However, when the economy faces significant headwinds, a monetary policy that is too tight may cause a severe recession. Lessons from earlier periods of inflation suggest that, from a long-term perspective, contractionary monetary policy is preferable despite the short-term pain. To limit the negative consequences, this contractionary policy should be coupled with supply-side reforms aimed at stimulating economic growth and increasing the resilience of the European economy.

The decarbonization of the energy-intensive and natural-resourced-based industries is associated with large economic costs. In this paper, I explore how decarbonization may affect the profitability and market value of these industries and their ability to attract capital to fund their decarbonization. I also discuss the possibility of compensating for the investment costs through higher prices and enhanced productivity. I answer these questions using scenario analysis with a focus on the industries in the European Union and the United States. I find that the effects on profitability are likely to be modest despite relatively high investment costs.

Macroeconomic crises are common as well as economically, socially and politically costly. Fiscal policy plays an important role in alleviating the costs of the crisis. However, recent experiences suggest that the public finances often are unprepared for a crisis. Deficits and debt levels prior to the crisis are commonly too high, limiting the government's ability to respond to the crisis. In this paper, we argue that theoretical macroeconomic models focus on stable equilibriums, may partially explain why governments underestimate the risk of economic crises and carry too much debt prior to such events. In the standard equilibrium models, crises are one-off events caused by external factors. These macro-models thus neither predict nor expect a future crisis, which creates a false impression of long-run economic stability. Using forecast data, we demonstrate how the equilibrium perspective dominates macroeconomic thinking and how it contributes to too-high debt ratios prior to a crisis. We end the paper by discussing how to design fiscal policy rules based on a crisis rather than an equilibrium approach.

The purpose of this report is to discuss how a decarbonising the steel, plastic, and paper industries may affect economic growth, wages and employment in the European Union (EU). We approach the issue from two different angles. First, we discuss how a decarbonization of the three industries may affect the rest of the economy. Second, we discuss how a decarbonization of the three industries may affect their future growth potential.We conclude that the macroeconomic effects of a decarbonisation are likely to be relatively small but could under certain conditions still be economically significant. The main factor determining the size of any macroeconomic effect is whether the decarbonization will lead to higher costs of materials elsewhere in the economy. The industries most likely to be affected by higher material costs are the manufacturing, utility and construction industries. How they respond depends on the level of competition and their ability to innovate. Industries that are characterized by a high degree of competition and product innovation are likely to respond by investing in new more efficient production technologies and to develop new products to increase their value added. Sectors where competitive pressures are low and the scope for product innovation limited are most likely to increase prices and reduce their output and employment levels.The steel, plastic and paper industries future growth potential is partially linked to their ability to use modern technologies to increase efficiency and for product innovation. Based on recent data from the European Union we find that investment in new technology such as information and communication technologies have enhanced productivity in these three sectors withouthaving increased their greenhouse gas emissions. Some economic growth of this kind is likely to take place in the future and can be used to help to finance investments in low carbon technologies. It should a policy aim to encourage both decarbonization and modernization at the same time.

This paper considers the potential inflation effects of a global carbon price on consumer prices, investment prices, export prices, and import prices. We estimate the effects under three different scenarios. The results clearly indicate that the inflation effects in developed countries of a 100 USD/ton carbon price are small. For developing countries, the inflation effect is larger and potentially too large for it to be politically feasible to introduce a global carbon price. However, a simple adjustment of the price based on the price level in each country equalizes the inflation effects across all countries, whereby a global carbon price is more likely to be implemented.

AbstractCovid‐19 triggered a wave of lockdowns across the world, contributing to a severe downturn in economic activity. Governments responded by introducing expansionary fiscal and monetary measures. We compare the health and economic outcomes in Sweden, commonly viewed as an outlier relying more on recommendations and voluntary adjustments than on strict lockdowns, with those of comparable European OECD countries. Our results suggest that the Swedish policy of advice and trust in the population to reduce social interactions voluntarily was relatively successful. Sweden combined low excess death rates with relatively small economic costs. In future pandemics, policymakers should rely on empirical evidence rather than panicking and adopting extreme measures. Even if policymakers appeared to act rapidly and decisively, the rushed implementation of strict lockdowns in 2020/21 probably did more harm than good.

The EU's fiscal rules, set out in the Maastricht Treaty of 1993 and the Stability and Growth Pact of 1997, are anchored to GDP. The debt ceiling and the deficit threshold are set to 60 percent and 3 percent of GDP, respectively. Recently, prominent economists and policymakers, have argued that that the debt ceiling should be raised due to falling bond yields. By extension, this argument suggests a shift from GDP anchoring to bond yield anchoring of the EU fiscal framework. We discuss the risks of basing the fiscal rules on the bond yield rather than on the GDP. While such a change would provide short-run relief to highly indebted EU member states, it implies high long-run risks to fiscal sustainability should bond yields rise in the future. We conclude that GDP serves as a better anchor for the EU fiscal framework than the bond rate under present circumstances.

This paper discusses the history and future of the Swedish fiscal framework. First, we claim that the fiscal framework has contributed to a sharp decline in the debt-to-GDP ratio, from one of the highest to one of the lowest in the European Union. Next, we focus on the future. Despite its success, we argue that the framework is unsustainable. Running large surpluses over the long run is not a steady-state solution. We recommend two changes to the framework. First, that the public pension system is excluded, and second that the Swedish fiscal authorities shift attention from maintaining a budget surplus of 1/3 percent of GDP over the business cycle to sustaining a stable debt-to-GDP ratio of 25 percent of GDP +/- 5 percentage points. A debt anchor at this level will provide sufficient insurance in case of a future major economic crisis judging from recent cross-country evidence. In addition, a debt anchor around 25 percent of GDP would contribute to political stability in time of crises. In a world, where populism and austerity fatigue are rampant, we stress the importance of a fiscal framework allowing successful consumption and tax smoothing in case of major negative shocks to the fiscal space. We conclude with a set of recommendations for the fiscal governance of the EU.