EU policy

January 1, 2017

Obesity and the Public Purse

This is the first study to estimate the annual savings that overweight and obese people bring UK taxpayers by dying prematurely (in 2016 prices). Ignoring these savings leads to substantial overestimation of the true burden of elevated body mass index (BMI) to the taxpayer.
November 1, 2016

Google Shopping: the Arguments Revisited

The arguments on which the various competition cases against Google are being fought involve core features of economic interaction in multi-sided digital markets. As such, the final outcome will have a long-standing impact on platform innovation in the EU.
November 1, 2016

Last Call for TTIP

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is currently in a negotiatory limbo. Even though the European Commission has estimated such an agreement would increase the size of the EU economy by at least €120 billion (or 0.5% of EU GDP) and the U.S economy by €95 billion (roughly 0.4% of U.S GDP), the deal looks more uncertain than ever before.
November 1, 2016

Living on Credit

November 30 marks Credit Day across the European Union. Credit Day is the day when member states’ central administrations exhaust their annual tax revenues and have to begin borrowing in order to meet their spending commitments for the rest of the year.
October 1, 2016

Innovation in Regulatory Approaches

An important part of the digital platform revolution is the sharing economy, which is based on reductions in transaction costs which enable exchanges that were previously not possible. Sharing economy firms facilitate a more efficient use of assets, to the benefit of both asset owners and prospective users.
October 1, 2016

Innovation in Food Labelling

According the European Commission, a Geographical Indication (GI) is “a distinctive sign used to identify a product as originating in the territory of a particular country, region or locality where its quality, reputation or other characteristic is linked to its geographical origin.” Under the system of GIs, the European Union has protected over 3,300 food and wine names with, as of 2010, an estimated value of €54.3 billion.
October 1, 2016

Innovation in Harm Reduction

Scientific research has made important breakthroughs in harm reduction in recent years. In the field of alcohol consumption, safer and healthier options are being developed, whereas in the area of nicotine delivery, e-cigarettes have been shown to significantly mitigate adverse health effects associated with smoking.
October 1, 2016

Innovation in Agriculture

Population growth, natural resource scarcity and climate change will challenge agriculture to deliver food security in the coming decades. Innovative practices to address these challenges exist, they are hampered by complex legislation and perverse incentives.