What precipitates protests in Latin America? Is it failing institutions, low standards of living, high levels of corruption — or a combination of factors? A new journal article explores the desire for redistribution linked to participation in protests. Does it pay to be avant-garde and do “novel” science? A new study investigates selection patterns across Swiss research programmes — and finds that innovative scientists are more likely to apply for research funds but are l...
The idea that we are living in an entrepreneurial age, experiencing rapid disruptive technological innovation on a scale amounting to a new “industrial revolution” is a pervasive modern myth. Scholars have written academic papers extolling the coming of the “entrepreneurial economy”. Policymakers and investors have pumped massive amounts of funding into start-up ecosystems and innovation. Business schools, universities and schools have moved entrepreneurship into their core curricula....
Technology has been blamed for a lot recently. Automation and artificial intelligence have supposedly led to substantial job losses, reduced bargaining power for workers and increased discrimination. It is even blamed for growing income and wealth inequality and, as a result, the presidency of Donald Trump, Brexit, the rise of far-right populism in Europe and the spectre of climate change....
Are farmers willing to accept payments for ecosystem services? If so, what should be the mode and timing of payments? A new article examines the case of climate-smart agroforestry in Ethiopia. What is the best blend of policies to promote innovation among SMEs in traditional industries? A new article based on data from 300 SMEs in seven European regions says policymakers should promote variety in firms’ innovation efforts and capabilities. What’s the real background to the oil curse? A new...
The invention of an artificial super-intelligence has been a central theme in science fiction since at least the 19th century. From E.M. Forster’s short story The Machine Stops (1909) to the recent HBO television series Westworld, writers have tended to portray this possibility as an unmitigated disaster. But this issue is no longer one of fiction. Prominent contemporary scientists and engineers are now also worried that super-AI could one day surpass human intelligence (an event known as the “s...
The Great Recession of the late 2000s hit Europe hard, with the perfect storm of an economic downturn and a productivity slowdown. What’s more, it compounded years of already anaemic growth. Since then, EU states and agencies have worked hard to contain these problems, but a decade later there are still no comprehensive solutions. A new EU-funded project involving Prof. Pierre Mohnen and Assistant Prof. Tania Treibich aims to change all that. GROWINPRO will provide a raft of joined-up policies t...
Most discussions about artificial intelligence (AI) are characterised by hyperbole and hysteria. Though some of the world’s most prominent and successful thinkers regularly forecast that AI will either solve all our problems or destroy us or our society, and the press frequently report on how AI will threaten jobs and raise inequality, there’s actually very little evidence to support these ideas. What’s more, this could actually end up turning people against AI research, bringing significant pro...
"Breakthrough innovations often emerge from a combination of different types of knowledge from different areas… The next step is to track these innovations via relevant data sources and comparative indicators.”...
How do product innovations affect employment across sub-Saharan Africa? A new journal article takes data from the Enterprise Survey and Innovation Follow-Up Survey — and finds product innovations have a positive impact on total employment. Can we have growth when population is stagnant? A new working paper gives up common simplifying assumptions — and finds long-run economic growth can remain positive even if population growth levels off. What’s more, long-run results are inter...