-
France: the global clockwork economy starts ticking
Sometimes names say a lot. So it may not be just a coincidence that Antoine and Charlotte live exactly at the intersection of the rue de Commerce and the rue de l’Abbé Groult (Abbé means “abbot”). Building on Antoine’s design talent and Charolotte’s business acumen, the couple launched their own start-up […]
-
Paris, no place for late night shopping?
On September 27, some 70 employees of the French hardware store chain Leroy Merlin gathered in Créteil, a suburb of Paris, not to demand higher wages or shorter hours, but the right to work on Sunday. In a country that prides itself on its carefree lifestyle and boasts one of […]
-
Malthus and Climate Change
In 1798, Thomas Malthus published An Essay on the Principles of Population in which he famously argued that the population increases in a geometric ratio, while the means of subsistence increase arithmetically. This means that if unchecked, population growth will inevitably lead to crises. Malthus wrote his theory when the population […]
-
French Hostility to Immigration and Minorities: It’s the economy, stupid?
Across Europe, governments in recent years have been increasingly hostile to immigration. British Prime Minister David Cameron was noted for a factually-questionable anti-immigration speech in March and German Chancellor Angela Merkel the same month vetoed Bulgaria and Romania’s accession of the Schengen Area of free movement of persons. As Corina […]
-
Sovereignty versus Coordination: Is Europe Cured?
Our blogger Josh Grundleger reports about the Bertelsmann Foundation’s fifth annual conference which focuses on economic growth through innovation, global financial governance and the eurozone crisis: “System Upgrade: Time for an Economic Reboot“. It seems the worst of the eurozone crisis is over, at least according to four of Europe’s […]