The Sound of Economics

• Double tax – why women pay it and what to do about it

  Fixing gender inequality could reap big gains for the entire economy In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie sits down with economist Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman and Bruegel’s Marie-Sophie Lappe to discuss gender inequality and how economics can help to fix it. The data shows that it costs more to be a woman in society, especially a Black woman, in areas ranging from health care, to pension savings and workplace routines. These extra burdens drag the whole economy down – but this also means that progress towards gender equality can pull the whole economy up. Related research: Christie, R. (2023) ‘Taking up space’, European Commission Christie, R. and M. De Ridder (2022) 'Closing the gender gap for self-employed women in the European Union’, Bruegel Blog, 20 July Darvas, Z. (2025) ‘How has Europe’s gender wealth gap evolved, and why?’, Bruegel Newsletter, 03 November Darvas, Z. and N. Ruer (2025) 'Gender wealth inequality in the European Union: a distributional perspective', Working Paper 26/2025, Bruegel Darvas, Z., Kreko, J., A. Laczkovich  and N. Ruer (2025) ‘Unequal wealth: Exploring socioeconomic disparities across the EU’, Eurofound  Goldin, C. (2025) ‘Babies and the macroeconomy’, Economica, 93:1-26  Lappe, M.S. and D. Pinkus (2025) ‘Europe’s savings debate should focus on the bigger picture’, First Glance, Bruegel, 11 September Opoku-Agyeman, A. G. (2025) The Double Tax: How Women of Color Are Overcharged and Underpaid, Penguin Random House Ostry, J. D. (2025) ‘Gender diversity and economic growth’, Working Paper 02/2025, Bruegel

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• Paradoxical EU-China climate relations

  As COP30 approaches, what is the real state of EU–China climate relations? In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan sits down with Alicia García-Herrero and Cecilia Trasi to explore the state of EU–China climate relations. The discussion explores how both economies share a vision for a green transition but follow strikingly different paths—China prioritising industrial policy and green technology exports, the EU focusing on costly emission pricing and regulation. They also identify pragmatic areas of collaboration like common taxonomies for green finance or joint circular-economy initiatives. They also reflect on whether either side can lead the global climate agenda in a fragmented geopolitical landscape. Relevant research Trasi, C. (2025) 'Convergence, not alignment: EU-China climate relations ahead of COP30', Analysis, 9 October, Bruegel García-Herrero, A. (2025) 'Escalating US-China rare earth tensions signal determination to decouple', First Glance, 15 October, Bruegel  This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!

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• What are governments buying?

  In this episode of the Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie sits down with Bruegel’s Marie-Sophie Lappe and Francesco Nicoli, authors of a recent study on green public procurement, as well as Karolis Granickas of the Open Contracting Partnership non-governmental organisation. They discuss how governments decide what to buy, and what European policy can do to make this process work better. Is there a way for this purchasing to advance the climate transition agenda too? How can governments balance price, product choices and the impact on their local economies? How does this fit with the global context and balancing the pros and cons of non-EU products? This podcast aims to demystify the contracting cycle and unpack some of the issues at stake. Related research: Lappe, M. and F. Nicoli (2025) ‘Advantages and pitfalls of green public procurement as a European strategic tool’, Working Paper 21/2025, Bruegel Towards a Green Procurement Union: trade-offs and strategic choices, Bruegel event, 24 September 2025 See Open Contracting Partnership website: https://www.open-contracting.org/what-is-open-contracting/sustainability/

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• Climate, data and complacency

  In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie sits down with Bruegel’s Heather Grabbe and Guntram Wolff to talk about the real costs of a changing climate. With all the fuss over how to manage the climate transition, economists may be overlooking the rising expenses of the changes happening now. From the rising cost of insurance to future housing shocks, evolving weather trends and water scarcity mean the world could be facing big hits to productivity and gross domestic product. What will be the scale of the change? What should economists be studying? How should policymakers act? They discuss what happens when these shocks collide and intensify, rather than occurring one at a time, and how the world can respond.  Related research: Barata da Rocha, M., H. Grabbe and N. Poitiers (2025) ‘Climate risks to global supply chains’, Working Paper 20/2025, Bruegel  Claeys, G., M. Le Mouel, S. Tagliapietra, G.B. Wolff and G. Zachmann (2024) The Macroeconomics of Decarbonisation Implications and Policies, Cambridge University Press

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• Western Balkan migration: win-win or brain drain?

  In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie speaks about migration trends in the Western Balkans with Bruegel’s Nina Vujanovic and Nina Ruer, as well as Professor Herbert Brücker from Berlin’s Humboldt University in Germany, Since 2015, workers have been heading to Germany from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo, aided by a regulation specific to that region. How have those workers assimilated? What has been the effect on the countries they leave behind? Can better policy address youth unemployment and skills shortages? The discussion tackles the data, the outlook and the political context for Germany, the Western Balkan countries and the EU accession process.  Relevant research: Ruer, N. and N. Vujanović (2025) ‘Migration flows from the Western Balkans to Germany: implications and recommendations’, Working Paper 19/2025, Bruegel Ruer, N. and N. Vujanović (2025) 'Understanding Serbian youth discontent through the lens of the labour market', Analysis, Bruegel

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