A service of the


The value added of central bank digital currencies

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are reshaping the financial landscape globally. This Forum features articles by the speakers at our recent event, organised jointly with Bruegel and the Atlantic Council. The authors define CBDCs, debate their pros and cons, examine the issues and prospects they represent, and share country-specific experiences with the development and roll-out of digital currencies.

Read more

Forum · Issue 3 · 2023
 Inflation Strikes Back: How to Restore Control

After almost four decades of price stability, inflation has recently approached historical highs. Initially driven by global energy and food price increases, the magnitude of the surge in inflation caught central banks and markets by surprise. Despite monetary policy tightening, inflation upside risks are large. How can central banks restore control – and with it their own credibility? Featuring contributions from participants in the CEPS 2023 Ideas Lab session on inflation, this Forum examines the options for central banks, the obstacles in their paths and the best course of action.

Read more

Forum · Issue 2 · 2023
 Rethinking Resource Efficiency: Europe’s Transition to a Circular Economy

The war in Ukraine has brought the challenges stemming from Europe’s dependency on natural gas and oil imports into sharp focus. This has also highlighted another dependency – that on raw materials that are critical for the EU’s transition to a low-carbon economy. A strategic approach to raw material management can help negate the risks posed by a dependency on imports of critical raw materials. Improving resource efficiency is also necessary to sustain socio-economic progress in the face of finite natural resources.

Read more

Forum · Issue 1 · 2023
 Tackling the European Energy Crisis

Having had little time to absorb the economic and social shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU is confronted with yet another crisis – rising energy prices due to Russia’s war in Ukraine coupled with inflation reaching historic levels. Household burdens vary greatly across and within EU member states, requiring different policy responses. In this Forum, contributors consider specific responses from individual EU member states and the EU as a whole to determine best practices and gauge how they may be more effectively applied.

Read more

Editorial
 Centralisation of European Fiscal Rules?

The European Commission’s recent proposal to reform the EU’s “economic governance rules” may lead to even greater political capture of budgetary surveillance at the European level, writes Thiess Büttner. It is also likely to damage existing enforcement structures.

Read more

Letter from America
 Bidenomics

Bidenomics means different things to different people. It also seems to mean different things to President Biden. This lack of clear definition is part of why Biden receives little credit for his handling of the economy, writes Barry Eichengreen.  

Read more

CBDC
 China’s Digital Currency

While the development of e-CNY does not in itself lead to the erosion of the dollar’s dominance, Chinese payments infrastructure can be weaponized, writes Ananya Kumar. Punitive economic measures have and will continue to enhance the usability of Chinese financial architecture by other countries.

Read more

Forum
 Reversing the Great Monetary Expansion

After much complacency about the prospect that the expansionary era may last forever, the abrupt and strong change of direction raises controversies which may put the reputation and the popular support of central banks at risk. Ignazio Angeloni discusses how to deal with the balance sheet of the ECB.

Read more

France
 The 2023 Pension Reform

The objective of the 2023 pension reform is more modest than that of the previous reform attempt: it mainly aims to eliminate the projected deficit in the pension system by 2030. However, it is difficult to do this in a way that is perceived as fair for all, write Hervé Boulhol and Monika Queisser.

Read more

Strategic Autonomy
 The EU’s Quest for Strategic Raw Materials

With demand for raw materials increasing and geopolitical tensions intensifying, the need for a regulatory framework, particularly for domestic mining and recycling, has become a precondition for the EU to achieve security of supply, write Edoardo Righetti and Vasileios Rizos.

Read more

Quote of the Month

"The rapid increase in the interest in CBDCs coincides with a visible increase in the deployment of economic statecraft tools since March 2022, when access to the reserves of the Central Bank of Russia were blocked by the G7. This decision and subsequent sanctions on Russia have come to add to the threat of fragmentation in the global financial system."

Maria Demertzis and Josh Lipsky

The Geopolitics of Central Bank Digital Currencies

Current Issue

Volume 58
2023
Issue 4

Read online

Figure of the Month

Potential price cap violations in Q1 2023

While measures targeting Russian energy exports, in particular crude oil and oil products, have had a noticeable impact, evidence for potentially widespread violations of the price cap regime is emerging.

Read the full article