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Begin New Search Topic Economics Content Type Policy Brief

101. Belarus Goes Nuclear: Context and Prospects of the Astravyets NPP

Author:
Yuri Tsarik
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Centre for Defence and Security - ICDS
Abstract:
On 7 November 2020, the president of Belarus, Aleksander Lukashenko, visited the Astravyets Nuclear Power Plant (Astravyets NPP) and dubbed its pending commissioning a “historic moment” for Belarus. Despite several incidents during the tests in late 2020 and early 2021 that prompted shutdowns of the reactor, the first unit was reconnected to Belarus’s power grid at full nominal capacity on 21 January 2021. The Astravyets NPP launch took place amid the worst political crisis in the country’s history. Following a rigged presidential election in August 2020 and violent suppression of the ensuing protests, the Belarusian authorities found themselves lacking legitimacy domestically and facing mounting political and economic pressure internationally. These events, and the choices made in response to them, are reshaping the geopolitical and geoeconomic context in which the plant will operate and thus are affecting the prospects of the entire project.
Topic:
Economics, Nuclear Power, Elections, Geopolitics, Legitimacy, and Political Crisis
Political Geography:
Eurasia and Belarus

102. Assessing the economic, societal, and cultural benefits of YouTube in Poland

Author:
Oxford Economics
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
This study assesses YouTube’s contribution to GDP and employment in Poland, and its broader impact on society and culture. YouTube enables Polish content creators to reach a large domestic and international audience. This supports substantial economic value for those who earn income from the platform, for example as they are paid a share of the revenues from advertising placed alongside their videos. A YouTube presence can also help creators earn revenues from other sources, such as product sales, brand partnerships, or live performance engagements. These revenue sources not only support jobs and income for the creators themselves, but also wider activity in supply chains, and through workers’ spending. In total, our economic modelling suggests that YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed around €98 million to the Polish economy in 2020 and supported 11,000 full-time equivalent jobs. In this report we outline our economic analysis, as well as the findings of wider survey research to investigate how YouTube can build skills and knowledge amongst users; enrich and promote Polish culture; and sustain careers for content creators. We also highlight how YouTube has proved helpful during Covid-19. Alongside the findings from our economic modelling and surveys, we present a series of case studies to highlight th the personal stories of successful Polish content creators.
Topic:
Economics, Mass Media, Social Media, YouTube, and Content Analysis
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

103. Assessing the economic, societal, and cultural benefits of YouTube in Spain

Author:
Oxford Economics
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
YouTube enables Spanish content creators to reach a large domestic and international audience. This supports substantial economic value for those who earn income from the platform, for example as they are paid a share of the revenues from advertising placed alongside their videos. A YouTube presence can also help creators earn revenues from other sources, such as product sales, brand partnerships, or live performance engagements. These revenue sources not only support jobs and income for the creators themselves, but also wider activity in supply chains, and through workers’ spending. In total, our economic modelling suggests that YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed around €313 million to the Spanish economy in 2020 and supported 21,000 full-time equivalent jobs. In this report we outline our economic analysis, as well as the findings of wider survey research to investigate how YouTube can sustain careers for content creators; build skills and knowledge amongst users; and promote Spanish culture to a global audience. We also highlight how YouTube has proved helpful during Covid-19. Alongside the findings from our economic modelling and surveys, we present a series of case studies to highlight the personal stories of successful Spanish content creators.
Topic:
Economics, Mass Media, Social Media, YouTube, and Content Analysis
Political Geography:
Europe and Spain

104. AirBnB: An Economic Engine in the EU27

Author:
Oxford Economics
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
This study seeks to identify Airbnb’s contribution to: • Economic Impact – Airbnb guests spend in the local area, stimulating the local economy and providing employment opportunities. • Geographical Dispersion – Airbnb’s model results in visitors staying in a wider range of areas within countries outside of the more typical destinations visited. This has helped drive an observed urbanto-rural shift in tourism. • Pandemic Resilience – Throughout the pandemic, Airbnb supported travel to both rural and urban locations within the EU27. Despite the significant fall in travel over the pandemic period, Airbnb’s travel fell less than the industry average, indicating pandemic resilience on the part of Airbnb.
Topic:
Economics, Tourism, Local, and Travel
Political Geography:
Global Focus

105. Assessing the economic, societal, and cultural benefits of YouTube in Italy

Author:
Oxford Economics
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
YouTube enables Italian content creators to reach a large domestic and international audience. This supports substantial economic value for those who earn income from the platform, for example as they are paid a share of the revenues from advertising placed alongside their videos. A YouTube presence can also help creators earn revenues from other sources, such as product sales, brand partnerships, or live performance engagements. These revenue sources not only support jobs and income for the creators themselves, but also wider activity in supply chains, and through workers’ spending. In total, our economic modelling suggests that YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed around €190 million to the Italian economy in 2020 and supported 15,000 full-time equivalent jobs. In this report we outline our economic analysis, as well as the findings of wider survey research to investigate how YouTube can sustain careers for content creators; promote Italian culture to a global audience; drive cultural diversity; and support businesses. We also highlight how YouTube has proved helpful during Covid-19. Alongside the findings from our economic modelling and surveys, we present a series of case studies to highlight the personal stories of successful Italian content creators.
Topic:
Economics, Mass Media, Social Media, YouTube, and Content Analysis
Political Geography:
Europe and Italy

106. Assessing the economic, societal, and cultural benefits of YouTube in Ireland

Author:
Oxford Economics
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
YouTube enables Irish content creators to reach a large domestic and international audience. This supports substantial economic value for those who earn income from the platform, for example as they are paid a share of the revenues from advertising placed alongside their videos. A YouTube presence can also help creators earn revenues from other sources, such as product sales, brand partnerships, or live performance engagements. These revenue sources not only support jobs and income for the creators themselves, but also wider activity in supply chains, and through workers’ spending. In total, our economic modelling suggests that YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed around €30 million to the Irish economy in 2020 and supported 1,600 full-time equivalent jobs. In this report we outline our economic analysis, as well as the findings of wider survey research to investigate how YouTube can build skills and knowledge amongst users; promote cultural diversity; and sustain careers for content creators. We also highlight how YouTube has proved helpful during Covid-19.
Topic:
Economics, Mass Media, Social Media, YouTube, and Content Analysis
Political Geography:
Europe and Ireland

107. The European Union at a Crossroads: Unlocking Renewable Hydrogen’s Potential

Author:
Nicola De Blasio and Alejandro Nuñez-Jimenez
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
European countries are at a crossroads on their path to carbon neutrality. Today, they are at the forefront of the global clean hydrogen race but going forward they would be better served by collaborating instead of working alone. Overall, the European Union (EU) is highly competitive in clean technologies manufacturing and thus well-positioned to benefit from the emergence of global hydrogen markets. But a narrow focus on short-term cost considerations could drive member states to implement national roadmaps with little or no coordination among themselves and hence little or no chance of competing globally. As a bloc, the EU has pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Clean hydrogen is a cornerstone of this transformational effort; accordingly, in July 2020, the EU adopted its hydrogen strategy with the ambition of deploying open and competitive clean hydrogen markets for all energy sectors and segments by 2050.1 Success hinges around implementing a cohesive long-term strategy to address a fundamental ques- tion and its associated challenges: where could the EU source competitive and secure renewable hydrogen supplies? As our previous research shows, all countries have access to renewable resources (such as solar or wind), to different degrees, and could produce some renewable hydrogen locally. However, while resource-rich countries, such as Spain, could evolve into regional exporters, no EU member state has the potential to become a global export champion. At the same time, North African countries, such as Morocco, are well-situated to act as key suppliers to the EU. Furthermore, imports from resource-rich regions like North America could help to address security of supply concerns.2 Today, EU hydrogen demand stands at 7.8 million tons per year (Mt/yr), equivalent to about 10% of global demand. Germany and the Netherlands are the largest consumers, accounting for over a third of EU demand, followed by Poland, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and France, which consume about 0.5 Mt/yr each.3 According to available projections, as hydrogen use grows across all economic sectors, EU hydrogen demand could reach 76 Mt/yr by 2050. But while the EU strategy sets clear targets on electrolyzer deployment by 2030, it provides very few details on how the bloc could meet demand—and at what cost—by 2050.
Topic:
Economics, Environment, Science and Technology, Natural Resources, European Union, Innovation, Hydrogen, and Energy
Political Geography:
Europe

108. The evolving gender gap in labor force participation during COVID-19

Author:
Simeon Djankov, Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, Lisa Hyland, and Eva (Yiwen) Zhang
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Despite many significant gains by women in the paid workforce in recent decades, the percentage of women participating in the labor force has remained lower than the percentage of male participants. Now, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic downturn it precipitated, the gap in labor force participation between men and women in some economies has actually widened, with potentially damaging repercussions for women’s career prospects and pay. The pandemic has disproportionately affected sectors employing more women, such as retail stores, restaurants, and the hotel and hospitality business. An increase in family caregiving responsibilities because of school and childcare closures has also fallen on working mothers' shoulders. Both factors have pulled women out of the labor force. The authors track trends in male and female labor force participation in 43 countries and find substantial differences across countries in the way women’s participation has been affected relative to that of men. In some countries, such as Colombia, Chile, and Cyprus, the gender gap in labor force participation widened the most during the pandemic. The gender gap also widened in the United States, driving 2.5 million women from their jobs in what Vice President Kamala Harris called a “national emergency” for women. In other economies, such as Luxembourg and Lithuania, the gender gap in labor force participation, unexpectedly, shrank during the early period of the pandemic. On average, female employees have fared better in countries where women are less concentrated in the services sector, less likely to be employed as temporary workers, and where laws supported greater equality at the onset of the crisis. Greater government expenditure on childcare in the pre-COVID-19 era, however, does not appear to have insulated female workers from the damaging repercussions of the pandemic.
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, Labor Issues, Women, Services, COVID-19, and Empowerment
Political Geography:
Colombia, Chile, Cyprus, Global Focus, and United States of America

109. Economic costs and benefits of accelerated COVID-19 vaccinations

Author:
Joseph E. Gagnon, Steve Kamin, and John Kearns
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
COVID-19 vaccination programs are generally understood to be a prerequisite for a return to normalcy in our social and economic lives. Emergency measures to research, test, produce, and distribute vaccines have been expensive, but increases in GDP resulting from the vaccines are expected to exceed those costs by wide margins. Few studies have quantified the economic costs and benefits of different rates of COVID-19 vaccination, however. This Policy Brief focuses on developing such a quantitative assessment for the United States; the approach may be applied to other countries as well. Two illustrative scenarios support the conclusion that most plausible options to accelerate vaccinations would have economic benefits that far exceed their costs, in addition to their more important accomplishment of saving lives. This Policy Brief shows that if, for example, the United States had adopted a more aggressive policy in 2020 of unconditional contracts with vaccine producers, the up-front cost would have been higher but thousands of lives would have been saved and economic growth would have been stronger. Instead, the federal government conditioned its contracts on the vaccines’ being proven safe and effective. The projections presented in this analysis show that even if unconditional contracts led to support for vaccines that failed the phase III trial and ultimately were not used, the cost would have been worth it.
Topic:
Economics, Health, Crisis Management, COVID-19, and Health Crisis
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

110. The economic gains of reducing the employment gender gap in Morocco

Author:
Olivier Bargain and Maria C. Lo Bue
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, including Morocco, currently record the lowest rates of female labour force participation (FLFP) in the world. These rates — between 20-30% in 2019 — appear substantially low in comparison to Western countries, but also compared to low- and middle-income countries that average between 40% (Asia) and 55% (Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa).
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, Women, Employment, and Economic Growth
Political Geography:
North Africa and Morocco