The ECB’s new inflation target from a short- and long-term perspective

The ECB’s target was recently revised, specifying that the 2%-inflation-rate threshold must be applied symmetrically and with a medium-term orientation. In the current phase, characterized by high inflation rates and a growing risk of stagnation in the euro area, this revision of the monetary policy strategy is crucial for explaining the recent decisions of the ECB and forecasting their possible evolution. However, monetary policy can only become one of many policy tools in the euro area. Therefore, there is room for a compelling policy mix necessary to control excessive inflation and to support the medium-term sustainable growth of the European economy.     

欧洲高等教育聚集区域形成的历史分析

欧洲的高等教育历史悠久，以著名大学为中心的高等教育聚集区在欧洲得以蓬勃发展并非是突发的偶然，它是一定的政治、经济、宗教和文化等多方面发展的产物，是欧洲经济、社会发展状况的表现。通过对欧洲高等教育聚集区域形成的背景加以廓清，并对其形成原因进行了全方位的历史分析，最后提出可供我国高等教育聚集化发展的建议，以促进我国高等教育聚集区域的建设。     

US and them: Job quality differences between natives and immigrants in Europe

Using microdata from the European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) and aggregate indicators of labour market institutions, this article compares the job quality of native and non-native workers across European countries and analyses the impact of the institutional settings on the job quality differential between both groups. The LFS is used to measure a job quality index for the period 2005–2017. We find that some immigrant groups fare worse than natives, the contribution of the “composition effect” to explain this differential is large, and the institutional framework affects the immigration gap in job quality. In particular, some labour market institutions (more centralized wage bargaining, stricter employment protection legislation) tend to be detrimental for immigrants relative to natives, while integration policies seem to work well in reducing these differences.     

Improving the protection of migrant workers with work histories in the European Union and Ibero-America: Enhancing the coordination of international social security instruments

Migration affects almost every nation, emphasizing the need to guarantee social security rights for all migrants and their families. This article focuses on the rights of workers who migrate between the countries of the European Union (EU) and the Ibero-American community. In the EU, social security systems are increasingly coordinated through Regulation No. 883/2004 and its Implementing Regulation No. 987/2009. In the Ibero-American community, coordination is sought through the Ibero-American Social Security Convention. Despite convergence between these two international instruments, coordination is still lacking between them. This article presents a comparative analysis to articulate the necessary mechanisms to guarantee coordination, to respect the social security rights of migrant workers. We focus on the cooperation and coordination between regional as well as national systems, specifically looking at the need for and aims of a rapprochement between these two major international coordination instruments to provide greater EU-Ibero-American cooperation. Finally, the importance of promoting greater international cooperation in social security policy and administration is highlighted, to engender the adequate protection of the rights as well as the free movement of migrant workers.     

从共同农业政策看欧共体的运行机制

欧共体共同农业政策涉及各成员国,尤其是法国、德国、英国三个欧洲大国的农产品生产、出口、进口,农产品关税、补贴等问题,因涉及各成员国的重大利益,故各成员国进行了尖锐复杂的利益博弈和协调妥协.该政策的孕育、诞生、调整,典型地展示了欧共体的运行机制:以各成员国在共同的大利益上的一致性克服它们在小利益上的矛盾性;通过成员国之间、成员国与欧共体之间的艰苦谈判,求得彼此的利益协调.这种运行机制维系了比较松散的欧共体的内部团结,促进了欧共体的发展.当然,它并不能解决欧共体内部重大和深刻的利益矛盾,也不能解决成员国内部对待欧共体的态度分歧.     

Power and its sources in the governance of global value chains: The Argentina–European Union biodiesel value chain

This paper tackles the broader question of why inequality along global value chains (GVCs) tends to remain unchallenged despite the successful upgrading and insertion of firms operating in the world-system's periphery. Because the reduction and reproduction of inequalities are both intimately connected to power relations along GVCs, such relations are at the core of my analysis. Conceptually, my theorization of power builds on recent work by Dallas, Ponte and Sturgeon, which has sought to more systematically theorize and account for the multidimensional nature of power, and complements it with key insights drawn from World-Systems theory. Empirically, this paper analyses the biodiesel GVC between Argentina and the European Union, a case in which the successful economic upgrading and enhanced competitiveness of biodiesel producers in Argentina fail to overturn their subordinated position vis-à-vis European producers and traders.