About time we called it the price-wage spiral.
Do wages drive inflation, or does inflation drive wages? A new paper for Switzerland finds inflation strongly influences wage growth, but wages have only a weak effect on prices. Inflation is driven more by imports, expectations, and economic slack than by wage pressures.
February 13, 2026 at 2:51 PM
About time we called it the price-wage spiral.
The most important and least-commented on aspect of the EU's embrace of the coalitions of the willing approach - better late than never! - is the prospect that the politics of FOMO will make for much more integration by all.
February 13, 2026 at 1:16 PM
The most important and least-commented on aspect of the EU's embrace of the coalitions of the willing approach - better late than never! - is the prospect that the politics of FOMO will make for much more integration by all.
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
Same for the European Union: get Palantir out. And Peter Thiel’s ties with European politicians, ao Sebastian Kurz should be scrutinised.
February 5, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Same for the European Union: get Palantir out. And Peter Thiel’s ties with European politicians, ao Sebastian Kurz should be scrutinised.
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
Name them
shame them
shame them
February 5, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Name them
shame them
shame them
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
If Jeff Bezos could afford to spend $75 million on the Melania movie & $500 million for a yacht to sail off to his $55 million wedding to give his wife a $5 million ring, please don't tell me he needed to fire one-third of the Washington Post staff.
Democracy dies in oligarchy.
Democracy dies in oligarchy.
February 5, 2026 at 12:16 AM
If Jeff Bezos could afford to spend $75 million on the Melania movie & $500 million for a yacht to sail off to his $55 million wedding to give his wife a $5 million ring, please don't tell me he needed to fire one-third of the Washington Post staff.
Democracy dies in oligarchy.
Democracy dies in oligarchy.
Don't bring a euro to a currency fight, until you've made some improvements. as.ft.com/r/5f158b51-0...
Bringing euros to a weaponised currency fight
[FREE TO READ] In monetary matters, the EU must live up to the current geopolitical moment
as.ft.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Don't bring a euro to a currency fight, until you've made some improvements. as.ft.com/r/5f158b51-0...
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
I am a Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. I have a question.
Why has Trump's year of negotiations been the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion? The number of deaths and injuries has increased by 31 percent compared to the previous year.
Why has Trump's year of negotiations been the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion? The number of deaths and injuries has increased by 31 percent compared to the previous year.
February 4, 2026 at 2:38 PM
I am a Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. I have a question.
Why has Trump's year of negotiations been the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion? The number of deaths and injuries has increased by 31 percent compared to the previous year.
Why has Trump's year of negotiations been the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion? The number of deaths and injuries has increased by 31 percent compared to the previous year.
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
The populist free lunch is a mirage. As @martinsandbu.ft.com argues in the @financialtimes.com, today’s fault line is not left vs right but centre vs periphery. Uneven #geography breeds anger, anger➡️risk—& risk drains #growth.
www.ft.com/content/91de...
publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/h...
www.ft.com/content/91de...
publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/h...
The left-behind economy and what to do about it
New insights into regional inequality
www.ft.com
February 1, 2026 at 8:53 AM
The populist free lunch is a mirage. As @martinsandbu.ft.com argues in the @financialtimes.com, today’s fault line is not left vs right but centre vs periphery. Uneven #geography breeds anger, anger➡️risk—& risk drains #growth.
www.ft.com/content/91de...
publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/h...
www.ft.com/content/91de...
publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/h...
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
'The Economics of Belonging' by @martinsandbu.ft.com also very clear on this. Big role for civil society / social enterprises helping deliver places that are nice to live in e.g. 👉 architecturetoday.co.uk/the-butterma....
January 30, 2026 at 10:35 AM
'The Economics of Belonging' by @martinsandbu.ft.com also very clear on this. Big role for civil society / social enterprises helping deliver places that are nice to live in e.g. 👉 architecturetoday.co.uk/the-butterma....
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
Great to see @martinsandbu.ft.com rejecting fatalism on regional inequality & focusing on what can be done…
www.ft.com/content/91de...
www.ft.com/content/91de...
The left-behind economy and what to do about it
New insights into regional inequality
www.ft.com
January 30, 2026 at 10:35 AM
Great to see @martinsandbu.ft.com rejecting fatalism on regional inequality & focusing on what can be done…
www.ft.com/content/91de...
www.ft.com/content/91de...
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
"Where are you going to, little brown mouse? Come for a feast in my logpile house."
"If Zelensky is willing to meet with Putin, we are ready - we invite him to Moscow." - said Putin’s aide Ushakov.
January 28, 2026 at 3:02 PM
"Where are you going to, little brown mouse? Come for a feast in my logpile house."
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
European allies give the United States far more than is often acknowledged: bases, overflight rights, intelligence, and forward presence. Without Europe, America would be less a global power.
www.defenseone.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.defenseone.com/ideas/2026/0...
Trump’s Greenland threat has already hurt US security—but far worse may come
A hostile takeover would shatter America’s key alliance, limit its military’s global reach, and invite economic reprisal.
www.defenseone.com
January 26, 2026 at 3:03 PM
European allies give the United States far more than is often acknowledged: bases, overflight rights, intelligence, and forward presence. Without Europe, America would be less a global power.
www.defenseone.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.defenseone.com/ideas/2026/0...
You have read the Carney speech channelling Vaclav Havel's Power of the Powerless. But what precisely is that power in the new world order, and what exactly does it mean to "take the sign down"? as.ft.com/r/daa0b732-e...
Middle powers may miss the global order more than they think
[FREE TO READ] Even if you are not interested in the superpowers, they will sooner or later be interested in you
as.ft.com
January 26, 2026 at 1:08 PM
You have read the Carney speech channelling Vaclav Havel's Power of the Powerless. But what precisely is that power in the new world order, and what exactly does it mean to "take the sign down"? as.ft.com/r/daa0b732-e...
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
A message from Greenland…
January 26, 2026 at 3:07 AM
A message from Greenland…
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
January 19, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
@martinsandbu.ft.com is correct: for middle powers to cooperate vis-a-vis the superpowers, institutions and shared values are required -- and the EU is the only large enough actor around which such an alliance can coalesce. But this means the EU itself needs to get behind a fair rules-based order.
Middle powers may miss the global order more than they think
Even if you are not interested in the superpowers, they will sooner or later be interested in you
www.ft.com
January 26, 2026 at 6:35 AM
@martinsandbu.ft.com is correct: for middle powers to cooperate vis-a-vis the superpowers, institutions and shared values are required -- and the EU is the only large enough actor around which such an alliance can coalesce. But this means the EU itself needs to get behind a fair rules-based order.
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
Good ideas from @martinsandbu.ft.com on what Europe needs to do to put more pressure on Putin, and be indispensable to talks about #Ukraine www.ft.com/content/7409...
Europe must turn the tables on Putin before talking
The priority should be to maximise strategic leverage — and only then pursue communication channels
www.ft.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:20 PM
Good ideas from @martinsandbu.ft.com on what Europe needs to do to put more pressure on Putin, and be indispensable to talks about #Ukraine www.ft.com/content/7409...
Very good to see the EU at least think about previously unthinkable things. It's of course easy to see how this could get messy. How about a different way of doing it. Start with full but *temporary* membership, which converts into permanence if certain conditions are met within a deadline. /
The @financialtimes.com reveals EU plans to allow fast-track membership for Ukraine. An extraordinary measure for extraordinary times? Or a Trump-Putin trap? "We are walking into it," warns one diplomat.
Read the story on #FTEdit 👉 ft.trib.al/XBu34e6
Then take today's poll 🗳️ ft.trib.al/X4YTue6
Read the story on #FTEdit 👉 ft.trib.al/XBu34e6
Then take today's poll 🗳️ ft.trib.al/X4YTue6
January 16, 2026 at 11:43 AM
Very good to see the EU at least think about previously unthinkable things. It's of course easy to see how this could get messy. How about a different way of doing it. Start with full but *temporary* membership, which converts into permanence if certain conditions are met within a deadline. /
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
Should we be worried about a government with a gross debt ratio of 230% of GDP and a net debt ratio of 130% of GDP if its net financial liabilities are lower than those of the US government?
January 16, 2026 at 11:07 AM
Should we be worried about a government with a gross debt ratio of 230% of GDP and a net debt ratio of 130% of GDP if its net financial liabilities are lower than those of the US government?
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
January 14, 2026 at 2:49 PM
let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
@abenewman.bsky.social is right. There is an alternative. as.ft.com/r/7b8f914c-f...
January 14, 2026 at 12:25 PM
@abenewman.bsky.social is right. There is an alternative. as.ft.com/r/7b8f914c-f...
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
6/It needs to wake up and realize the US is playing a different game — neo-royalism. This is not about finding a new normal. The squeeze is the point.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System | International Organization | Cambridge Core
Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System - Volume 79 Issue S1
www.cambridge.org
January 14, 2026 at 12:14 PM
6/It needs to wake up and realize the US is playing a different game — neo-royalism. This is not about finding a new normal. The squeeze is the point.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
HANG IT IN THE LOUVRE!
This is the biggest single procurement of offshore wind energy in British *and European* history. Enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of over 12 million homes.
This is the biggest single procurement of offshore wind energy in British *and European* history. Enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of over 12 million homes.
UK Government secures 8.4 GW of offshore wind in Contracts for Difference Round 7 (AR7)
www.renewableenergymagazine.com/wind/uk-gove...
www.renewableenergymagazine.com/wind/uk-gove...
UK Government secures 8.4 GW of offshore wind in Contracts for Difference Round 7 (AR7)
The UK Government has announced what it describes as a ?record breaking? result from its latest renewables energy auction, moving on from the previous, Conservative, government?s ...
www.renewableenergymagazine.com
January 14, 2026 at 10:45 AM
HANG IT IN THE LOUVRE!
This is the biggest single procurement of offshore wind energy in British *and European* history. Enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of over 12 million homes.
This is the biggest single procurement of offshore wind energy in British *and European* history. Enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of over 12 million homes.
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
"The Russian economy is under enormous strain, and is running out of resources.... The policy implication is that sanctions are highly effective, despite their imperfect implementation and enforcement."
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
By @martinsandbu.ft.com
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
By @martinsandbu.ft.com
Russia is running out of money
Go behind the propaganda, and the intensifying strain is evident
giftarticle.ft.com
January 11, 2026 at 9:34 AM
"The Russian economy is under enormous strain, and is running out of resources.... The policy implication is that sanctions are highly effective, despite their imperfect implementation and enforcement."
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
By @martinsandbu.ft.com
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
By @martinsandbu.ft.com
Reposted by Martin Sandbu
Hear hear! 👏 @martinsandbu.ft.com tells Europe to shed its fear for Trump’s wrath and to plot its own course. “Truly strategic thinking for Europeans is not ingratiation but making clear what they are willing to fight for”
Europe should embrace the idea of going it alone ft.trib.al/zVWWKZs | opinion
Europe should embrace the idea of going it alone
The more the EU has to pay for ingratiation with Trump, the less convincing its strategic rationale for doing so
ft.trib.al
January 11, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Hear hear! 👏 @martinsandbu.ft.com tells Europe to shed its fear for Trump’s wrath and to plot its own course. “Truly strategic thinking for Europeans is not ingratiation but making clear what they are willing to fight for”