European Economic Experts Panel

The Clark Center for Global Markets explores economists’ views on vital policy issues via our US and European Economic Experts Panels. We regularly poll over 80 economists on a range of timely and relevant topics. Panelists not only have the opportunity to respond to a poll’s statements, but an opportunity to comment and provide additional resources, if they wish. The Clark Center then shares the results with the public in a straightforward and concise format.

Please note that from September 2022, the language in our polls will use just two modifiers to refer to the size of an effect:

‘Substantial’: when an effect is large enough that it would make a difference that matters for the behavior involved.
‘Measurable’: when the direction of the effect is clear, but perhaps experts would differ as to whether it is substantial.

Quarterly Earnings

Europe

Quarterly Earnings

Question A:

Letting publicly traded European firms report earnings annually rather than quarterly would lead their executives to place more weight on long-term issues in their investments and other decisions.

Responses

Source: European Clark Center Economic Experts Panel
Methodology

Question B:

A switch from quarterly to annual earnings reports would, on net, benefit shareholders of European firms.

Responses

Source: European Clark Center Economic Experts Panel
Methodology

Business, Management, & Corporate Performance

February 7, 2019

Social Responsibility

Europe

Social Responsibility

Question A:

To the extent that public corporations pursue social and environmental initiatives, they tend to achieve higher risk-adjusted (private) returns than otherwise similar corporations that pursue such initiatives less.

Responses

Source: European Clark Center Economic Experts Panel
Methodology

Question B:

To the extent that Norway’s global government pension fund makes investments for social and environmental objectives — apart from investments that would bring the highest expected risk-adjusted returns — it improves the welfare of Norwegians.

Responses

Source: European Clark Center Economic Experts Panel
Methodology

Business, Management, & Corporate Performance

January 17, 2019

EU Fiscal Rules

Europe

EU Fiscal Rules

This week's IGM European Economic Experts Panel statements:

A) The fiscal rules of the European Union should give more flexibility to member countries.

B) The Italian budget for 2019 that the European Commission rejected in October would have increased Italy’s risk of fiscal insolvency substantially.

C) If France runs a 2019 budget deficit of around 3.4% of GDP, as announced by President Macron’s government, France’s risk of fiscal insolvency will increase substantially.

Clark Center Economic Experts Panel

December 19, 2018

Ride-Sharing Caps

Europe

Ride-Sharing Caps

This week's IGM European Experts Panel statements:

A) Capping the number of ride-sharing drivers as is being discussed in New York City, Chicago, and London will make the average resident in that city worse off.

B) To achieve a given level of congestion, it would be better to use taxes for driving that vary based on the level of congestion, rather than limiting the number of ride-sharing vehicles.

Clark Center Economic Experts Panel

December 6, 2018

Immigration and Government Budgets

Europe

Immigration and Government Budgets

This week's European Economic Experts Panel statement:

People who migrated to Europe between 2015 and 2018 are likely — over the next two decades — to contribute more in taxes paid than they receive in benefits and public services.

Clark Center Economic Experts Panel

November 7, 2018

Increasing Returns

Europe

Increasing Returns

This week's IGM European Economic Experts Panel statement:

Ideas are nonrival, so increasing returns to scale is an essential feature of technological change in a market economy.

Clark Center Economic Experts Panel

October 17, 2018

Governments and Economic Performance

Europe

Governments and Economic Performance

This week's IGM European Experts Panel Statement:

Voters overestimate the effect that current governments have on their economies’ concurrent economic performance.

Clark Center Economic Experts Panel

October 2, 2018

Autonomous Cars

Europe

Autonomous Cars

This week’s IGM European Economic Experts Panel statement:

Over the next decade, autonomous cars will raise average welfare in the EU by at least as much as smartphones have over the past decade.

Clark Center Economic Experts Panel

July 25, 2018

Central Banks and Productivity

Europe

Central Banks and Productivity

This week's IGM European Economic Experts Panel Statement:

Britain’s Labour party recently proposed giving the Bank of England a target of 3% annual labor productivity growth. Consider the following statement:

Central banks cannot significantly increase productivity growth over a ten year horizon, except perhaps by promoting macroeconomic stability.

Clark Center Economic Experts Panel

July 5, 2018

Digital Sales Tax

Europe

Digital Sales Tax

This week’s IGM European Economic Experts Panel statements:The European Commission has proposed new rules to ensure that “digital business activities are taxed in a fair and growth-friendly way in the EU”. Consider two statements regarding this proposal: An EU-wide 3% tax on revenue from digital activities would, on balance, be a good idea.

If the EU decides to tax digital service providers, it would be better — given the difficulties of measuring and verifying digital activity — to tax them on the revenue, rather than the profits, that they generate locally.

Clark Center Economic Experts Panel

May 31, 2018