We constantly hear of exciting new ways AI tools can help to tackle economic problems and the productivity gains they bring. However, benefits can only materialize when firms actually use AI. Antonin Bergeaud, Guzmán González-Torres Fernández, Vincent Labhard and Richard Sellner explain.

The original post was published on 28 March 2025.
https://ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250328~60c0a587f7.en.html

Subscribe to be notified of future posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/register.en.html

Check out other posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/index.en.html

European Central Bank
www.ecb.europa.eu

Release date:
28 March 2025

AI can boost productivity – if firms use it

Central banks usually seek to align very short-term interest rates in the money market with their own policy rate. But money market rates fluctuate also for reasons other than policy. Fédéric Holm-Hadulla and Sebastiaan Pool show that monetary policy is more effective if such fluctuations are small.

The original post was published on 08 April 2025.
https://ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250404~c1616b47d1.en.html

Subscribe to be notified of future posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/register.en.html

Check out other posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/index.en.html

European Central Bank
www.ecb.europa.eu

Release date:
08 April 2025

Low money market volatility benefits monetary policy transmission

Military and diplomatic conflicts harm economic growth.  Olivier Coibion, Dimitris Georgarakos, Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Geoff Kenny and Justus Meyer shows that the expected length of wars matters for how strongly they weigh on consumer sentiment.

The original post was published on 07 April 2025.
https://ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250407~7023432957.en.html

Subscribe to be notified of future posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/register.en.html

Check out other posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/index.en.html

European Central Bank
www.ecb.europa.eu

Release date:
07 April 2025

Worrying about war: geopolitical risks weigh on consumer sentiment

Institutional investors are increasingly active in housing markets across Europe. Emil Bandoni, Giorgia De Nora, Margherita Giuzio, Ellen Ryan and Manuela Storz examine implications for house price growth and the transmission of monetary policy. 

The original post was published on 04 April 2025.
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250408~a2b4a99903.en.html

Subscribe to be notified of future posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/register.en.html

Check out other posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/index.en.html

European Central Bank
www.ecb.europa.eu

Release date:
08 April 2025

When investors move in: new dynamics in European housing markets

Adam Baumann, Luca Caprari, Maarten Dossche, Georgi Kocharkov and Omiros Kouvavas explore how European consumers react to the prospect of higher trade tariffs. It finds that many are very willing to switch away from US products.

The original post was published on 30 April 2025.
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250430~a1b1668cda.en.html

Subscribe to be notified of future posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/register.en.html

Check out other posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/index.en.html

European Central Bank
www.ecb.europa.eu

Release date:
30 April 2025

How will European consumers react to US tariffs?

Gert Bijnens, John Hutchinson and Arthur Saint Guilhem explain how lasting high energy prices are putting pressure on industries and employment across Europe. They also show that this is hitting some regions, such as southern Germany, the Ruhr and northern Italy, harder than others. 

The original post was published on 5 May 2025.
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250505~86c88d726c.en.html

Subscribe to be notified of future posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/register.en.html

Check out other posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/index.en.html

European Central Bank
www.ecb.europa.eu

How enduring high energy prices could affect jobs

Foreign workers play an increasingly important role in the euro area labour markets. Oscar Arce, Agostino Consolo, António Dias da Silva and Marco Weissler blog analyse the effects migrants had on growth across the largest countries in recent years. It also discusses changing labour market participation patterns among foreign workers.

The original post was published on 8 May 2025.
https://ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250508~897078ce87.en.html

Subscribe to be notified of future posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/register.en.html

Check out other posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/index.en.html

European Central Bank
www.ecb.europa.eu

Foreign workers: a lever for economic growth

Based on joint research conducted by the ECB and Oxford University’s Resilient Planet Finance Lab, Andrej Ceglar, Francesca Danieli, Irene Heemskerk, Mark Jwaideh and Nicola Ranger argue that the degradation of natural ecosystems slows growth and leads to financial instability and that surface water scarcity alone can put almost 15 per cent of euro area’s economic output at risk.

The original post was published on 23 May 2025.
https://ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250523~d39e3a7933.en.html

Subscribe to be notified of future posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/register.en.html

Check out other posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/index.en.html

European Central Bank
www.ecb.europa.eu

Release date:
23 May 2025

The European economy is not drought-proof

Pedro Baptista, Maarten Dossche, Andrew Hannon, Dorian Henricot, Omiros Kouvavas, Davide Malacrino and Larissa Zimmermann investigate the monetary policy transmission from mortgage rates to consumption. They show that the resulting drag on consumption could last at least until 2030.


The original post was published on 28 May 2025.
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250528~bd3c3b750a.en.html

Subscribe to be notified of future posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/register.en.html

Check out other posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/index.en.html

European Central Bank
www.ecb.europa.eu

Release date:
28 May 2025

Monetary policy transmission: from mortgage rates to consumption

Memories of hyperinflation live on in public debates on money. In the case of Germany, the trauma of 1923 is widely seen as the source of the country’s preference for fiscal discipline and stability-oriented central banking. David Barkhausen sheds new light on the collective memory and its genesis.

The original post was published on 20 June 2025.
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250620~13431554af.en.html

Subscribe to be notified of future posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/register.en.html

Check out other posts on The ECB Blog
www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/html/index.en.html

European Central Bank
www.ecb.europa.eu

Hyperinflation: trauma and its reconstruction

The ECB Blog offers new insights on the economy and central bank policies based on our data, analysis and research - for the euro area and beyond. For the full texts of our posts, including visuals, please visit our website.

Posts are authored by ECB staff and the audio versions are machine generated. The views expressed are those of the posts' authors and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank and the Eurosystem.

Hyperinflation: trauma and its reconstruction

The ECB Blog

Related tracks