The narrowing of the gender pay gap slowed around the turn of the 21st century. Meanwhile, younger workers have fared progressively worse than older workers. This column uses data for the US, Italy, Canada, and the UK to show that while pay convergence was initially driven by a narrowing of the gender gap at labour […]

The US aims to revitalise its domestic semiconductor manufacturing industry, but will there be enough skilled workers to meet the ambitious goals? This column presents evidence, based on a global dataset of 1.6 million employees with chip manufacturing skills, that US protectionist policies – increased tariffs and visa restrictions – implemented since 2018 may have […]

Japan identifies ‘top-level sales’ through overseas visits by political leaders as an important policy tool to help Japanese firms win more infrastructure contracts. However, overseas visits can be controversial, not least because of their cost. This column examines the net benefit of overseas visits by Japanese political leaders. The probability of contracts being awarded to […]