THE POWER OF PEOPLE, PLACES & FIRMS
Reading Time: 4 minutesTwo years after the onset of COVID-19, the future of work remains a topic of lively, even heated, debate. Early in the pandemic, some were quick to announce the demise of the centre-city office. The apparent success of remote work, they said, would lead to a revival of the suburbs, exurbs, and rural areas, with “work hubs” popping up as needed.
Reading Time: 3 minutesWith mounting pressures on water resources from climate, urbanisation and demographic trends in Africa, more partnerships between national and local leaders are needed. Mayors in particular now need to turn the key to unlock the development of better water policies for better lives.
Reading Time: 3 minutes1 in 10 people across OECD countries are migrants. They bring fiscal benefits to their host countries. Latest OECD estimates across 25 countries show that migrants contributed USD 2.5 trillion in taxes annually, USD 570 billion more than governments spent on them.
Reading Time: 5 minutesEvery year the city of Brussels imports over 60 000 tons of wood, when the wood could be sourced from the Sonian Forest just outside the city. Instead, most of the wood sourced from the forest is exported to Asia to be processed and sent back as finished products. The Sonian Wood Coop was launched in 2019 to change this dynamic.
Reading Time: 4 minutesEstablished during Germany’s “refugee crisis” six years ago, the ReDI School of Digital Integration brings together IT professionals to teach coding and basic computer skills to refugees and migrants.
Reading Time: 4 minutesThe ability to telework provided an important source of resilience for people, firms and places during the pandemic. In OECD countries, teleworking grew from around 16% of employees before the crisis to around 37% during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020.
Reading Time: 6 minutesBerlin, London, Madrid and Paris are engines of productivity growth that have long been magnets for young and skilled workers. COVID-19 has brought this boom to a halt. Indeed job posting data offer an unparalleled view of how the pandemic has transformed labour markets in Europe’s four largest capitals at the start of 2021.