External speakers / Former scholars

Silvia Merler

Head of ESG and Policy Research, Algebris Investments; Former Affiliate fellow, Bruegel

Expertise: macroeconomics, european governance, ECB and monetary policy, international economics CV: Download CV Twitter: @SMerler

Silvia Merler, an Italian citizen, is the Head of ESG and Policy Research at Algebris Investments.

She joined Bruegel as Affiliate Fellow at Bruegel in August 2013. Her main research interests include international macro and financial economics, central banking and EU institutions and policy making.

Before joining Bruegel, she worked as Economic Analyst in DG Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission (ECFIN). There she focused on macro-financial stability as well as financial assistance and stability mechanisms, in particular on the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), providing supportive analysis for the policy negotiations.

Between May 2011 and August 2012, she worked as Research Assistant to Jean Pisani-Ferry, then-director of Bruegel. During 2009 and 2010, while a student, she collaborated to research projects of Bocconi University and the Italian ENI Enrico Mattei Foundation (FEEM). During this period she was involved in the MICRODYN project, working on a cross-country and cross-sectors analysis of productivity developments with firm level data, and on the POLINARES project (“Policy for Natural Resources”).

Born in 1986, she holds a MSc in Economics and Social Sciences at Bocconi University in Milan and graduated in 2011 with a thesis on Current Account Imbalances within the Euro Area. She obtained a BA in Economics and Social Sciences from the same university in 2008, with a thesis on Ukraine and Moldova in the European Neighbourhood Policy.

Contact information

[email protected]

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Opinion

How Europe can sustain Russia sanctions

Russia's war in Ukraine has underscored the need for Europe finally to invest more in its own defence and security. Such an outrageous act of aggression calls for harsh sanctions, which will require new policy mechanisms to help EU countries maintain solidarity.

By: Ana Palacio, Silvia Merler, Francesco Nicoli and Simone Tagliapietra Topic: Global economy and trade, Green economy Date: March 1, 2022
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Blog Post

The microeconomics of Christmas

It’s that time of the year, again. Silvia Merler reviews major contributions to the literature on the controversial topic of the deadweight loss of Christmas.

By: Silvia Merler and Bruegel Topic: Global economy and trade Date: December 24, 2018
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Blog Post

Les gilets jaunes

For weeks, protesters wearing yellow motorist vests have taken to the streets of Paris to protest against the rising price of fuel. They have since taken on a wider role, and are seen as symbols of the growing popular discontent with President Macron. Silvia Merler reviews scholars’ opinions about this movement.

By: Silvia Merler and Bruegel Topic: Green economy, Macroeconomic policy Date: December 10, 2018
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Blog Post

Green central banking

A few weeks ago, Silvia Merler discussed the rise of “ethical investing”. A related question emerging from the discussion is whether central banks should also “go green”. Silvia reviews the latest developments and opinions on this topic.

By: Silvia Merler and Bruegel Topic: Banking and capital markets, Green economy Date: December 3, 2018
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Blog Post

Machine learning and economics

Machine learning (ML), together with artificial intelligence (AI), is a hot topic. Economists have been looking into machine learning applications not only to obtain better prediction, but also for policy targeting. We review some of the contributions.

By: Silvia Merler Topic: Digital economy and innovation Date: November 29, 2018
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Blog Post

Could Italian private wealth compensate for flight of foreign bond-holders?

Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini is "convinced" that Italians can help out their government, in the face of a widening yield spread between German and Italian government bonds. The authors assess the feasibility of recourse to household wealth in Italy, and estimate the relative importance of foreign debt-holders in the upcoming bond redemptions.

By: Jan Mazza and Silvia Merler Topic: Macroeconomic policy Date: November 19, 2018
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Blog Post

The Brexit withdrawal agreement

On November 14th the UK government cabinet approved the draft text of the withdrawal agreement, the deal reached between EU and UK negotiators. The decision was followed the next day by the resignations of several members of Parliament. We review the first reactions in the blogosphere.

By: Silvia Merler and Bruegel Topic: Macroeconomic policy Date: November 19, 2018
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Blog Post

Jair Bolsonaro’s Brazil

Far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro won the Brazilian presidential elections after a highly polarising campaign. We review economists’ and scholars’ views of what this means for Brazil going forward.

By: Silvia Merler and Bruegel Topic: Global economy and trade Date: November 5, 2018
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Blog Post

The rise of 'ethical' investing

We are used to think about the value of investment as measured by financial return. But investing with an eye to environmental or social issues and, more generally, ethical considerations, has become more prominent. We review contributions to this debate.

By: Silvia Merler and Bruegel Topic: Banking and capital markets Date: October 29, 2018
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Blog Post

The United States-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement (USMCA)

While final ratification of the USMCA (also known as Nafta 2.0) is pending, we review economists’ assessment of the agreement.

By: Silvia Merler and Bruegel Topic: Global economy and trade Date: October 22, 2018
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Blog Post

The 2018 Nobel Prize: Growth and the environment

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences has been awarded jointly to William Nordhaus and Paul Romer for integrating respectively climate change and technological innovation into long-run macroeconomic analysis. We review how economists reacted to the announcement.

By: Silvia Merler and Bruegel Topic: Green economy Date: October 15, 2018
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