It is generally felt that effective public policies to address the great societal challenges are urgently needed, but not ready on the shelf. What can policy makers do to live up to the challenges encountered in our pension systems? What is the role for policy in the developing world, where billions still suffer? How to deal with the climate change from an economic perspective? How to make sure that in a rapidly urbanizing world, cities will become or remain places where people can live healthily, safely and happily?
Public Policy studies the main societal challenges of today and tomorrow, including the future of the welfare state, aging of society, global environmental challenges, urbanization of our societies, globalization, and economic development and inequality. The programme addresses questions on market performance and failures, and associated policies, studied from the perspective of incentives and economic behaviour of individual firms and households. It also covers macroeconomic policies directed at aggregate growth and employment.