Europe’s productivity gap is tied to differences in tax competitiveness. A quadrant analysis shows four country groups, revealing how tax structures shape investment, innovation, and growth. Nations with weak productivity and low tax competitiveness face structural stagnation, while those aligning efficient taxes with pro-productivity reforms are better positioned for long-term economic performance.

Healthcare faces a severe workforce crisis. To build a resilient, efficient workforce, organizations must combine automation to remove repetitive tasks, upskilling to boost digital skills and engagement, and outsourcing to manage capacity and cut costs. Integrating these strategies strengthens quality, reduces burnout, and supports a sustainable future workforce.

AI in healthcare offers efficiency but brings risks: declining accuracy due to data changes, algorithmic bias harming underrepresented groups, unclear liability from non-explainable models, operational failures, and cyberattacks that can alter data or steal models. Safe use requires validation, transparency, strong governance, staff training, and strict cybersecurity.

Infections cause approximately 12% of cancers worldwide, with higher rates in low-income regions. Key culprits include HPV, hepatitis viruses, H. pylori, and Epstein-Barr virus. Through chronic inflammation and genetic disruption, these pathogens trigger malignancy. The hopeful news: vaccination, screening, and treatment offer powerful prevention tools, potentially saving millions of lives.

AI is reshaping who gains from technology by affecting not only low-skill physical jobs but also routine white-collar cognitive work. Its innovation is highly concentrated in a few European regions. Studying 273 regions (2000–2017), researchers find that doubling AI innovation reduces the labor share of income by 0.5–1.6%, mainly through wage compression for medium- and high-skill workers.

Why did Europe experience such significant economic growth during the Modern Era? And does this story offer insights into the current US-China struggle for dominance? This article examines the origins of Europe's economic and technological primacy over the past millennium, considering the research of Joel Mokyr, who was recently awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Spain’s failure to index income tax brackets during 2022–2024 turned inflation into a hidden tax, pushing taxpayers into higher brackets and generating about €24B in extra revenue. This “fiscal drag” raises tax burdens without formal reform, reducing real disposable income and transparency. Indexation is essential to maintain fairness and prevent inflation from becoming an unintended tax increase.

Global poverty affects 838M people living on under $3/day and 1.1B facing multidimensional deprivation. Nearly half the world is poor under a $6.85 threshold. Progress has slowed due to COVID-19, inflation, and conflicts. Sub-Saharan Africa remains most affected. Inequality is severe, with 10% owning 75% of wealth. Structural issues, climate change, and weak governance hinder poverty reduction efforts.

New weight-loss drugs like semaglutide offer major, sustained weight reduction, but their high cost risks deepening health inequality. Wealthier groups gain access first, while disadvantaged populations—those most affected by obesity—are left behind. Widespread use may shift focus from fixing unhealthy food systems to relying on medication, widening social, cultural, and behavioral divides.

The gig economy’s promise of flexibility hides growing worker backlash. Studies on Uber and Deliveroo reveal how algorithmic pay systems, opaque pricing, and “instant” rewards increase pressure, reduce transparency, and deepen dependence. Workers respond through resistance and digital manipulation, exposing tensions between autonomy and control. The rise of algorithmic management demands oversight to protect fairness, agency, and social equity.