Four more deals announced - Argentina, Guatemala, Ecuador, El Salvador - with similar language on "discriminatory" digital services taxes. Trump is clearly committed to playing bilateral whack-a-mole to prevent DSTs.

I'm reading the World Bank's 2024 International Debt Report, and what a blunt way to kick-off such a document! Not long ago, so many people in development policy circles were indeed repeating the "from billions to trillions" phrase as a silver bullet for development financing and global development.

Listening to Mamdani's victory speech while working, I was surprised to hear him quoting prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru – a very different kind of economic nationalist than President Trump. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Just submitted this Abstract to the British International Studies Association conference in Glasgow in 06/2026, alongside a panel proposal on taxation and International Political Economy we're submitting with @katharinakuhn.bsky.social. Never been to BISA but would be great to go. Deadline today.

I had to look up an article from the first issue of the World Development, 1973. They launched the journal with style. (The article was "Fact and Fancy in International Economic Relations" by Thomas Balogh & Peter Balacs – in a very different genre from the econometric studies that prevail today.)

Parhaillaan käydään parlamentaarisia neuvotteluita velkajarrusta. Neuvotteluissa olisi syytä ottaa huomioon myös lakiin sisältyvä niin sanottu turvamarginaalisäädös, jonka myötä sosiaaliturvarahastojen ylijäämät jätettäisiin huomiotta arvioitaessa EU-sääntöjen mukaista 3 prosentin alijäämärajaa. 1/x

Now open access on @tandfresearch.bsky.social! Ní Chasaide, N., & Ó Riain, S. (2025). Tax games: the case of Ireland in the global dynamics of corporate taxation. Review of International Political Economy www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

"The paradox of the UN is the decline in its fortunes and prestige at a time when the demand for international management and cooperation, arising from growing interdependence and a burgeoning of global problems, has never been clearer or more insistent." From 1989, but could be from today's news.

I've been back reading Stephen Hymer: a fascinating figure. In his life that was cut short at just 39 years, he kicked off International Business studies with a thesis that revitalized the 1930s monopolistic competition ideas, and was at first deemed "analytically insufficient" for publication. 1/2

Tuoreessa artikkelissaan dos. Matti Ylönen @mattiylonen.bsky.social ja VTT Laura Nordström @lauranordstrom.bsky.social tarkastelevat teknologiayritysten lobbausta Euroopan unionissa. 1/4

Today I've been captivated by this project, which I stumbled upon via Spotify's algorithms. I haven’t explored everything yet, but highlighting e.g. Brad Reason's breakbeat tracks with early 2000s feel, and Mikael Ayrapetyan's somber piano pieces. Strange and alluring. thenoamchomskymusicproject.com

One of the joys of academia is struggling with an elusive argument for a long time (even years) and then discovering an old book that helps to settle that matter.

The autobiography of Charles Kindleberger was interesting—even funny—reading. During this trip in Helsinki, he bought a huge rye bread, mistaking it for a gingerbread. He also visited UNU-WIDER in 1986, struggling to find a mechanical typewriter, as only electric ones were in offer.

Canada becomes the second country (after India) to scale back its taxation of US Big Tech to appease Trump, whereas others (notably the UK) have resisted

For those who prefer something shorter to a full-length academic article, here's a press release of the article “What Sustains Flawed Indicators? Unpacking the EU’s Administrative Burden Agenda” (w/ Tero Erkkilä), published at the Policy Studies journal yesterday: www.helsinki.fi/en/news/fair... 1/4

For those who prefer something shorter to a full-length academic article, here's a press release of the article “What Sustains Flawed Indicators? Unpacking the EU’s Administrative Burden Agenda” (w/ Tero Erkkilä), published at the Policy Studies journal yesterday: www.helsinki.fi/en/news/fair... 1/4

Von der Leyen’s Commission has pursued a small set of priority agendas, each typically associated with extensive and critical academic scrutiny. A notable exception is the push to reduce “administrative burdens.” This agenda has seen a striking lack of critical, peer-reviewed scholarship. 1/5

A less visible side of the academia: starting my fourth peer review comment in two weeks and two more to go, a personal record. Three are 2nd round reviews, which are kind of obligatory. One is for a Finnish-language journal, with a small reviewer pool. Luckily, many interesting papers in this pile.

This could be of interest for example to @ahokasjaj.bsky.social and others at the BIOS research unit.

What do tax cuts for the rich do? They increase inequality. They have no effect on economic growth or unemployment. "Our results provide strong evidence against the influential political–economic idea that tax cuts for the rich ‘trickle down’ to boost the wider economy."

Thrilled to share that the Cambridge Global Handbook of Financial Infrastructure, co-edited with Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn and Barbara Brandl, has been published! You can find all chapters open access: doi.org/10.1017/9781...

This was fun to write and of course it stands on research done jointly with @phdskat.org Also, it you’re not following the Critical Takes on Corporate Power, consider doing so. The website regularly tackles many of the most pressing issues we are facing.

I'm browsing old editions of the IDS Bulletin by the Institute of Development Studies. Fascinating snapshots from the structural adjustment era and beyond. In this one issue from 1985, contributors include Martin Wolf, Carlota Perez, Robin Murray and Mary Kaldor. bulletin.ids.ac.uk/index.php/id...

Nice to note just that my recent @jcms-eu.bsky.social article "Reconceptualising the Brussels Effect" is now Open Access. The article gives tools to grasp external efforts to derail the EU's global power, how these efforts evolve over time, and to what effect. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Weaponized interdependence, Star Wars / Andor style. (I'll get my coat.)

Oh no. Joseph Nye has died. Besides his *immense* influence on political economy, he was a truly interdisciplinary scholar, as he told @mattiylonen.bsky.social for our recent historical retrospective, which - of course - also leads with a Nye quote. RIP.

Can the EU stay a global rule-maker amid rising pushback? 🌍 @mattiylonen.bsky.social reconceptualises the ‘Brussels effect’, showing how lobbying, third-country influence and shifting power dynamics challenge the EU’s regulatory clout. 🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

I recently published an article in the JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies titled Reconceptualising the Brussels Effect, which zoomed into several neglected aspects of this effect. Now here is a blog post summarizing some of its key points: jcms.ideasoneurope.eu/2025/04/11/r...

Itsevaltaiset teknologiajohtajat, Trumpin Yhdysvallat sekä muut ulkovallat haastavat EU:ta. Näin Anu Bradfordin Bryssel-efekti, teoria EU:n globaalista vallasta, kaipaa päivittämistä. VTT, dos. Matti Ylösen @mattiylonen.bsky.social keskustelunavaus hahmottelee uudelleen Bryssel-efektin. 1/4

Highly recommend reading @mattiylonen.bsky.social’s theoretical refining of the (often overrated - sorry) Brussels’ effect concept! A nuanced and actually operationalisable perspective to analyse the EU international political economy 👏👏

From the inflation incumbency penalty to the Trump incumbency boost. Here's the Danish PM's approval (green) and disapproval (red) numbers. www.altinget.dk/artikel/ny-m...

I have done copious interviews on tech lobbying in Brussels. One book that kept appearing in these discussions was Anu Bradford's Brussels Effect—How the European Union Rules the World. My new article reconceptualizes this effect, updating it for the era of Trump and emboldened tech executives. 1/10

Our paper (with @mattiylonen.bsky.social) on the rise and fall of research on tax havens/corporate tax avoidance has now been published in a @ripejournal.bsky.social issue (32-2). Still fully #OA:

Oli kiinnostavaa kirjoittaa tähän erikoisnumeroon kolumni siitä, miksi Suomessa kilpailupolitiikka ei juuri esiinny politiikan agendoilla.

Pascal Saint-Amans, who spearheaded the negotiations for the global minimum tax when at the OECD (and who is, by the way, giving a talk at CBS tomorrow morning), continues to ask all the relevant questions. The answers, we just don't know yet. www.fdiintelligence.com/content/inte...

Nokia is a huge firm in Finland & patent licensing is its "goldmine" as our biggest newspaper noted. The goldmine was threatened by EU rules that would have eased patent licensing—but the plan failed. Yet, it's funny that I've seen no local media coverage on this www.juve-patent.com/legal-commen...

Tänään tuli Yleltä erityisen hyvä Stiller (vielä hän siellä on) otsikolla ”Lännen oligarkit.” Vieraina @mattiylonen.bsky.social ja @timoharakka.bsky.social kannattaa kuunnella jos maailman meininki somemarkkinoilla ihmetyttää/ahdistaa.

Interested in the use of consultants and public reforms? A Special Issue edited by me and my great colleagues @mattiylonen.bsky.social and Ringa Raudla for Public Money and Management is now out as a collection. You may want to start with the editorial. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Welcome to the stupidest timeline.

Amidst many damaging moves on Trump's first day, the threat to seize tax sovereignty from allies and enemies alike - and to reverse the direction of travel against corporate tax abuse - may be self-defeating. Policymakers in the EU, UK & elsewhere now *more* likely to commit to the UN tax convention

Blast from the past in today's Politico Global Playbook: I kind of long for the ancient times when the major controversial thing in tech was IBM's dominance.

There has of course been a steady stream of organizations leaving X – but two that have caught my eye recently have been the German army and French Le Monde newspaper. Paving way for other media and government organizations?

I'm in the process of putting my X account into hibernation (better late than never) and going through some old posts. One must admire this level of honesty in writing.

The idea that Meta would somehow become a shangri-la of "free speech" with community notes was absurd: its privacy policy bans info from hacked sources; relies on a U.S. State Department list of terrorist groups; and includes broad clauses on private information. But this is still quite something!

Can't wait to get this one out soon, after the proofs get processed! It will be an entirely new take to the Brussels Effect, which Anu Bradford devised to capture the EU's global sway. I'm empowering this framework with tools needed to encompass the efforts by Musk and others to derail this Effect.

I have been commenting on Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg quite a lot for the Finnish media lately, including in the A-Studio tv program last night (where my employer was wrong, it is University of Helsinki). But every morning, there seems to be something new. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Why has the market for climate consulting grown so much in the past decade? At what cost? V happy to see our paper @phdskat.org on this brave new world alongside so many great contributions in an SI by @mattiylonen.bsky.social @hannakuu.bsky.social & Ringa Raudla www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

It is ofc great to be in a university with Open Access agreements with publishers. But it's often lottery on timing: if one gets a paper accepted early in the year, the agreements have ran out w/ negotiations pending. If late in the year, then Open Access quotas have run out. The sweet spot Apr/May?

Searching how to do a Freedom of Information Request for a UN agency, I learned that the UN has a Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion but no FOIA. This was funny: "a tight-lipped Asian diplomat told me 'No comment' – and added 'And Don’t Quote Me on That'." www.globalissues.org/news/2023/05...