inflation

2025 became another year of war, resilience, and adaptation for Ukraine. Russia\'s full-scale war against Ukraine continued and resulted in territorial losses, destruction of energy facilities, and other critical infrastructure, including railways and seaports. Therefore, according to IER estimates, real GDP grew by approximately 2%.

Next year, participants in Lithuania’s second-pillar funded pension system will face a personal financial referendum: to stay and save, to withdraw and leave, to transfer savings to the third pillar of the pension system, or to invest independently. Estonia tried the same approach in 2021, and economists at its central bank assessed the consequences. Estonia’s experience is highly relevant for Lithuania – similar outcomes are plausible here as well. 

Tomio Okamura, the Czech Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, made a New Year\'s speech which is a prime example of economic populism that pretends to be \"common sense\" but is actually based on systematic simplification, confusion of terms, and false dilemmas. Underneath the appealing language of optimism and concern for \"ordinary people\" lies a set of claims that deny known facts, ignore the government\'s policy statement, and distort reality.

It will soon be two years since rock rebel Javier Milei took office as president of Argentina. Since then, Argentina\'s economy has been shaken to its foundations. In a country with a deep-rooted public finance crisis, hyperinflation, and extensive subsidies, a government of uncompromising cuts took office and, within a few months, changed the fiscal balance, suppressed inflation, and reduced dependence on social transfers.

According to the Fraser Institute’s latest Economic Freedom of the World report, Ukraine has once again found itself in the group of the least economically free countries in the world. Ukraine is currently ranked 143rd among 165 countries and territories, a slight improvement from the previous 150th place.

In late August 2025, the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER) released the results of its 40th monthly Business Tendency Survey, covering 474 industrial enterprises across Ukraine. The findings paint a picture of cautious optimism in the short term, but deep uncertainty over the longer horizon.

Ukraine\'s economy experienced a temporary bump in August 2025, with real GDP growth accelerating to an estimated 8% year-over-year after a slight decline in July, according to the latest Monthly Economic Monitoring report from the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting.

European policymakers and large exporters are increasingly uneasy about the euro’s rise — particularly against the U.S. dollar. But this concern is misplaced. Like arguments for tariffs, it mistakes accounting effects for economic damage. A stronger euro does not weaken Europe; it strengthens it.

At the outset of 2024, many economic projections assumed the war in Ukraine would conclude within the year. However, reality defied expectations. The war persisted, bringing new challenges, including territorial losses, large-scale infrastructure destruction, and sustained Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid. The Government faced the pressing need to secure funding for the war effort and mobilize additional defense forces.

Price inflation is not inevitable. One of the most common explanations for price growth is identifying it with capitalism. The argument is that inflation is unavoidable as the economy grows. It is thought that for businesses to have an incentive to invest and wages to grow, the prices of goods and services should rise in the first place.