When we speak of the virtual world and storing things in ‘the cloud’, we seldom stop to realize that our digital climate impact is not virtual at all Many people see digitalisation as this magical pixie dust that Tinker Bell sprinkles on old industries to make them all environmentally friendly. Stop printing newspapers and get your news online and suddenly your environmental footprint is down to zero, right? Wrong. In this episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast we learn: ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What is the climate impact of the digital sector? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What is Jevon’s paradox? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What is the digital sector doing to clean up its act? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That even when digital services use renewable energy, it might be using up renewable energy that otherwise might be used by more critical sources. So we should hold off on all those cat videos ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How can you personally curtail the CO2 emissions of our own use of technology? My guests on this episode are the European Investment Bank’s head of division for digital infrastructure Harald Gruber and risk manager Shirley Rizk. They are but two of the many experts at the EU bank who are helping me challenge various rumours, myths, and misconceptions that we are trying to overturn on this series of podcasts. Each episode features one ‘monster under the bed’ something that we are scared of, or mistakenly believe to be true. Check out our episodes on urbanisation, healthcare, education and much more. Look up Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app, and click ‘Subscribe’ or ‘Follow’. This way you can sleep soundly without worrying about missing any episodes – and during the night Tinker Bell will sprinkle a new episodes into your phone for you! Also, please rate and review us, and give us feedback – I’m @AllarTankler on Twitter.&nbsp; For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

When we speak of the virtual world and storing things in ‘the cloud’, we seldom stop to realize that our digital climate impact is not virtual at all Many people see digitalisation as this magical pixie dust that Tinker Bell sprinkles on old industries to make them all environmentally friendly. Stop printing newspapers and get your news online and suddenly your environmental footprint is down to zero, right? Wrong. In this episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast we learn: ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What is the climate impact of the digital sector? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What is Jevon’s paradox? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What is the digital sector doing to clean up its act? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That even when digital services use renewable energy, it might be using up renewable energy that otherwise might be used by more critical sources. So we should hold off on all those cat videos ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How can you personally curtail the CO2 emissions of our own use of technology? My guests on this episode are the European Investment Bank’s head of division for digital infrastructure Harald Gruber and risk manager Shirley Rizk. They are but two of the many experts at the EU bank who are helping me challenge various rumours, myths, and misconceptions that we are trying to overturn on this series of podcasts. Each episode features one ‘monster under the bed’ something that we are scared of, or mistakenly believe to be true. Check out our episodes on urbanisation, healthcare, education and much more. Look up Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app, and click ‘Subscribe’ or ‘Follow’. This way you can sleep soundly without worrying about missing any episodes – and during the night Tinker Bell will sprinkle a new episodes into your phone for you! Also, please rate and review us, and give us feedback – I’m @AllarTankler on Twitter.&nbsp; For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

A Dictionary of Finance

The digital pixie dust clean-up

In schools and in the workplace disability training makes for better inclusion—and lets everyone draw on the strengths of people who overcame difficulties most of us never faced Is disability a state of mind? According to Bebe Vio, the young Italian Paralympic champion, you don’t need arms and legs to reach your goals. However, disability and diversity can come in many different forms—they can even be invisible. How can you help create an inclusive society? In this episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast you’ll find out: ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What is social diversity, diversity in the workplace, and diversity benefits ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why inclusion should start at school ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How culture and education can build equality ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Where jobs and disability come together At the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, we care about diversity and inclusion. In this episode, we meet kids, men and women, with and without disabilities. All together they challenge our assumptions and prejudices. In each episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast, we fight one myth in society and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things. So that you don’t miss any episodes,&nbsp;subscribe to Monster Under the Bed&nbsp;on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well. Let us know if&nbsp;you&nbsp;can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter&nbsp;@AllarTankler. If you’ve got something to say about diversity and inclusion in particular, contact me @Anto4EIB For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

In schools and in the workplace disability training makes for better inclusion—and lets everyone draw on the strengths of people who overcame difficulties most of us never faced Is disability a state of mind? According to Bebe Vio, the young Italian Paralympic champion, you don’t need arms and legs to reach your goals. However, disability and diversity can come in many different forms—they can even be invisible. How can you help create an inclusive society? In this episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast you’ll find out: ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What is social diversity, diversity in the workplace, and diversity benefits ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why inclusion should start at school ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How culture and education can build equality ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Where jobs and disability come together At the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, we care about diversity and inclusion. In this episode, we meet kids, men and women, with and without disabilities. All together they challenge our assumptions and prejudices. In each episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast, we fight one myth in society and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things. So that you don’t miss any episodes,&nbsp;subscribe to Monster Under the Bed&nbsp;on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well. Let us know if&nbsp;you&nbsp;can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter&nbsp;@AllarTankler. If you’ve got something to say about diversity and inclusion in particular, contact me @Anto4EIB For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Do you need arms and legs?

In this episode of Monster Under the Bed, we bust the idea that the EU is something to scare people with, and the myth that it costs us too much In the last few years, the EU budget has become a major topic of public discourse – whether in the media, or in our neighbourhood cafes. Something that once felt so remote has gone mainstream. A lot of that is due to Brexit, and a lot of the conversations have had to do with specifically how much the European Union costs us, and our countries. So we decided to figure out whether there’s any truth in the often-heard exclamations that the EU costs us too much. In this episode you’ll find out (without a lot of math or statistics): ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What is the EU budget? How is it decided, collected and spent? How big is it? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How much does each European contribute to the EU budget? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why do some countries pay more into the EU budget than others do? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What is cohesion? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why do people believe some of the myths about the EU floating around, and how can we use a moment of crisis and turn it into an opportunity? At the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, we have all kinds of experts, who can challenge our assumptions, notions and prejudices about anything from climate to cybercrime and from healthcare to urbanisation. In this episode you will hear our Vice-President Alexander Stubb, as well as Mariusz Krukowski, the European Investment Bank’s senior policy adviser who works on EU budget issues and Brexit, among other things. So that you don’t miss any episodes, subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well. In each episode of the podcast, we fight one imaginary monster under the bed and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things. Let us know if you can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter @AllarTankler.&nbsp; This episode contains audio content provided by the Audiovisual service of the European Commission (©European Union, 2013). For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

In this episode of Monster Under the Bed, we bust the idea that the EU is something to scare people with, and the myth that it costs us too much In the last few years, the EU budget has become a major topic of public discourse – whether in the media, or in our neighbourhood cafes. Something that once felt so remote has gone mainstream. A lot of that is due to Brexit, and a lot of the conversations have had to do with specifically how much the European Union costs us, and our countries. So we decided to figure out whether there’s any truth in the often-heard exclamations that the EU costs us too much. In this episode you’ll find out (without a lot of math or statistics): ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What is the EU budget? How is it decided, collected and spent? How big is it? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How much does each European contribute to the EU budget? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why do some countries pay more into the EU budget than others do? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What is cohesion? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why do people believe some of the myths about the EU floating around, and how can we use a moment of crisis and turn it into an opportunity? At the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, we have all kinds of experts, who can challenge our assumptions, notions and prejudices about anything from climate to cybercrime and from healthcare to urbanisation. In this episode you will hear our Vice-President Alexander Stubb, as well as Mariusz Krukowski, the European Investment Bank’s senior policy adviser who works on EU budget issues and Brexit, among other things. So that you don’t miss any episodes, subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well. In each episode of the podcast, we fight one imaginary monster under the bed and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things. Let us know if you can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter @AllarTankler.&nbsp; This episode contains audio content provided by the Audiovisual service of the European Commission (©European Union, 2013). For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Is the EU a waste of money?

In this episode of Monster Under the Bed, we bust the ‘you are what you know’ education myth and discover that, in fact, you are the things you know how to do In the grim Victorian building where I went to school, we learned everything by rote. It worked out okay for me. But the focus at the school my kids attend doesn’t seem to be on cramming knowledge into their heads, and sometimes I wonder if that’s bad for them. So I decided to examine the ideas I had about schooling. Maybe the things I thought made for good learning were actually education myths that no longer apply in the digital age. With the help of the education experts at the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, I decided to find out. In this episode you’ll find out: ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What are competencies? Competencies are the things you know how to do, rather than the things you know (like public speaking or putting together a presentation) ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That kids are now focused on learning vs memorization, or to put it another way understanding vs memorizing. You could say it means learning life skills vs facts. ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;that when you have to change career (and even sometimes when you don’t) you need upskilling. What is upskilling? Upskilling is often retraining to bring you skills and competencies in line with what employers need in a marketplace that’s increasingly digital ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;that schools are preparing kids for the changes digitalisation is making to old ideas about careers ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;how an EU programme makes education fairer and more socially inclusive. At the European Investment Bank Group, the EU bank, we have all kinds of experts, just like the education specialists in this episode. They can challenge our assumptions, notions and prejudices about anything from climate to cybercrime and from healthcare to urbanisation. We started the Monster Under the Bed podcast to examine these myths. In each episode of the podcast, we fight one imaginary monster under the bed and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things. So that you don’t miss any episodes, subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well. Let us know if you can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter @AllarTankler. If you’ve got something to say about education in particular, let me know @EIBMatt. For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

In this episode of Monster Under the Bed, we bust the ‘you are what you know’ education myth and discover that, in fact, you are the things you know how to do In the grim Victorian building where I went to school, we learned everything by rote. It worked out okay for me. But the focus at the school my kids attend doesn’t seem to be on cramming knowledge into their heads, and sometimes I wonder if that’s bad for them. So I decided to examine the ideas I had about schooling. Maybe the things I thought made for good learning were actually education myths that no longer apply in the digital age. With the help of the education experts at the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, I decided to find out. In this episode you’ll find out: ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What are competencies? Competencies are the things you know how to do, rather than the things you know (like public speaking or putting together a presentation) ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That kids are now focused on learning vs memorization, or to put it another way understanding vs memorizing. You could say it means learning life skills vs facts. ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;that when you have to change career (and even sometimes when you don’t) you need upskilling. What is upskilling? Upskilling is often retraining to bring you skills and competencies in line with what employers need in a marketplace that’s increasingly digital ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;that schools are preparing kids for the changes digitalisation is making to old ideas about careers ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;how an EU programme makes education fairer and more socially inclusive. At the European Investment Bank Group, the EU bank, we have all kinds of experts, just like the education specialists in this episode. They can challenge our assumptions, notions and prejudices about anything from climate to cybercrime and from healthcare to urbanisation. We started the Monster Under the Bed podcast to examine these myths. In each episode of the podcast, we fight one imaginary monster under the bed and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things. So that you don’t miss any episodes, subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well. Let us know if you can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter @AllarTankler. If you’ve got something to say about education in particular, let me know @EIBMatt. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Forget careers. What are your competencies?

Here’s why you should be even more scared of cybercrime and the rising cost of cybercrime prevention You probably think that if you have the latest software on your computer and a strong IT department at work, you’re more or less safe from cyberattacks.&nbsp;Boy, are you wrong. This myth is costing businesses a lot of money and causing people a lot of harm in lost data and privacy. You definitely should not rely only on software updates or the IT department to protect you from hackers. This episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast lays out exactly what you need to do to stay as safe as possible. In this episode you’ll find out: ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why each one of us must take responsibility for cybersecurity ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why an IT department can’t prevent hacking all the time ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why cybercrime is getting worse and what are the projected losses. (One of our experts calls it “a shadow industry that is really spending time trying to defraud people.”) ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How adults and children can arm themselves for cyberattacks ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What a 10-year-old does when his computer is hacked At the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, we have all kinds of experts, including the cybercrime specialists in this episode. They challenge our assumptions, notions and prejudices about anything from climate to cybercrime and from healthcare to urbanisation. The Monster Under the Bed podcast examines these myths. In each episode, we fight one imaginary monster under the bed and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things. So that you don’t miss any episodes, subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well. Let us know if you can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter @AllarTankler. If you’ve got something to say about cybercrime in particular, let me know @EIBChris. For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

Here’s why you should be even more scared of cybercrime and the rising cost of cybercrime prevention You probably think that if you have the latest software on your computer and a strong IT department at work, you’re more or less safe from cyberattacks.&nbsp;Boy, are you wrong. This myth is costing businesses a lot of money and causing people a lot of harm in lost data and privacy. You definitely should not rely only on software updates or the IT department to protect you from hackers. This episode of the Monster Under the Bed podcast lays out exactly what you need to do to stay as safe as possible. In this episode you’ll find out: ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why each one of us must take responsibility for cybersecurity ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why an IT department can’t prevent hacking all the time ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why cybercrime is getting worse and what are the projected losses. (One of our experts calls it “a shadow industry that is really spending time trying to defraud people.”) ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How adults and children can arm themselves for cyberattacks ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What a 10-year-old does when his computer is hacked At the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, we have all kinds of experts, including the cybercrime specialists in this episode. They challenge our assumptions, notions and prejudices about anything from climate to cybercrime and from healthcare to urbanisation. The Monster Under the Bed podcast examines these myths. In each episode, we fight one imaginary monster under the bed and win the battle for a more sensible way of doing things. So that you don’t miss any episodes, subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. You can do it in iTunes, Acast and many other podcast platforms as well. Let us know if you can think of a monster we should expose on future episodes. Get in touch on Twitter @AllarTankler. If you’ve got something to say about cybercrime in particular, let me know @EIBChris. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

A shadow industry of fraud

Forget the dystopian images of overcrowded, polluting cities. When urban life is well-planned and well-managed it’s better for the environment than country living. We all know the dystopian image of city life—smog, roads jammed with traffic, high prices and noise. Listen to this installment of our myth-busting show to find out: ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Where did cities come from? What were the instincts that first drove us to live close together? And are these reasons still valid today? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Where did cities mess up? (Where did the dystopian image of cities as places with a low quality of life come from?) ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What is mixed planning and is it an entirely good thing? (No mixed reviews at all!) ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How country living is expensive for society and creates social isolation. ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why urban sprawl is the real monster we should fear—not life in well-planned, well-managed, compact towns. ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And how deserting the countryside can actually be a boon for nature. At the European Investment Bank, we have all kinds of experts who can challenge the assumptions, notions and prejudices we all have about anything from climate to cybercrime, and from healthcare to education. On this episode, our guests are Brendan McDonagh from the European Investment Advisory Hub, a partnership between the EIB and the European Commission, EIB’s senior urban development specialist Grzegorz Gajda, and Stefanie Lindenberg, coordinator for the Natural Capital Finance Facility at the EIB – and some random people we approached in Luxembourg to find out how they feel about living in the city, or whether they’d rather be anywhere else. All throughout the episodes we’ll be tackling those myths and fears to identify people and projects that are taking a more rational approach—which is good for our economy and our society. Talking of rational, it makes sense to subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. This way you won’t miss any episodes. We’re also very grateful if you rate and review us – that helps others find the podcast. And you can suggest myths to bust and monsters to slay by tagging me on Twitter – I’m @AllarTankler. For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

Forget the dystopian images of overcrowded, polluting cities. When urban life is well-planned and well-managed it’s better for the environment than country living. We all know the dystopian image of city life—smog, roads jammed with traffic, high prices and noise. Listen to this installment of our myth-busting show to find out: ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Where did cities come from? What were the instincts that first drove us to live close together? And are these reasons still valid today? ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Where did cities mess up? (Where did the dystopian image of cities as places with a low quality of life come from?) ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What is mixed planning and is it an entirely good thing? (No mixed reviews at all!) ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How country living is expensive for society and creates social isolation. ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why urban sprawl is the real monster we should fear—not life in well-planned, well-managed, compact towns. ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And how deserting the countryside can actually be a boon for nature. At the European Investment Bank, we have all kinds of experts who can challenge the assumptions, notions and prejudices we all have about anything from climate to cybercrime, and from healthcare to education. On this episode, our guests are Brendan McDonagh from the European Investment Advisory Hub, a partnership between the EIB and the European Commission, EIB’s senior urban development specialist Grzegorz Gajda, and Stefanie Lindenberg, coordinator for the Natural Capital Finance Facility at the EIB – and some random people we approached in Luxembourg to find out how they feel about living in the city, or whether they’d rather be anywhere else. All throughout the episodes we’ll be tackling those myths and fears to identify people and projects that are taking a more rational approach—which is good for our economy and our society. Talking of rational, it makes sense to subscribe to Monster Under the Bed on your phone’s podcast app. This way you won’t miss any episodes. We’re also very grateful if you rate and review us – that helps others find the podcast. And you can suggest myths to bust and monsters to slay by tagging me on Twitter – I’m @AllarTankler. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

The countryside is for the birds

‘Monster Under the Bed’ is a new season of podcasts by the European Investment Bank that tackles myths and prejudices we all have about anything from health care to cybercrime, and from urban planning to education. In this episode we talk about how advances in medicine and squeezed budgets are forcing countries to rethink health care. For most of us, hospitals conjure up some very specific images: nurses and doctors running around, fancy machinery beeping away, somebody yelling “STAT!” While hospitals are chaotic places, they are also strangely reassuring. No matter how you are injured or what strange illness you’ve contracted, going to the nearby hospital can make you better. But maybe you don’t need a hospital after all. Did you know: -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hospitals are an extremely expensive way to treat people -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Technology has made many surgeries less invasive, so that we don’t need to spend as much time in a hospital bed -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Patients in hospitals are often overtreated or required to stay longer than necessary -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Germany has a higher number of hospital beds than Spain, but the Spanish system is one of the world’s best -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;People with chronic health issues are best treated outside of a hospital setting -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;20% of all health spending is wasted on ineffective care Our guests are Tunde Szabo and Dana Burduja from the European Investment Bank’s Life Sciences division. They talk about how many countries actually need to close hospitals, or at least slim them down, to free up resources for other, more effective forms of care. Subscribe and rate us! This way you won’t miss any episodes. And give us feedback via @AllarTankler or Twitter. For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

‘Monster Under the Bed’ is a new season of podcasts by the European Investment Bank that tackles myths and prejudices we all have about anything from health care to cybercrime, and from urban planning to education. In this episode we talk about how advances in medicine and squeezed budgets are forcing countries to rethink health care. For most of us, hospitals conjure up some very specific images: nurses and doctors running around, fancy machinery beeping away, somebody yelling “STAT!” While hospitals are chaotic places, they are also strangely reassuring. No matter how you are injured or what strange illness you’ve contracted, going to the nearby hospital can make you better. But maybe you don’t need a hospital after all. Did you know: -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hospitals are an extremely expensive way to treat people -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Technology has made many surgeries less invasive, so that we don’t need to spend as much time in a hospital bed -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Patients in hospitals are often overtreated or required to stay longer than necessary -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Germany has a higher number of hospital beds than Spain, but the Spanish system is one of the world’s best -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;People with chronic health issues are best treated outside of a hospital setting -&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;20% of all health spending is wasted on ineffective care Our guests are Tunde Szabo and Dana Burduja from the European Investment Bank’s Life Sciences division. They talk about how many countries actually need to close hospitals, or at least slim them down, to free up resources for other, more effective forms of care. Subscribe and rate us! This way you won’t miss any episodes. And give us feedback via @AllarTankler or Twitter. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Should your hospital die?

Listen to our new podcast - Monster Under the Bed! For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

Listen to our new podcast - Monster Under the Bed! For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Introducing Monster Under the Bed

A big part of finance (and life) is about trying to figure out what will happen in the future. Will the market go up? Will interest rates drop? Take a look into the future with an exclusive sneak peak at our new podcast Future Europe.&nbsp; For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

A big part of finance (and life) is about trying to figure out what will happen in the future. Will the market go up? Will interest rates drop? Take a look into the future with an exclusive sneak peak at our new podcast Future Europe.&nbsp; For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Introducing Future Europe

Why do some companies decide not to sell shares on public exchanges? And who buys private equity? A Dictionary of Finance finds out. We also learn what "love money" is. Private equity is an important market for small start-ups and for projects in developing countries. So A Dictionary of Finance podcast gathered three experts to tell us what kinds of companies sell private equity and who buys private equity. Aglaé Touchard-Le Drian, senior investment officer in the European Investment Bank’s Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund, explains that “private equity represents non-listed shares in the ownership of a company.” Non-listed, of course, means that the shares are not listed on a big stock exchange, like the London Stock Exchange. (You can find out more about listings on our episode about equity and debt.) But what kind of company doesn’t want to be listed? And who’s investing with them? Christine Panier, head of lower and midmarket investments for Western Europe at the European Investment Fund, says there are a range of companies or investments that want to make private sales. For smaller, growing companies, there are reasons to do with not “diluting” the original owners. They might want investment from a venture capitalist. Other private equity deals might revolve around a leveraged buyout, in which debt and equity are used to take over a company. This is usually only when a company is worth at least EUR 100 million, Christine says. We asked Paola Ravacchioli, senior investment officer in the EIB’s equity unit, about venture capital. “Venture capital is a kind of private equity,” Paola says. “It’s an investment in tech-enabled start-ups and SMEs.” Aglaé, Christine and Paola go on to tell us about incubators, accelerators and—our favourite ever term on A Dictionary of Finance—love money. Love money is an investment in a company that’s made by friends or relatives. For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

Why do some companies decide not to sell shares on public exchanges? And who buys private equity? A Dictionary of Finance finds out. We also learn what "love money" is. Private equity is an important market for small start-ups and for projects in developing countries. So A Dictionary of Finance podcast gathered three experts to tell us what kinds of companies sell private equity and who buys private equity. Aglaé Touchard-Le Drian, senior investment officer in the European Investment Bank’s Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund, explains that “private equity represents non-listed shares in the ownership of a company.” Non-listed, of course, means that the shares are not listed on a big stock exchange, like the London Stock Exchange. (You can find out more about listings on our episode about equity and debt.) But what kind of company doesn’t want to be listed? And who’s investing with them? Christine Panier, head of lower and midmarket investments for Western Europe at the European Investment Fund, says there are a range of companies or investments that want to make private sales. For smaller, growing companies, there are reasons to do with not “diluting” the original owners. They might want investment from a venture capitalist. Other private equity deals might revolve around a leveraged buyout, in which debt and equity are used to take over a company. This is usually only when a company is worth at least EUR 100 million, Christine says. We asked Paola Ravacchioli, senior investment officer in the EIB’s equity unit, about venture capital. “Venture capital is a kind of private equity,” Paola says. “It’s an investment in tech-enabled start-ups and SMEs.” Aglaé, Christine and Paola go on to tell us about incubators, accelerators and—our favourite ever term on A Dictionary of Finance—love money. Love money is an investment in a company that’s made by friends or relatives. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Private equity: Show us the love money

From hospitals to schools and toll roads, project finance can be a valuable way to handle risk. Here’s how project finance works. When a company wants to build a wind farm, for example, it might borrow the money from a bank. But that involves risks for the entire company, if the project doesn’t work out. What if the company wants to limit the risk of the project to no more than the investment it makes in the project? This is how project finance works. “At the heart of project finance is risk distribution,” says Paloma Perez de Vega, who heads project finance for areas outside the EU at the European Investment Bank. Paloma explains on the latest episode of A Dictionary of Finance podcast that “project finance is a means of financing large infrastructure and industrial projects where lenders rely on the forecast cash flows of a project rather than the balance sheet of a company” to assess their risk. One way of accomplishing this is by using a special purpose vehicle. Peter Jeffreys, deputy head of project finance for Northern, Central and South-Eastern Europe at the EIB, tells the podcast that a special purpose vehicle is “a company set up for an individual purpose and that exists with the sole purpose of conducting the project throughout its life.” Some of these projects involve public private partnerships. You can also check out our episode on these PPPs, which is called “The Secret Life of Infrastructure.” For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

From hospitals to schools and toll roads, project finance can be a valuable way to handle risk. Here’s how project finance works. When a company wants to build a wind farm, for example, it might borrow the money from a bank. But that involves risks for the entire company, if the project doesn’t work out. What if the company wants to limit the risk of the project to no more than the investment it makes in the project? This is how project finance works. “At the heart of project finance is risk distribution,” says Paloma Perez de Vega, who heads project finance for areas outside the EU at the European Investment Bank. Paloma explains on the latest episode of A Dictionary of Finance podcast that “project finance is a means of financing large infrastructure and industrial projects where lenders rely on the forecast cash flows of a project rather than the balance sheet of a company” to assess their risk. One way of accomplishing this is by using a special purpose vehicle. Peter Jeffreys, deputy head of project finance for Northern, Central and South-Eastern Europe at the EIB, tells the podcast that a special purpose vehicle is “a company set up for an individual purpose and that exists with the sole purpose of conducting the project throughout its life.” Some of these projects involve public private partnerships. You can also check out our episode on these PPPs, which is called “The Secret Life of Infrastructure.” For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Project finance: Can you drive a special purpose vehicle?

How do banks track possible fraud? Take a look inside bank fraud investigations and forensic accounting. Where you have lots of money, you surely will have people who give in to temptation. That may involve them in fraud. And when you have billions of euros at a bank, the risk of fraud is great. That’s why we devoted the latest episode of A Dictionary of Finance podcast to bank fraud investigations. The European Investment Bank has an entire division devoted to bank fraud investigations. In case you’re wondering exactly what fraud is, here’s how Sabrina Mancini, an investigative officer at the EIB, defines it: “Fraud is any act of omission or misrepresentation that aims to gain a financial advantage.” Sabrina is joined on the podcast by Marco Loretti, the EIB’s coordinator of investigations, who used to work on human-rights investigations in Africa. A lot of what bank’s do to protect against fraud, Marco notes, happens before a loan is even made. During contract negotiations, the bank should ensure that subcontractors can’t be given unfair preferential treatment by the company that takes the loan, for example. Still, when fraud is suspected, Dominik Adamski comes in. He’s the senior forensic officer at the EIB. That doesn’t mean he examines dead bodies like a crime scene investigator. But he is the banking equivalent of a CSI, because he uses forensic accounting techniques. “Forensic accounting tracks anomalies,” he points out, such as big or frequent transactions entered late at night or at the weekend. Forensic accountants tend to look for “abnormal patterns,” he adds. For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

How do banks track possible fraud? Take a look inside bank fraud investigations and forensic accounting. Where you have lots of money, you surely will have people who give in to temptation. That may involve them in fraud. And when you have billions of euros at a bank, the risk of fraud is great. That’s why we devoted the latest episode of A Dictionary of Finance podcast to bank fraud investigations. The European Investment Bank has an entire division devoted to bank fraud investigations. In case you’re wondering exactly what fraud is, here’s how Sabrina Mancini, an investigative officer at the EIB, defines it: “Fraud is any act of omission or misrepresentation that aims to gain a financial advantage.” Sabrina is joined on the podcast by Marco Loretti, the EIB’s coordinator of investigations, who used to work on human-rights investigations in Africa. A lot of what bank’s do to protect against fraud, Marco notes, happens before a loan is even made. During contract negotiations, the bank should ensure that subcontractors can’t be given unfair preferential treatment by the company that takes the loan, for example. Still, when fraud is suspected, Dominik Adamski comes in. He’s the senior forensic officer at the EIB. That doesn’t mean he examines dead bodies like a crime scene investigator. But he is the banking equivalent of a CSI, because he uses forensic accounting techniques. “Forensic accounting tracks anomalies,” he points out, such as big or frequent transactions entered late at night or at the weekend. Forensic accountants tend to look for “abnormal patterns,” he adds. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Anti-fraud: CSI for bankers

You don’t need a Ph.D to run bank risk models. But it helps. So A Dictionary of Finance got two superterrific scientists to explain. It’s important because bank risk models are central to the assessment of financial risk by banks. We admit that it’s complicated stuff. That’s why we asked two of the most expert experts yet to appear on A Dictionary of Finance podcast to explain it. Eva Ribarits, head of the European Investment Bank’s model development, has a doctorate in mathematics. Olivier Wantz, who heads the bank’s model maintenance and monitoring, is a doctor of theoretical physics. Impressed? You certainly will be once you hear them explain how a bank assesses measures such as distance to default. “It’s also called probability of default,” says Eva. “This is what we want to model and forecast.” Olivier explains how a bank has to recalibrate its models constantly to make sure that they’re really working. He also talks about ways that machine learning and fintech could affect future modelling in the banking business. For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

You don’t need a Ph.D to run bank risk models. But it helps. So A Dictionary of Finance got two superterrific scientists to explain. It’s important because bank risk models are central to the assessment of financial risk by banks. We admit that it’s complicated stuff. That’s why we asked two of the most expert experts yet to appear on A Dictionary of Finance podcast to explain it. Eva Ribarits, head of the European Investment Bank’s model development, has a doctorate in mathematics. Olivier Wantz, who heads the bank’s model maintenance and monitoring, is a doctor of theoretical physics. Impressed? You certainly will be once you hear them explain how a bank assesses measures such as distance to default. “It’s also called probability of default,” says Eva. “This is what we want to model and forecast.” Olivier explains how a bank has to recalibrate its models constantly to make sure that they’re really working. He also talks about ways that machine learning and fintech could affect future modelling in the banking business. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Risk models: What's your distance to default?

Find out how macroeconomics works with an overview of Adam Smith and the invisible hand, the Keynesian approach and the Chicago school. Macro (big) is the opposite of micro (small). So macroeconomics is the opposite of microfinance, right? Sorry, things are never that simple in banking. Listen to our episode on microfinance to see what that’s all about. And listen to this episode so you’ll know how macroeconomics works. In fact, you’ll see that, in a way, the main role of macroeconomics is to simplify economics. European Investment Bank economist Rozalia Pal explains that: Macroeconomics deals with the economic performance of aggregated individual actors (companies, or people). In other words, what you do with your money is microeconomics. What the EU does with its money is macroeconomics. We also learn about the history and the approaches behind various schools of thought in economic studies: The classical school of thought, led by Adam Smith, famous for his ‘invisible hand’ metaphor. Smith posited that the invisible hand of the market creates the desired equilibrium. Keynesian economics: During the Great Depression, Rozalia tells us, many economists came to see the invisible hand as failing to working (or at least failing to work fast enough). So the thinking of John Maynard Keynes rose to prominence. The British economist advocated the use of monetary (meaning, focused on interest rates) and fiscal (focused on government spending and taxation) interventions to stimulate the economy. Neo-Keynesians: Following Keynes, Paul Samuelson and Franco Modigliani developed his ideas using mathematical models. Chicago school economics, also called the neo-classical approach, opposed the Keynesian view mostly by showing that government interventions only impact the demand side of the economy. As the supply side is left intact, the effects are only short-term. Milton Friedman promoted what is known as a monetarist approach, proposing a small, but steady expansion of money supply. Does this sound like a simplification? Well, that’s what macroeconomics tries to do, Rozalia tells us. To take lots of different inputs and create an overarching idea.&nbsp; For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

Find out how macroeconomics works with an overview of Adam Smith and the invisible hand, the Keynesian approach and the Chicago school. Macro (big) is the opposite of micro (small). So macroeconomics is the opposite of microfinance, right? Sorry, things are never that simple in banking. Listen to our episode on microfinance to see what that’s all about. And listen to this episode so you’ll know how macroeconomics works. In fact, you’ll see that, in a way, the main role of macroeconomics is to simplify economics. European Investment Bank economist Rozalia Pal explains that: Macroeconomics deals with the economic performance of aggregated individual actors (companies, or people). In other words, what you do with your money is microeconomics. What the EU does with its money is macroeconomics. We also learn about the history and the approaches behind various schools of thought in economic studies: The classical school of thought, led by Adam Smith, famous for his ‘invisible hand’ metaphor. Smith posited that the invisible hand of the market creates the desired equilibrium. Keynesian economics: During the Great Depression, Rozalia tells us, many economists came to see the invisible hand as failing to working (or at least failing to work fast enough). So the thinking of John Maynard Keynes rose to prominence. The British economist advocated the use of monetary (meaning, focused on interest rates) and fiscal (focused on government spending and taxation) interventions to stimulate the economy. Neo-Keynesians: Following Keynes, Paul Samuelson and Franco Modigliani developed his ideas using mathematical models. Chicago school economics, also called the neo-classical approach, opposed the Keynesian view mostly by showing that government interventions only impact the demand side of the economy. As the supply side is left intact, the effects are only short-term. Milton Friedman promoted what is known as a monetarist approach, proposing a small, but steady expansion of money supply. Does this sound like a simplification? Well, that’s what macroeconomics tries to do, Rozalia tells us. To take lots of different inputs and create an overarching idea.&nbsp; For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Macroeconomics makes economics simple

The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) hits a big target today. We mark the delivery of €315 billion in investment through this programme by turning A Dictionary of Finance into an EFSI podcast with Iliyana Tsanova, deputy managing director of EFSI. She lays out the reasoning behind the programme, which was created as part of Europe’s response to the global financial crisis. Administered by the European Investment Bank, EFSI consists of a guarantee from the EU budget and some billions of EIB capital. The aim: to support viable projects that were, nonetheless, failing to find market financing. The projects were, in fact, falling through the cracks of market gaps. (You’ll find out what a market gap is in the podcast too.) The original target set for the EIB was to invest in projects that would trigger €315 billion of investment after three years. That’s the landmark that has been reached today, and so we put out a special issue of the podcast to mark the occasion. For information regarding your data privacy, visit <a href="https://www.acast.com/privacy">acast.com/privacy</a>

The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) hits a big target today. We mark the delivery of €315 billion in investment through this programme by turning A Dictionary of Finance into an EFSI podcast with Iliyana Tsanova, deputy managing director of EFSI. She lays out the reasoning behind the programme, which was created as part of Europe’s response to the global financial crisis. Administered by the European Investment Bank, EFSI consists of a guarantee from the EU budget and some billions of EIB capital. The aim: to support viable projects that were, nonetheless, failing to find market financing. The projects were, in fact, falling through the cracks of market gaps. (You’ll find out what a market gap is in the podcast too.) The original target set for the EIB was to invest in projects that would trigger €315 billion of investment after three years. That’s the landmark that has been reached today, and so we put out a special issue of the podcast to mark the occasion. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

How Europe's investment fund hit its target

Allar and Matt work for the EU bank. But they’re not bankers. So they often find themselves wondering just what their super-smart banker colleagues are talking about. Each week they sit down with experts from the European Investment Bank and make them explain words, phrases and concepts frequently used in economics and finance in a way that's understandable, whether you’re a student, a citizen, or a business owner. No jargon, no acronyms--but just about as much fun as a finance podcast can be.

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A Dictionary of Finance

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