Economists are often asked to give an opinion on what we predict will happen in the economy, especially in light of the events we are experiencing. For my part, I usually answer that the correct answer is that I have no idea, but that out of courtesy to the asker I can anticipate, more from experience than from certain knowledge, that... I will not make jokes about economists' forecasts, but in our defense I will highlight the complexity of a moment in which geopolitics is the cause of uncertainties, in which what intervenes is a set of interdependent factors and, even more so, driven by the character who today leads the White House. This geopolitical framework has as a forecast more than a single economic variable, to which an element of risk can be associated. And when risks are chained, the probability of each forecast, which we obtain by multiplying by a value less than 1, becomes very low. Everything depends on everything! So that, despite the fact that today we have, unlike in the past, better forecasting tools and more reaction instruments than ever, these situations, increasingly complex and interconnected, are more difficult to anticipate. The safety net falls, logistics or the transport of goods breaks down, the value chain is lost and everything is paralyzed at once.This generates a certain frustration: economic science cannot anticipate, avoid, or sufficiently correct cycles or their effects on people's well-being! In the Middle Ages, science in general had less to say than today to set the world aright. Today, there are more things that were previously considered exogenous, which could not be influenced, that are no longer so. The world's misery, lack of water, hunger, loss of health, inequality: we know they are treatable and we can act on them. And even though we know we can, we don't. This cannot leave us with a clear conscience.We live in a world of exciting progress in the field of technology, but which frightens us later, seen up close; they generate as much hope as fear. Innovations that question many jobs, assets — as it has settled in. MAGA already has roots.

Around 3,000 Catalan families are waiting to be allocated social housing, but the high demand and limited supply of apartments available to organizations and government agencies mean that waiting lists continue to grow, even though applicants meet the requirements and have received a favorable decision. Until this solution arrives, most families survive by subletting or even staying in social hostels.

A few days ago, in the presentation of the Economics Note Speaking at the Catalan government's conference on shared prosperity, economist Branko Milanovic recalled an idea that helps explain many of the political tensions we are experiencing in the West. We have been talking for years about polarization, distrust in institutions, and the crisis of liberal democracies. But we often struggle to connect these phenomena with the economic changes that have shaped the world in recent years.

The richest 10% of the planet emits almost 50% of CO2 emissions₂ from all over the world. But within that group, the wealthiest 0.001% (some 80,000 super-rich people) are the ones who have seen the greatest increase in their wealth in recent years and those who are doing the most damage to the planetThis is what French environmental journalist Hervé Kempf, author of How the rich are plundering the planet (Garbuix Books), a comic book that analyzes, in an engaging and accessible way, the causes of and solutions to the vast global inequalities that are directly linked to the ecological crisis we are experiencing.

As much as we might want to ignore it, the year begins darkly, politically speaking. Trump is turning the global order upside down, and we are facing a rapid growth of far-right options, which are very threatening and, at this moment, seem to have unstoppable force. For those of us who are older and have lived under dictatorship, this trend is almost incomprehensible, and it is inevitable that we ask ourselves how we got here.

Since the boom Thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms dictate everything users see and feel on mobile devices. In fact, the algorithm not only makes recommendations but also influences the advertising users receive on social media based on their socioeconomic status and gender. Through geolocation and the type of mobile phone they use, AI identifies the most vulnerable young people and offers them tools to obtain easy, quick, and often fraudulent income. This is demonstrated by a pioneering study from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), which, for the first time, observes how personalized advertising on TikTok and Instagram can reinforce inequalities and stereotypes among young people.

In many homes, families must scramble to make ends meet, and the precarious situation of jobs and insufficient income often leads to daily sacrifices. One of the biggest cuts is in the shopping basket: six out of ten residents admit to having cut back on food spending by choosing products on sale or reducing their consumption of meat, fish, or fruit. This is evidenced by Living inequality 2025, the report published this Tuesday by Oxfam Intermón on inequalities in Spain.

Last Wednesday, September 10th, all eyes in Europe were on France. After the excitement generated by the announcement of mobilizations under the slogan "Let's Block Everything," what is the assessment? In short, we could say that the movement was not as successful as those who called for it had hoped, as it failed to bring the country to a standstill: there were delays in public transportation, but the massive and forceful police intervention prevented major thoroughfares from being blocked, as the protesters had intended.

The vast majority of the Barcelona metropolitan population (88.65%) lives in areas where the main food offering is ultra-processed products, with few fresh or healthy options. This is the warning from a study presented this Thursday by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) on food environments in the municipalities that make up Greater Barcelona. The report finds high territorial and social inequality in access to food.

Catalonia has been burning for days. The asphalt is boiling in the cities, apartments are suffocating in the densest neighborhoods, and in many towns, shade is a rare luxury. The heat wave is relentless, with record temperatures approaching day after day. But not everyone experiences it the same way. For some, it's a nuisance; for others, a threat.

Barcelona takes a new step to combat inequalities and strengthen social cohesion with the launch of the Pla de Barris 2025-2028. This initiative, consolidated as a structural public policy for the city, will invest up to €300 million in projects that will improve the quality of life of 438,000 people—26% of Barcelona's population—in 27 neighborhoods across Barcelona's seven districts. The objective of this new edition of the Pla de Barris is to reduce social and territorial inequalities through in-depth intervention, innovating in public policies, working with residents, and committing to the future through transformative projects. It focuses on priority profiles: adolescents, with programs to strengthen ties and address mental illness; women, through socialization and support spaces; the elderly, with support networks to combat loneliness and improvements in accessibility; and migrants, with support networks and inclusion strategies. The project focuses on education and culture, public space and accessibility, and housing and rehabilitation—three strategic areas for a more inclusive and accessible neighborhood.

The income of the highest-earning 20% of Catalans is almost five times (4.6, exactly) greater than that of the lowest-earning 20% of the population. This difference highlights the social inequality in Catalonia, a gap that has remained at similar percentages for a decade. While there has been a slight improvement since the pandemic, the poverty rate remains at 25% of the population. It is still higher. among those under 18 years of age, which reaches 34%, and even more so among the immigrant population, where it rises to 45%.

Nowadays it is difficult to imagine a school without a canteen, especially in urban environments. The lunchtime is essential for families to be able to balance their work schedules with the students' school hours. For many families, it is almost a necessity. In addition, the canteen is a space that contributes to guaranteeing a healthy and balanced diet for schoolchildren. However, it is not part of the school schedule and no regulations require it to be part of the school's educational project.

About 4,500 neighbours is the number the Drassanes Health Centre, in the neighbourhood of South Raval in Barcelona, knows have not been vaccinated although they are old enough to do so. They are the ones they need to convince to increase vaccination rates in the area where they are lowest. It is only this week they reached the 50% benchmark while other areas in the city have already surpassed 75%. At Drassanes Health Centre, the pace of vaccination is now kept constant, with about 140 jabs a day, after a drop in midsummer - as happened in most places. Many young people who work many hours with unpredictable schedules are receiving the vaccine now, which explains why not all the slots are used up. "How many failed to turn up this morning?", Paloma Prats, the nurse who runs the center, asks the team that manages the vaccination. The nurses admit they are "knackered" after the fifth wave caught them midway through the vaccination when they were just beginning to recover the centre's regular activity. Now the main goal is to inject as many vaccines as possible every day.

"This is Sarrià-Sant Gervasi. We are the richest district in Barcelona. Do you see these streets with cracks? They are Sarriá-Sant Gervasi. Do you see all this cabling that hasn't been buried? For more than a year the main street of the district, Major de Rectoret, has been cut off because there was a landslide and we are still waiting for it to be fixed. Can you imagine this in the middle of Sarrià? We are the forgotten ones". Their names are Hortènsia Duran, Antoni Palanques and Mari Ángeles Zuazo and they live in the area of Les Planes, in Collserola but still within the city limits of Barcelona and not -by a few meters- of Sant Cugat del Vallès. The last report on disposable income of the City Council highlighted that, indeed, the census section where Vallvidrera, Tibidabo and les Planes are located is out of the mould of what would be usual in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi: in the mountain neighbourhoods, the average household income is between 80% and 90% of the Barcelona average, which is 21,484 euros per capita, well below the 33,113 euros of the district, which is the richest in the city.

The map of inequalities in Barcelona remains stable. Or it was until 2018, which is when the latest available data are from, still without the impacts of the pandemic. But the reading of the map now offers many more nuances and precision than it had until now because the City Council has changed the information collection system and can go into more detail. Thus, it can be x-rayed, for example, that the district with the lowest household disposable income per capita, which is Ciutat Vella (14,505 euros), does not include the neighbourhood that has the lowest of all, which is Ciutat Meridiana (10,554 euros), in Nou Barris, and that the most vulnerable area of the city is not in either of these two districts, but is a census section of the district of Besòs and Maresme, in Sant Martí. Here the per capita family income is less than 8,000 euros, while in the richest area of Tres Torres, in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, it is over 40,000.