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Martin Sandbu

European Economics Commentator

Martin Sandbu is the Financial Times's European economics commentator. He also writes Free Lunch, the FT's newsletter on the global economic policy debate. He has been writing for the FT since 2009, when he joined the paper as economics leader writer.

Before joining the FT, he worked in academia and policy consulting. He is the author of three books, on business ethics, the euro, and on the economics of belonging.

Sign up to the Free Lunch newsletter here.

Email Martin Sandbu @MESandbu  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)
  • Thursday, 13 February, 2025
    Free LunchUS politics & policy
    Big Tech’s hinterland of ideas Premium content

    Surveying the thinking that animates America’s new oligarchs

    Elon Musk, wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ cap, speaks while standing in the Oval Office next to Donald Trump, who is seated at the Resolute Desk, smiling and listening
  • Sunday, 9 February, 2025
    EU tech regulation
    The EU needs the courage to imagine a different digital economy

    Trump’s tech oligarchs are afraid of Europe’s regulatory power — as they should be

    Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stands at the podium to deliver a speech at the Davos summit in Switzerland
  • Thursday, 6 February, 2025
    The Economics Show podcast36 min listen
    Making sense of Trump's tariffs. With Dani Rodrik

    Is there an industrial policy rationale for Trump’s tariff brinkmanship?

  • Thursday, 6 February, 2025
    Free LunchTrump tariffs
    Could the world decouple from US trade? Premium content

    Most countries are less dependent on exports to America than you might think

    Container ships are docked at the Port of Oakland in California, with cranes towering overhead.
  • Thursday, 30 January, 2025
    Free LunchUS politics & policy
    Trump’s administrative self-coup Premium content

    A constitutional crisis looms after attempt to wrest power of the purse from Congress

    Protesters stand near the White House, holding American flags and signs that read "Release federal funds, keep America safe + healthy" and "Unfreeze the federal funds now."
  • Sunday, 26 January, 2025
    Global trade
    Europe should stop panicking and seize the opportunities Trump offers

    It is time for the EU to get down to business

    US President Donald Trump in front of an EU flag
  • Thursday, 23 January, 2025
    Free LunchGlobal Economy
    The black swans of Trumponomics Premium content

    There is so much more than tariffs that can go wrong

    A black swan on a pond
  • Thursday, 16 January, 2025
    Free LunchUS economy
    Will the Democrats overcorrect on US economic policy? Premium content

    Bidenomics’ lasting legacy may depend on Republican success

    US President Joe Biden leaves the stage after his speech at the state department in Washington on Monday
  • Sunday, 12 January, 2025
    War in Ukraine
    Russia’s war economy is a house of cards

    The financial underpinnings look increasingly fragile

    Russia’s President Vladimir Putin talking on the phone
  • Thursday, 9 January, 2025
    Free LunchUS economy
    The looming battles over US economic policy thinking Premium content

    Both Republicans and Democrats are split between populist and oligarchic visions 

    A street with traffic signs leading up to the US Capitol in Washington at night
  • Thursday, 19 December, 2024
    Free LunchEU economy
    A Copernican revolution in EU economic thinking? Premium content

    ‘Draghi plus’ would make Europe take domestic demand seriously — and not before time

    Mario Draghi
  • Sunday, 15 December, 2024
    European Central Bank
    The ECB cannot pretend any technocratic purity

    Central banks must rise to the geopolitical challenges of the day

    A euro sign is seen at the visitors centre of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt
  • Thursday, 12 December, 2024
    Free LunchRussian assets
    It’s high time to make Russia pay Premium content

    G7’s $50bn loan is no substitute for transferring blocked foreign exchange reserves to Ukraine

    A Russian flag flutters next to one of the Kremlin towers in downtown Moscow
  • Thursday, 5 December, 2024
    Free LunchGlobal Economy
    Ten years of Free Lunch Premium content

    To celebrate: an upgrade in the new year

    A transparent globe with a reflective surface.
  • Sunday, 1 December, 2024
    EU economy
    The EU’s commitment phobia holds it back

    Leaders must take long-term action on industrial, fiscal and monetary policy as well as support for Ukraine

    An employee works on an engine on the production floor of Stellantis in Turin, Italy
  • Thursday, 28 November, 2024
    Free LunchUS politics & policy
    Donald Trump, accidental master of game theory Premium content

    The president-elect’s instincts track the theorems of strategic decision science

    Donald Trump gestures while speaking during an election night event. Behind him, multiple American flags are displayed.
  • Thursday, 21 November, 2024
    Free LunchEU economy
    How to put Europe’s savings to work Premium content

    The EU must redeploy capital it squirrels away abroad

    An employee wearing a hard hat and high-visibility jacket examines equipment surrounded by pipes and machinery at an energy lithium electrolysis optimisation plant in Germany.
  • Sunday, 17 November, 2024
    Geopolitics
    Finding the money to make Europe great again

    Frozen assets and large capital exports should be go-to sources for funding a geopolitical transformation

    Firefighters work at the site where an industrial area was hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine
  • Thursday, 14 November, 2024
    Free LunchUS presidential election 2024
    Why I was wrong about the US election Premium content

    Economics, ‘vibeonomics’ and the Trump swing

    Participants in a car caravan supporting Donald Trump drive through New York City. Vehicles are adorned with American flags and Trump banners, and a person stands through the sunroof of a truck, holding a "Trump Won" flag. street.
  • Thursday, 7 November, 2024
    Free LunchRussia
    How western sanctions are squeezing Russia Premium content

    Behind the headline numbers, the resource constraints are evident

    A woman stands in front of a dairy section in a supermarket in Saint Petersburg, Russia
  • Sunday, 3 November, 2024
    Global Economy
    The west must outdo rival efforts to build an alternative financial system

    Technological and geopolitical competition between democracies and autocracies are two sides of the same coin

    Russian President Vladimir Putin during an official welcoming ceremony for delegations’ heads at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia
  • Thursday, 31 October, 2024
    Free LunchUS presidential election 2024
    Why Kamala Harris will win Premium content

    Because it’s still the economy, stupid

    Kamala Harris speaks at a rally. She stands at a podium with a large crowd behind her holding signs and a backdrop displaying the words "When We Vote We Win."
  • Thursday, 24 October, 2024
    Free LunchUK Autumn Budget 2024
    The unexamined big question around the UK Budget Premium content

    Ignore the details of how Labour will raise taxes, spending and borrowing, and ask instead how much

    Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are seen gesturing and smiling at the Labour party conference
  • Sunday, 20 October, 2024
    Innovation
    Europe should take a digital leap across its innovation gap

    The US is enjoying a virtuous cycle, while the EU is caught in a mid-tech trap

  • Thursday, 17 October, 2024
    Free LunchWar in Ukraine
    The west’s halfhearted resistance to Russia Premium content

    Ukraine’s friends can be much tougher with Moscow’s ‘shadow fleet’ — and other economic weapons

    Vladimir Putin is seated at a desk, holding a document, during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow.
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