A word of congratulations to Vox, a most successful cross between a blog and an economics journal, which has recently been celebrating its first anniversary. The site is published under the auspices of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (a Eurocentric research network not unlike the NBER) and headed by Richard Baldwin, a professor at the Graduate Institute of Geneva. Vox has a starry cast of contributors from around the world, but as you would expect has a particular strength in European scholars. It accepts column-length submissions from academics: sometimes they engage with current controversies, sometimes report new research, and often do both at once. They are told to be policy-relevant and research-based, and to write "at an analytical level that is higher than a typical newspaper column but very much more accessible than a journal article".

Sample from just the past week or two Charles Wyplosz on the argument between Larry Summers and Willem Buiter over financial crises and bail-outs. Stefan Tangermann on biofuels and food prices. Gabriel Felbermayr and Farid Toubal on using scores in the Eurovision song contest to explore the links between cultural proximity and trade. Thorvaldur Gylfason with as much as we probably need to know about the Icelandic economy. ("Iceland has never been boring," he begins. Did somebody say otherwise?) Nick Crafts explains why Europe needs to develop some respect for creative destruction. From the shop-window of CEPR "Policy Insight" papers on the right of the home page, read Axel Leijonhufvud on "Keynes and the Crisis".

It's an excellent formula. There should be an American equivalent.