Lisa Cook is an Associate Professor of Economics at Michigan State University and formerly served as a senior economist at the Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama. Today, she joins the show to discuss her work on how the Great Recession affected households in the U.S. She also shares her thoughts on the prospects for economic development in Africa. Finally, she and David also discuss the U.S. patent system and whether the system is in need of reforms. (Note: We experienced some technical difficulties during the record of this episode. You'll notice a slight change in audio quality around the 5 minute mark.) David's blog: http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ Lisa Cook's profile: https://msu.edu/~lisacook/ David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Lisa Cook's Twitter: @drlisadcook Related links: "Consumer Finance and the Financial and Economic Crises: Implications from Household Surveys in Michigan" by Lisa Cook https://msu.edu/~lisacook/mich_cons_fin_jconed_022511.pdf "Were the Nigerian Banking Reforms of 2005 A Success ... And for the Poor?" by Lisa Cook http://www.nber.org/papers/w16890 "Violence and Economic Activity: Evidence from African American Patents, 1870-1940" by Lisa Cook http://lisadcook.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/pats_paper17_1013_final_web.pdf

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.