VoxTalks Economics

S9 Ep19: Can blockchain decentralise money, contracts, and finance?

17 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Every Bitcoin transaction needs to be verified on the blockchain. There is no central authority that does this, but Bitcoin's blockchain has run unin...

S9 Ep18: Will AI transform economic growth?

13 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Could AI transform our economies to produce explosive growth? Most economists are sceptical at best. Anton Korinek of the University of Virginia, lea...

S9 Ep17: Sanctions and financial repression

06 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Financial repression forces banks and citizens to hold government debt on terms the market would never accept. Economists have called it distortionar...

S9 Ep16: What's next for Ukraine: The labour market

04 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Ukraine has lost close to a quarter of its civilian workforce since the invasion. Three and a half million workers left government-controlled areas: ...

S9 Ep15: What's next for Ukraine: Reconstruction

27 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Ukraine's cities were failing long before the Russian invasion began. Kyiv and Lviv ranked among the 40 most congested cities in the world, yet neith...

S9 Ep14: What’s next for Ukraine: Investment

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Ukraine will emerge from this war with enormous debt. The conventional wisdom treats that as an obstacle: investors weigh it before committing capita...

S9 Ep13: The alpha political male

20 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded live at the CEPR Annual Symposium. We seem to be talking about the behaviour of alpha males on social media a lot recently. But what happens ...

S9 Ep12: Management under the spotlight

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What type of manager would you be? An experiment in Ethiopia set out to measure the management traits of young professionals by setting them challeng...

S9 Ep11: The next generation: Paris ‘25

13 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded live at the CEPR Annual Symposium in Paris. When VoxTalks Economics visits a symposium or conference, we try to find the most interesting n...

S9 Ep10: How many people die when the US cuts foreign aid?

11 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Another special episode recorded at the CEPR annual symposium in Paris. On 20 Jan 2025 when the Trump administration declared foreign aid “antithet...

S9 Ep9: What should Europe do about Trump?

06 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Annual Forum in Paris. Many of the Trump administration policies have direct consequences for Europe. Some of them are directly ...

S9 Ep8: The economic consequences of living longer

04 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Annual Symposium in Paris. As we expect to live longer, what does this mean for the choices we make, and for the economy? What d...

S9 Ep7: How exchange rates responded to tariffs

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After Liberation Day, the dollar fell by 6%. We would usually expect tariffs to send exchange rates in the other direction. So what happened?In anoth...

S9 Ep6: What's next for Trump’s tariffs?

23 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 2025, the trade story was about tariffs. And that story isn’t over. Does anyone know what happens next? Richard Baldwin of IMD Business School ...

S9 Ep5: Is US debt sustainable?

21 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Another special episode recorded at the CEPR annual symposium in Paris.When does the level of debt in the US become a problem for the economy, and fo...

S9 Ep4: Do stablecoins threaten financial stability?

16 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Stablecoins are digital tokens, pegged to a fiat currency. What could possibly go wrong?For one type of stablecoin the answer is: plenty, according t...

S9 Ep3: Can Europe defend itself?

14 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In another of our special episodes recorded at the CEPR annual Symposium, we ask: is it time for Europe to rearm?The message from the US could not be...

S9 Ep2: Has AI eaten the economics major?

09 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In another of our episodes recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium, we ask: When Gen AI can do an undergraduate’s problem set in seconds, how should t...

S9 Ep1: Trump, trade, and AI growth

07 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Another special episode recorded at the CEPR annual symposium in Paris. The Trump administration says it wants America to lead in AI, but what does t...

S8 Ep65: The future of globalisation

19 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At the CEPR annual Symposium in Paris we sat down with Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a distinguished fe...

S8 Ep64: A London economic consensus?

12 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Who would be a policymaker right now? The list of economic problems that we need to solve ranges from “very difficult” to “existential”. An am...

S8 Ep63: Do sanctions work?

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Economic sanctions are the big geoeconomic bazooka. But what does history tell us about how well they work, and their relevance today. And does the th...

S8 Ep62: The cost of lost biodiversity

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Biodiversity is essential for the wide range of economic activities that our planet needs. Yet, the economic consequences of its global decline are ha...

S8 Ep61: The politics of sustainability reporting

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2021, at COP26, the International Accounting Standards Board announced it would create a standard for this reporting. It wants to integrate sustai...

S8 Ep60: The planet has a problem with populism

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Europe and beyond, populist politicians continue to gain ground. What message are voters sending? Are politicians from other parties listening, and...

S8 Ep59: Designing markets for nature

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Our economy is embedded in nature, but nature is in danger. External funding is needed, especially in the Global South, to support the conservation of...

S8 Ep58: A big push for climate policy

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“What is needed is non-marginal, transformative change to shift the economy, technology, and society”. That’s the typically forthright recommen...

S8 Ep57: How to make carbon removal work

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We are familiar with climate policy to reduce emissions. We know about the policies to adapt to climate change. But can we successfully reduce the amo...

S8 Ep56: The economics of biodiversity

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The Economics of Biodiversity” was published by the UK Treasury in 2021. It sets out how economic systems value biodiversity and natural capital, a...

S8 Ep55: Overcoming climate agenda fatigue

31 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Can COP 30 get the green transition back on track? It’s not a great time for international cooperation right now and, with hindsight, was the period...

S8 Ep54: Coalitions of the willing

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the first of our special episodes from the first Hoffmann Centre / CEPR / ReCIPE Conference, we’re discussing what chances there are of significa...

S8 Ep53: The visual politics of Brexit

24 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A decade ago, the UK voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. It was the culmination of years of partisan arguments over membership. During ...

S8 Ep52: A hundred lessons from history

17 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The International Macroeconomic History Online Seminar Series, hosted by CEPR, is turning 100 this month — not years, but episodes. What began as a ...

S8 Ep51: A European Carbon Central Bank

10 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the second of our episodes based on the topics discussed at the conference “Addressing the Risks and Responses to Climate Overshoot”, organised...

S8 Ep50: The hidden cost of invasive species

03 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the first of two podcasts recorded at the conference “Addressing the Risks and Responses to Climate Overshoot”, organised by the AXA Research F...

S8 Ep49: Tastes, geography, and culture

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s cultural meme that teenagers in New York and Seoul will have more in common with each other than with their parents. Has where we come from bee...

S8 Ep48: What makes a successful entrepreneur?

19 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We are up to our necks in advice about how to innovate in business, how to succeed as a founder, or how to spot a great startup. Blogs, YouTube channe...

S8 Ep47: Misinformation and trust in news

12 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today generative AI makes it easy to create and distribute convincing fake news stories, pictures, even videos. We’ve all been hoodwinked – but do...

S8 Ep46: Is Davos more than a boondoggle?

05 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, attended by thousands of business and policy VIPs – is one of those events that pops up on...

S8 Ep45: The stickiness of gender biased norms

29 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The belief that women are in some way inferior to men has been around for centuries. And throughout that time, women have suffered the consequences. E...

S8 Ep44: In coin we trust

22 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On 4 August, Paul Atkins, the chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, launched “Project Crypto”. The SEC wants to make the US “the c...

S8 Ep43: Strategic cops and robbers

15 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How do criminals choose the weapons they carry, the number of accomplices, the types of business they target? Economists have long argued that decisio...

S8 Ep42: Carcillo: Closing the gender wage gap

08 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded live at the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum 2025.  The gender wage gap in advanced economies isn’t shrinking. What can firms do to eliminate the pa...

S8 Ep41: Bertrand: Why Japanese men don’t take paternity leave

06 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded live at the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum 2025.  One of the mysteries for economists and policymakers has been the reluctance of men to take patern...

S8 Ep40: Petrongolo: Gender and the labour market

01 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From our series recorded live at the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum 2025. How much progress have we made in finding out the source of gender inequality at work...

S8 Ep39: The next generation: PSE ’25

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded live at the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum 2025.  This week, we interview three of the next generation of economists. At the forum, a group of young...

S8 Ep38: The state of globalisation

23 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Are global economic flows collapsing, or are they reorganising? That’s one of the intriguing questions asked by a new CEPR publication called The St...

S8 Ep37: The effect of working from home on house prices

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded live at the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum 2025.  Now that many of us work part or all our week at home, does that mean we want to move to a differe...

S8 Ep36: Davis: Will working from home stick?

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded live at the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum 2025.  Go back six or seven years and working from home was an exception. Bosses discouraged it, contract...

S8 Ep35: The global impact of AI

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If we focus on the cutting edge of AI implementation, we’re also focusing on a small set of technologically advanced countries. How will AI affect w...

S8 Ep34: How good are LLMs at doing our jobs?

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

 In the second of special series recorded live at the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum 2025, we are asking, how good is AI at doing real-world job task? And ho...

S8 Ep33: Autor: Automation and the value of expertise

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded live at the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum 2025.  This year the annual Paris School of Economics-PSE Policy Forum is organized around three themes: ...

S8 Ep32: Bonus episode: From soft landings to hard realities

29 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Bank for International Settlements Annual Economic Report has just dropped, and there’s a markedly less positive tone than last year, when it wa...

S8 Ep31: Does better school management boost test scores?

27 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Whether you are looking at the link from education to economic growth, household earnings or individual happiness, there’s no doubt that a better-ed...

S8 Ep30: Do car bans hurt politicians?

20 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Pedestrianised areas, car-free streets, or low traffic neighbourhoods are increasingly visible in major cities. Whether in London, Paris, New York or ...

S8 Ep29: Finding meaning at work

13 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What’s the point of having a job? Clearly, to make money for ourselves and our families. But is it possible for us to discover some bigger purpose o...

S8 Ep28: How to curb the bias against female experts

06 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Does the public take more notice of the opinions of male or female economists? We know that female experts, whether in science, politics or the media,...

S8 Ep27: The Grievance Doctrine

30 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What if trade policy wasn’t really about trade at all? What if it was about revenge, power, and punishment, tariffs as tantrums and diplomacy as dra...

S8 Ep26: The rise of China in academic research

23 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

China’s growth as an economic superpower has been based in a large part on its increasing ability to design and manufacture sophisticated, hi-tech g...

S8 Ep25: Growth and trust in government

16 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Does economic growth inspire us to trust our governments? A new paper finds a surprisingly strong and consistent relationship between trust and econom...

S8 Ep24: Do friendships change our political opinions?

09 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recently, students all over the world have been demonstrating in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza or in support of the policies of the Israeli gov...

S8 Ep23: What is geoeconomics?

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With the major geopolitical powers squaring up to each other, tariffs on trade and political turmoil, is it time for economics to focus more on the co...

S8 Ep22: Do superstar advisors create star students?

25 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Getting accepted to an elite PhD programme with a superstar advisor seems like “making it” if you want a research career in economics. But is it? ...

S8 Ep21: A meaningful life

18 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What gives a life meaning? Is it about health, friends, family or something else? Do rich people have more meaningful lives than poor people? Do we fi...

S8 Ep20: Expelling the experts

11 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump, aided by DOGE under Elon Musk, promised deep cuts to the US federal bureaucracy. In these cases, and many others in recent history, p...

S8 Ep19: Central banks as financial agents of the state

04 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Central banks play a crucial role in modern economies, managing money supply, setting interest rates, and ensuring financial stability. But their rela...

S8 Ep18: When our values clash at work

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Do you and your boss see the world in the same way and how does that affect your performance at work? You might not agree with your boss about everyth...

S8 Ep17: The menopause penalty at work

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. The menopause can be a huge biological shock to women, but there has been almost no research into the consequenc...

S8 Ep16: The next generation: Paris ‘24

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. Whenever economists gather, you will find many of tomorrow’s best economists too. They get a rare chance to pr...

S8 Ep15: Ending period stigma in schools

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. Everywhere in the world there is still a stigma around periods. That can lead to bullying or exclusion in school...

S8 Ep14: The laws that protected women from work

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. During the first half of the 20th century, the US introduced state laws that imposed restrictions on when and ho...

S8 Ep13: The class gap in career progression

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. Recent research shows that our sex and race still affect our life chances. New evidence investigates whether cla...

S8 Ep12: Do we work harder when we work from home?

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It seems like many more of us have been working from home for at least part of the week. But bosses fret about the effect on productivity when their e...

S8 Ep11: How should the EU respond to Trump?

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It is now a month since President Trump’s inauguration, and it’s fair to say that a lot has happened already. In a special episode we talk to More...

S8 Ep10: Who should work, and how much?

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. Do the most productive people work more or less than others? It’s a question that is constantly asked in econo...

S8 Ep9: A European climate bond

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. Europe faces a gigantic climate investment gap. Can an EU climate debt financing scheme help to close it? To do ...

S8 Ep8: Can planting trees change the climate?

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. At COPs or the WEF, we regularly hear about ambitious tree-planting initiatives. These massive programs have bee...

S8 Ep7: The impact of financial deglobalisation

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium.  For several decades, global financial markets have been increasingly integrated. But has that process now gon...

S8 Ep6: Do cryptocurrencies matter?

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. Can cryptocurrencies be useful? Not just for crypto bro speculators, but as a shield against the depreciation of...

S8 Ep5: What impact have trade sanctions had on Russia?

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. How effective have the trade sanctions imposed on Russia in 2022 been? Politically, they were comprehensive and ...

S8 Ep4: Crime and punishment?

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it was already under sanctions for annexing Crimea in 2014...

S8 Ep3: Trump’s tariffs: Help for the heartland?

10 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In economically depressed regions of the US – the “heartland” – President Trump’s 2018 trade war was a popular decision: “We’re going to...

S8 Ep2: What policymakers get wrong about US trade deficits

08 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. For two decades Maurice Obstfeld has been researching the causes and consequences of the global trade imbalances...

S8 Ep1: Can AI forecasts improve crisis response?

03 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. In the first of a series of episodes from CEPR’s annual festival of new research, we ask: can artificial intel...

S7 Ep59: Spotting social isolation in the classroom

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A surprising number of children are isolated at school. How can teachers spot this social exclusion, and what can they do to make every child feel inc...

S7 Ep58: Trading around geopolitics

13 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After Russia after invaded Ukraine, 45 countries imposed sanctions. Turkiye was among those that did not. Have Turkiye’s exporters filled the gap cr...

S7 Ep57: Can central banks green the financial system?

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Climate change, and policies that governments implement to address it, increasingly have macroeconomic impacts that are relevant for Central banks. Bu...

S7 Ep56: Populism and war

29 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What effect do populist rulers of economic superpowers have on international relations, peace, and inequality? If a populist takes power in one of the...

S7 Ep55: Masculinity around the world

19 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do men think they should behave? How important is it to dominate, to win, to control women, or to refuse help? How do views on this correlate to e...

S7 Ep54: Banking without branches

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bank branches are closing rapidly as banking activity migrates online. What are the consequences, for the public, for a bank’s business customers, o...

S7 Ep53: The price of deforestation

08 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded at the Climate Change and the Environment Conference, organised by the AXA Research Fund and CEPR. We are familiar with frightening images of...

S7 Ep52: Financing the green transition

05 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The second of three special episodes of VoxTalks Economics recorded at the Climate Change and the Environment Conference in Paris, jointly organised b...

S7 Ep51: Insuring the world of the future

01 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The first of three special episodes of VoxTalks Economics recorded at the Climate Change and the Environment Conference in Paris, jointly organised by...

S7 Ep50: The economic effect of the Great Fire of London

25 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the early hours of 2 September 1666, a spark in Thomas Farriner's bakery on Pudding Lane in the City of London ignited a blaze that would go on to ...

S7 Ep49: Young, educated, and unemployed

18 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In some places in Europe, young college graduates are more likely to be unemployed than young high school graduates. We assume that jobs are more like...

S7 Ep48: NOBEL SPECIAL: James Robinson on antisocial norms

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The saying “don’t be a toad” in Colombia tells people to mind their own business and not to tell on others. The warning that “snitches get sti...

S7 Ep47: Access to opportunity in the sciences

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A Nobel season episode: what is the background of the scientists who win the big prize? If talent is equally distributed, but the opportunity to use ...

S7 Ep46: Food policy in a warming world

04 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In May 2022 the Indian government responded to a heatwave that had cut crop yields by unexpectedly banning wheat exports. Ministers spoke of the need ...

S7 Ep45: How protests are born, and how they die

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Every year we see thousands of protest movements on our city streets. Most are fuelled by social media. But why do some protests persist, and some dis...

S7 Ep44: The US is in a fiscal mess

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

US federal debt is expected to grow to historic highs in the next 10 years, and the interest bill for that debt will continue to grow too. But does it...