VoxTalks Economics

S4 Ep5: Do we give more to charity after we've been sick?

05 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Serious illness can be life-changing. Does it inspire us to be more charitable? Sarah Smith tells Tim Phillips whether we give more to charity after w...

S4 Ep4: Capitalist systems and inequality

29 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In classical capitalism, the rich earn their money from capital while the poor sell the value of their labour. In which countries is that still true, ...

S4 Ep3: Boiling point in Africa

22 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As the climate heats up, what does it mean for the number, and the scale, of conflicts in Africa? Dominic Rohner warns Tim Phillips about the impact t...

S4 Ep2: The microeconomics of cryptocurrencies

15 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What is behind the pinballing price movements of Bitcoin? Neil Gandal tells Tim Phillips how supply and demand works for cryptocurrencies.

S4 Ep1: The refugee's dilemma

08 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A new study uses detailed data on the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany to investigate why individuals become refugees. Mathias Thoenig tells Tim Ph...

S3 Ep59: How authoritarians stay in power

18 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Among other things, it has not been a great year for global democracy. So in the final VoxTalk of 2020, Konstantin Sonin tells Tim Phillips how author...

S3 Ep58: Covid baby boom or bust?

11 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Will the pandemic create more or fewer babies? Joshua Wilde tells Tim Phillips how Google search data can provide the answer.

S3 Ep57: The Spanish Empire's shipwreck problem

04 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When the galleon San José sank in a typhoon in 1694, it was carrying a cargo worth 2% of the GDP of the entire Spanish empire. Fernando Arteaga, Desi...

S3 Ep57: Africa's roads make the rich richer

27 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Africa's roads were originally built so that colonial powers could extract its natural wealth. What has happened since then? Steven Poelhekke of the U...

S3 Ep56: The secret war in Laos

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Laotians are still suffering collateral damage from a covert war that the US waged in the country half a century ago. Felipe Valencia Caicedo tells Ti...

S3 Ep55: A history of public debt

13 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When we compare ratios of debt to GDP, do we look closely enough at the political and financial context in which the debts were calculated? Eric Monne...

S3 Ep54: Europe should throw out its fiscal rulebook

06 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The EU's increasingly complex system of fiscal rules should be replaced by a system of fiscal standards instead, Olivier Blanchard tells Tim Phillips....

S3 Ep53: Gun control in Brazil

30 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In 2003 Brazil enacted strict gun control legislation. Rodrigo Schneider tells Tim Phillips about the effects on crime and homicide, and whether we ca...

S3 Ep52: The price of a vote

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How well does campaign finance work, and which political parties benefit most? Julia Cagé tells Tim Phillips how the price of a vote has varied in re...

S3 Ep51: Nepotism in academia

23 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How much did nepotism in Europe's ancient universities hold back progress? David De La Croix tells Tim Phillips about his fascinating research into th...

S3 Ep50: The Black Death

16 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Seven hundred years ago the worst pandemic in history killed almost half the population of Europe and the Middle East. Mark Koyama tells Tim Phillips ...

S3 Ep49: Politics and ethnicity in Africa

09 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Some ethnic groups are active in African politics, and some are not. Valeria Rueda tells Tim Phillips the fascinating story of how two socioeconomic r...

S3 Ep48: Should Google be allowed to acquire Fitbit?

05 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Another week, another tech merger, but this time with huge potential implications for who owns our health data and how it is used. Cristina Caffarra a...

S3 Ep47: Publishing in economics

28 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Academic economists need to be published, but is the journal system fair and efficient? Sebastian Galiani and Ugo Panizza tell Tim Phillips about a ne...

S3 Ep46: The old songs

25 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In a crisis, do we get nostalgic about music? Timothy Yeung tells Tim Phillips about Spotify data that suggests we look for comfort by seeking out son...

S3 Ep45: Post-pandemic transport policy

22 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the UK, public transport use has remained low after lockdown - but car use is almost back to pre-pandemic levels. What does this mean for a sustain...

S3 Ep44: Trustworthiness in the financial sector

18 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Do scandals happen in banks because they recruit people who can't be trusted? Matthias Heinz tells Tim Phillips about new research with a sobering mes...

S3 Ep43: What next for the UK's furloughed workers?

15 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Nine million workers were furloughed in the UK this summer. What was the experience like for them, and what will happen to them now? Abi Adams-Prassl ...

S3 Ep42: Kindergartens in America

11 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

At the beginning of the 20th century more than 7,000 kindergartens were set up in the US. Philipp Ager and Francesco Cinnirella tell Tim Phillips abou...

S3 Ep41: Racism and the "China virus"

04 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Many Americans blame China for Covid-19. Runjing Lu tells Tim Phillips that the way politicians have exploited the pandemic has led to an increase in ...

S3 Ep40: Restoring financial stability to India

28 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In a new book based on his time as deputy governor of India's central bank, Viral Acharya warns that India's bloated public sector is strangling growt...

S3 Ep39: A new explanation for wage stagnation

21 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Low-skilled workers are concentrated in sectors with fast productivity growth, so why isn't their pay rising? Rachel Ngai tell Tim Phillips that one e...

S3 Ep38: Bailing out the kids

18 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How much do we bail out our family in a crisis? By matching financial transactions and administrative data in Denmark, Niels Johannesen comes up with ...

S3 Ep37: Does social media make us xenophobic?

14 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Xenophobic attacks are on the rise around the world. Does social media help cause them? Maria Petrova tells tim Phillips about shocking new research f...

S3 Ep36: Europe's zombie lending

07 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Viral Acharya tell Tim Phillips that the action to save Europe's financial sector after 2008 has delayed reform in the banking sector - creating a dec...

S3 Ep35: Recessions increase inequality

31 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Most high earners bounce back from recessions. But Gianluca Violante tells Tim Phillips that, for the last 50 years, it has been a different story for...

S3 Ep34: Valuing digital services

24 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Covid-19 lockdown has provided the opportunity to measure the financial value we give to 'free' digital services like social media and Google sear...

S3 Ep33: The mechanics of the industrial revolution

17 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Skilled artisans were needed to build, improve and mend the machines that powered the industrial revolution. Joel Mokyr tells Tim Phillips how this ca...

S3 Ep32: Solving Europe's productivity puzzle

10 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the recovery from Covid-19 we urgently need to boost productivity. But which policies move the needle? Filippo di Mauro tells Tim Phillips about wh...

S3 Ep31: Banks under pressure

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Low profitability, non-performing loans, and competition from Big Tech. A new report from the CEPR concludes that the banking sector faces "deep restr...

S3 Ep30: To each according to their needs

03 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Kaushik Basu's time as World Bank chief economist inspired him to think radically about how to change the way the global economy works. He tells Tim P...

S3 Ep29: Coping with Covid in developing economies

26 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A new ebook from the CEPR and the International Development Policy Journal discusses the threat to developing and emerging economies from the pandemic...

S3 Ep28: Who gets exposed to Covid-19?

19 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Different countries and cities have different rates of Covid exposure, but what can explain the difference in incidence between neighbourhoods? New Yo...

S3 Ep27: The Great Reversal

12 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Thomas Philippon's new book argues that in the last 20 years the US has “given up” on free markets. As a result, he tells Tim Phillips, American f...

S3 Ep26: Structural transformation and economic growth

03 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week the CEPR launches a new research programme called STEG - Structural Transformation and Economic Growth. Ahead of the kick-off workshop on Ju...

S3 Ep25: Time for beds

29 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The mortality statistics of the Covid-19 outbreak suggest that your country's medical infrastructure has a big influence on how likely you are to surv...

S3 Ep24: Tech industry mergers

22 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Should competition authorities intervene more often in tech mergers? Be careful, Luis Cabral tells Tim Phillips: they risk stifling innovation if they...

S3 Ep23: Helicopter money

18 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In every crisis, economists will tell us that it is time for helicopter money, and Covid-19 is no different. But the helicopters never seem to take of...

S3 Ep22: The Swedish solution to Covid-19

15 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Do we close our public spaces to protect our communities from Covid-19, or keep them open, as in Sweden? Dirk Krueger tells Tim Phillips that informin...

S3 Ep21: The myth of British inventive genius

08 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On the 75 anniversary of the VE Day, David Edgerton tells Tim Phillips that Britain's belief in its go-it-alone scientific and inventive genius is “...

S3 Ep20: Do the rich get more coronavirus tests?

29 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Last month the media accused New York's wealthy residents of jumping the queue for Covid-19 testing. Stephanie Schmitt-Grohé, a New York resident her...

S3 Ep19: We need a Covid-19 debt standstill

27 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In a new paper called Born out of necessity, a group of economists and  lawyers propose a way for developing and emerging countries to temporarily re...

S3 Ep18: John Maynard Keynes's art portfolio

21 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Keynes amassed an extensive collection of fine art during his lifetime. David Chambers tells Tim Phillips what the financial returns on his investment...

S3 Ep17: Lessons from the Ebola crisis on dealing with Covid-19

09 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The 2014 Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone affected an area which included a pioneering experiment in community healthcare. Oeindrila Dube tells Tim Phil...

S3 Ep16: Modelling the economic consequences of Covid-19

07 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When Covid-19 wasn't even on the radar of most policymakers, Warwick McKibbin of ANU used his experience from previous pandemics to create seven scena...

S3 Ep15: How much do governments lend to each other in a crisis?

27 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In international crises, disasters and wars, private lenders disappear. But governments have stepped in and lent far more to each other than we previo...

S3 Ep14: The coronavirus shock to financial stability

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Enrico Perotti tells Tim Phillips that while regulatory reform means that banks are unlikely to be at risk, the same is not true for the shadow bankin...

S3 Ep13: A Covid credit line for Europe

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How can euro area countries work together to protect their economies? A diverse group of economists has suggested the creation of an emergency Covid c...

S3 Ep12: Singapore's response to Covid-19

20 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In a VoxTalks special, Danny Quah tells Tim Phillips how Singapore defended itself against the health and economic impact of Covid-19, and what other ...

S3 Ep11: The polarization of reality

20 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We think about political polarization as a disagreement about policies. But what if the voters can't even agree on the facts? Stefanie Stantcheva tell...

S3 Ep10: Economics in the time of Covid-19

10 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How big are Covid-19's economic consequences? That's the theme of a new VoxEU book with contributions from many of the world's most experienced policy...

S3 Ep9: Women in Economics

06 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Women are under-represented in economics, and the situation is not improving. Economists Shelly Lundberg, Donna Ginther, Jenna Stearns and Erin Hengel...

S3 Ep8: Digital market merger policy

28 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the last decade, global digital giants have snapped up hundreds of smaller, innovative companies. Should competition authorities have intervened mo...

S3 Ep7: The history of immigration quotas

21 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A century ago, American nativists succeeded in establishing immigration quotas to drive up the wages of US workers. What happened next? Not what you m...

S3 Ep6: Education creates peace

14 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

New research shows how a school-building programme in Indonesia successfully reduced conflict. Dominic Rohner tells Tim Phillips about this unanticipa...

S3 Ep5: Central banks and regional inequality

07 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Is regional inequality a problem that central banks should worry about? Andy Haldane of the Bank of England tells Tim Phillips why he thanks the answe...

S3 Ep4: The origins of tech clusters

31 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Why are cities so keen to create their own technology clusters, and why is it so difficult? Bill Kerr of Harvard Business School tells Tim Phillips wh...

S3 Ep3: Betting on the Lord

24 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

An experiment in Haiti shows that people take more risks in the presence of religious images, even if there is less chance they will win. Emmanuelle A...

S3 Ep2: Regenerating the cities that were left behind

17 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When the industries that have sustained our cities decline, how can we regenerate urban areas? At the SUERF conference in Amsterdam, Tony Venables and...

S3 Ep1: Will there be a post-Brexit financial services deal?

10 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In 2020, the UK and the EU will try to strike a post-Brexit deal in financial services. At the SUERF conference in Amsterdam, David Miles and Iain Beg...

S2 Ep52: Has the randomista revolution gone too far?

23 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This year's Nobel prize celebrated the work of the economists who popularised randomised controlled trials, “for their experimental approach to alle...

S2 Ep51: Burying bad news

20 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

New research demonstrates what we all suspected: for decades, politicians have routinely used busy news days to bury unpopular announcements. Ruben Du...

S2 Ep50: Helping parents to read with their children

13 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Language skills for preschoolers help them achieve more when they get to school, but some parents are better than others at helping their kids to deve...

S2 Ep49: Wealth taxes

06 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Few countries tax their citizens' wealth annually, but Switzerland is one of them. Marius Brülhart tells Tim Phillips about a natural experiment in S...

S2 Ep48: How the mobile internet changed politics

29 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The mobile internet, promises to give us access to information anywhere, 24 hours a day. So how has it influenced trust in governments, politics, and ...

S2 Ep47: Can the stock market help save the planet?

22 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We think about climate policies as moderating or interceding in markets.  But a new paper implies that when stock markets play a bigger part in the e...

S2 Ep46: The Great Expectations of the middle class

15 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When there's a financial crisis, policymakers and politicians increasingly kowtow to the demands of an influential group: the global middle class. Jef...

S2 Ep45: How to improve consumer credit ratings

08 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Doing a good job of deciding who can borrow is fundamental for the global economy. Stefania Albanesi tells Tim Phillips that current consumer credit r...

S2 Ep44: Let's stay together

01 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When the law changed to allow same-sex partners to get married, did the symbolism of marriage have any effect on the stability of relationships? Shuai...

S2 Ep43: The cost of dying

25 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How much is spent on end-of-life care, and who foots the bill? Eric French of UCL tells Tim Phillips about the total cost of the last year of our live...

S2 Ep42: Increasing diversity in economics

16 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Royal Economic Society has launched Discover Economics, an ambitious three-year campaign to attract more women, minority students and students fro...

S2 Ep41: The economics of an ageing population

11 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We are living longer, and that affects every part of our economic future. David Bloom is the editor of a new VoxEU book on what he calls "the what, th...

S2 Ep40: A new story of London's economic development

04 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Economists date the growth of London's financial system, and its impact on the British economy, from the end of the 17th century. Nathan Sussman tells...

S2 Ep39: Lessons from the Irish banking crisis

27 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Patrick Honohan took over as governor of the Central Bank of Ireland in 2009 with the economy in meltdown, and steered it through its deepest crisis. ...

S2 Ep38: The death of banks?

24 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On 24 September the CEPR launches the latest Geneva Report on the world economy, called Banking disrupted? Financial intermediation in an era of trans...

S2 Ep37: Does foreign investment create green growth?

13 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Economists argue whether foreign direct investment in developing economies exports pollution or generates green growth. Beata Javorcik talks to Tim Ph...

S2 Ep36: The economic history of World War 2

06 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Starting on the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the second world war, VoxEU is publishing a series of articles about the economics of the war. Tim...

S2 Ep35: Africa's lands of opportunity

30 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On average, if you are born in Africa today you have much better chances to succeed than your parents or grandparents. But which countries have the be...

S2 Ep34: Could a $15 minimum wage save lives?

23 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The US has an epidemic of "deaths of despair". Michael Reich tells Tim Phillips that new research implies that a $15 minimum wage doesn't just cut pov...

S2 Ep33: Investing in Brexit

16 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As Brexit nears (again), are British firms choosing to invest in the UK or in other European markets? Are European firms investing in the UK to preser...

S2 Ep32: Social media polarization

09 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When does social media polarize opinion, and when does it bring us closer together? Yves Zenou tells Tim Phillips about a new economic model that show...

S2 Ep31: Learning about ourselves

02 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Despite all the evidence to the contrary we continue to overestimate how much work we will do tomorrow, or how often we will go to the gym. Why? Peter...

S2 Ep30: France's broken social elevator

26 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

France has surprisingly low social mobility. OECD chief economist Laurence Boone tells Tim Phillips why this is the case, how the problem fuels the gi...

S2 Ep29: The true cost of emissions cheating

19 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Supposedly 'green' diesel engines with devices to cheat emissions tests have been polluting as much as 150 ordinary cars. Hannes Schwandt tell Tim Phi...

S2 Ep28: The benefits of starting school early

12 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Children in different countries start school at very different ages. Thomas Cornelissen tells Tim Phillips about new research that suggests an early s...

S2 Ep27: Italy is a very sick patient

05 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Are Italy's populist policies of miniBOTs and flat taxes the right medicine for its economic sickness? Fabio Ghironi tells Tim Phillips that, if Italy...

S2 Ep26: How the G20 can save world trade

28 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As the G20 gather in Japan, Tim Phillips talks to Simon Evenett, one of the authors of the Global Trade Alert, on how the ministers can halt the "free...

S2 Ep25: The threat to global prosperity

20 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A new book from the CEPR argues that the current trade war is a long-term danger to all economies, not just those of the US and China. Editor Meredith...

S2 Ep24: What would Ricardo do?

14 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

David Ricardo was the first economist to think rigorously about international trade, and his theory of comparative advantage has stood the test of tim...

S2 Ep23: The future of the welfare state

07 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week UN special rapporteur claimed the UK's social safety net has been "replaced with a harsh and uncaring ethos". Dame Minouche Shafik, director...

S2 Ep22: The Yrjo Jahnsson award

31 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The award is given to the best European economist under 45. This year, Oriana Bandiera of LSE and Imran Rasul of UCL share the prize. They talk to Tim...

S2 Ep21: The cost of kids

24 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Women earn less than men after they start a family. Can better policies close the gap? Camille Landais of LSE tells Tim Phillips about new research co...

S2 Ep20: Managing the secret state

17 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Did the KGB manage its informers using the iron fist or the invisible hand? Mark Harrison tells Tim Phillips how the state motivated and disciplined i...

S2 Ep19: The end of the WTO?

10 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Who will be the biggest loser in this trade war? Chad Bown tells Tim Phillips why it could be the WTO's dispute resolution system, and why we should w...

S2 Ep18: The lost ones

03 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

MariaCristina De Nardi tells Tim Phillips that non-college-educated Americans born in the 1960s are dying younger, earning less, and paying more for h...