S4 Ep16: The problems of digital trade
An increasing amount of trade is digital, but trade negotiations are bogged down by arguments over how to regulate it. A new VoxEU ebook investigates what gets in the way of digital trade, and editors Ingo Borchert and Alan Winters tell Tim Phillips what we can do to make it work better.
15m Apr 27, 2021
15m
S4 Ep15: Covid-19 is reshaping European economic policy
Europe has struggled through two crises in the last decade, but this time its response has been much more decisive and ambitious. George Papaconstantinou tells Tim Phillips why Covid-19 may be the catalyst for deeper EU integration. You can download CEPR Policy Insight 109: Reshaping economic policy in the EU in the post-Covid world, by Marco Buti and George Papaconstantinou, here (https://cepr...
13m Apr 23, 2021
13m
S4 Ep14: Discovering history's notable people
Can we create a database of everyone in history? What would it tell us about who we consider to be important? Etienne Wasmer, Morgane Laouenan, and Arash Nekoei tell Tim Phillips about what their projects tell us.
22m Apr 16, 2021
22m
S4 Ep13: Inequality beyond GDP
We measure inequality using income as a proxy for welfare. But are we mixing up "doing well" with "being well"? Leandro Prados de la Escosura thinks so, and his research contradicts much of what we think we know about the long-run trends in inequality.
21m Apr 02, 2021
21m
S4 Ep12: What if bitcoin succeeds?
What would our economies be like if Bitcoin completely displaced fiat currency? Jon Danielsson tells Tim Phillips that it wouldn't be a world that he wants to live in. 
15m Mar 26, 2021
15m
S4 Ep11: Do looks matter in economics?
Good-looking economists get better academic posts. Galina Hale tells Tim Phillips about surprising new research that challenges our assumptions about how departments rate and recruit candidates.
17m Mar 19, 2021
17m
S4 Ep10: Regulation after Wirecard
It has been two years since Wirecard suddenly collapsed. Giorgio Barba Navaretti and Alberto Pozzolo explain to Tim Phillips why it is so hard to supervise global fintechs, and how regulators can do a better job next time.
20m Mar 12, 2021
20m
S4 Ep9: Exporting pollution
Anti-pollution laws penalise firms whose activities emit CO2. Itzhak Ben-David tells Tim Phillips that well-intentioned regulation may be causing multinationals to shunt polluting activities to poorer countries where regulation isn’t so strict.
12m Mar 05, 2021
12m
S4 Ep8: How Africa can recover from Covid-19
Africa’s citizens have so far mostly been spared the direct health consequences of the pandemic, but many of its economies are on life support. Ugo Panizza and Simeon Djankov, two of the editors of a new CEPR ebook about Africa's recovery, talk to Tim Phillips about post-Covid debt, FDI, food security, and how it's in all our interests to step up and help. Download Shaping Africa’s Post-Covid R...
18m Feb 23, 2021
18m
S4 Ep7: Patent pools for generic drugs
Diffusion of new drugs is painfully slow in low-income countries. Mark Schankerman tells Tim Phillips about how patent pools accelerate the process, and how we could still do a better job of licensing life-saving medicines.
30m Feb 19, 2021
30m
S4 Ep6: Is Europe's trade strategy fit for purpose?
Today the CEPR launches a new ebook on Europe's trade strategy. Author Christian Bluth tells Tim Phillips that nations are increasingly using global trade as a means of political arm-twisting. Should the EU do the same? Download Europe’s trade strategy for the age of geoeconomic globalisation (https://voxeu.org/content/europe-s-trade-strategy-age-geoeconomic-globalisation ) from VoxEU.
18m Feb 10, 2021
18m
S4 Ep5: Do we give more to charity after we've been sick?
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 we suffer, to which charities - and what this means for their funding after Covid-19.
15m Feb 05, 2021
15m
S4 Ep4: Capitalist systems and inequality
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, and how does it affect the gap between rich and poor? Branko Milanovic tells Tim Phillips about a new way in which we can think about inequality. Read about the research (https://voxeu.org/article/capitalist-systems-and-income-inequality) at VoxEU.
14m Jan 29, 2021
14m
S4 Ep3: Boiling point in Africa
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 that climate change has had in the continent already and the danger signs for the future.
11m Jan 22, 2021
11m
S4 Ep2: The microeconomics of cryptocurrencies
What is behind the pinballing price movements of Bitcoin? Neil Gandal tells Tim Phillips how supply and demand works for cryptocurrencies.
21m Jan 15, 2021
21m
S4 Ep1: The refugee's dilemma
A new study uses detailed data on the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany to investigate why individuals become refugees. Mathias Thoenig tells Tim Phillips about a simple policy that would have saved hundreds of thousands of lives in the 1930s, but is still ignored today.
27m Jan 08, 2021
27m
S3 Ep59: How authoritarians stay in power
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 authoritarian leaders grab and hold on to power. 
17m Dec 18, 2020
17m
S3 Ep58: Covid baby boom or bust?
Will the pandemic create more or fewer babies? Joshua Wilde tells Tim Phillips how Google search data can provide the answer.
16m Dec 11, 2020
16m
S3 Ep57: The Spanish Empire's shipwreck problem
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, Desiree Desierto and Mark Koyama tell Tim Phillips about how bribes sank Spanish treasure ships. Read the Vox column (https://voxeu.org/article/shipwrecked-rents) about Spanish shipwrecks.
24m Dec 04, 2020
24m
S3 Ep57: Africa's roads make the rich richer
Africa's roads were originally built so that colonial powers could extract its natural wealth. What has happened since then? Steven Poelhekke of the University of Auckland examines the maps with Tim Phillips.
13m Nov 27, 2020
13m
S3 Ep56: The secret war in Laos
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 Tim Phillips about the devastating impact of the bombing of Laos, and how we can help victims of conflict in future.
18m Nov 20, 2020
18m
S3 Ep55: A history of public debt
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 Monnet of the Paris School of Economics tells Tim Phillips about how our statistical methods and assumptions have evolved.
22m Nov 13, 2020
22m
S3 Ep54: Europe should throw out its fiscal rulebook
The EU's increasingly complex system of fiscal rules should be replaced by a system of fiscal standards instead, Olivier Blanchard tells Tim Phillips. You can watch the recording of Olivier presenting his paper on Fiscal Standards for Europe at the 72nd Economic Policy Journal Panel Meeting here (https://www.economic-policy.org/fiscal-standards-for-europe/) The full paper, Redesigning the EU...
19m Nov 06, 2020
19m
S3 Ep53: Gun control in Brazil
In 2003 Brazil enacted strict gun control legislation. Rodrigo Schneider tells Tim Phillips about the effects on crime and homicide, and whether we can assume there would be a similar impact in other countries. Find more about Rodrigo's paper Crime and political effects of a right-to-carry ban in Brazil (https://www.economic-policy.org/72nd-economic-policy-panel/law-guns-and-money-in-brazil/) ,...
15m Oct 30, 2020
15m
S3 Ep52: The price of a vote
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 recent British and French elections.
21m Oct 26, 2020
21m
S3 Ep51: Nepotism in academia
How much did nepotism in Europe's ancient universities hold back progress? David De La Croix tells Tim Phillips about his fascinating research into the emergence of modern science.
12m Oct 23, 2020
12m
S3 Ep50: The Black Death
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 about the centuries-long economic impact of the Black Death.
21m Oct 16, 2020
21m
S3 Ep49: Politics and ethnicity in Africa
Some ethnic groups are active in African politics, and some are not. Valeria Rueda tells Tim Phillips the fascinating story of how two socioeconomic revolutions more than a century ago shaped post-colonial political power.
23m Oct 09, 2020
23m
S3 Ep48: Should Google be allowed to acquire Fitbit?
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 and Greg Crawford tell Tim Phillips why 17 economists have written a paper describing harm that Google's acquisition of Fitbit would cause to consumers. Download Policy Insight 107 (https://cepr.org/sites/default/files/policy_insights/PolicyInsigh...
33m Oct 05, 2020
33m
S3 Ep47: Publishing in economics
Academic economists need to be published, but is the journal system fair and efficient? Sebastian Galiani and Ugo Panizza tell Tim Phillips about a new free VoxEU ebook that tackles racism in publishing, whether you should be judged by your citations, and the tyranny of the top five.  Download Publishing and measuring success in economics (https://voxeu.org/system/files/epublication/Publishing...
20m Sep 28, 2020
20m
S3 Ep46: The old songs
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 songs we know. Read the research (https://cepr.org/sites/default/files/CovidEconomics44.pdf) in Covid Economics.
10m Sep 25, 2020
10m
S3 Ep45: Post-pandemic transport policy
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 sustainable transport policy? David Newbery tell Tim Phillips how we could tax and incentivise ways to get around after the pandemic.
12m Sep 22, 2020
12m
S3 Ep44: Trustworthiness in the financial sector
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 message for bank HR departments. 
11m Sep 18, 2020
11m
S3 Ep43: What next for the UK's furloughed workers?
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 tells Tim Phillips about how the Job Retention Scheme worked in practice, and what we can learn about short-time work.
14m Sep 15, 2020
14m
S3 Ep42: Kindergartens in America
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 about the profound effect of preschool on the life chances of a generation of immigrants. 
11m Sep 11, 2020
11m
S3 Ep41: Racism and the "China virus"
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 prejudice against the US Asian community.
14m Sep 04, 2020
14m
S3 Ep40: Restoring financial stability to India
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 growth. The economy urgently needs institutional reform, he tells Tim Phillips - and now is the perfect time to do it. Viral's book is called Quest for Restoring Financial Stability in India, and is published by Sage India (https://in.sagepub.com/en-i...
28m Aug 28, 2020
28m
S3 Ep39: A new explanation for wage stagnation
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 explanation is in how low-skilled workers are reallocated between different sectors. 
11m Aug 21, 2020
11m
S3 Ep38: Bailing out the kids
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 an answer for Tim Phillips.
12m Aug 18, 2020
12m
S3 Ep37: Does social media make us xenophobic?
Xenophobic attacks are on the rise around the world. Does social media help cause them? Maria Petrova tells tim Phillips about shocking new research from Russia.
8m Aug 14, 2020
8m
S3 Ep36: Europe's zombie lending
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 decade of lending to zombie firms that has stifled economic growth. Acharya on Zombies and disinflation (https://voxeu.org/content/creating-zombies-and-disinflation-cul-de-sac-accommodative-monetary-policy) at VoxEU.
38m Aug 07, 2020
38m
S3 Ep35: Recessions increase inequality
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 low earners. 
18m Jul 31, 2020
18m
S3 Ep34: Valuing digital services
The Covid-19 lockdown has provided the opportunity to measure the financial value we give to 'free' digital services like social media and Google search. Diane Coyle and David Nguyen tell Tim Phillips what they discovered, and whether this value should be counted in GDP. Read the paper (https://cepr.org/file/9256/download?token=DHbO0cn_) in Covid Economics 33, or this article (https://voxeu.or...
14m Jul 24, 2020
14m
S3 Ep33: The mechanics of the industrial revolution
Skilled artisans were needed to build, improve and mend the machines that powered the industrial revolution. Joel Mokyr tells Tim Phillips how this can help explain why the revolution happened when - and where - it did.
19m Jul 17, 2020
19m
S3 Ep32: Solving Europe's productivity puzzle
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 what CompNet's firm-level productivity data tells us about both the problem and the solution. Find out more about what the data is telling us (https://voxeu.org/article/covid-crisis-and-productivity-growth) .
25m Jul 10, 2020
25m
S3 Ep31: Banks under pressure
Low profitability, non-performing loans, and competition from Big Tech. A new report from the CEPR concludes that the banking sector faces "deep restructuring". Xavier Vives tell Tim Phillips why. Read about the report (https://voxeu.org/article/bank-business-model-post-covid-19-world) and download it (https://voxeu.org/content/bank-business-model-post-covid-19-world) .
15m Jul 08, 2020
15m
S3 Ep30: To each according to their needs
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 Phillips about why public ownership and profit-sharing may be essential, and what we can still learn from Karl Marx.
31m Jul 03, 2020
31m
S3 Ep29: Coping with Covid in developing economies
A new ebook from the CEPR and the International Development Policy Journal discusses the threat to developing and emerging economies from the pandemic, and what we can do about it. Ugo Panizza is one of the editors, and he joins Tim Phillips to discuss capital flight, conflict, and what advanced economies and can do to help. Download Covid in Developing Economies (https://voxeu.org/content/covi...
16m Jun 26, 2020
16m
S3 Ep28: Who gets exposed to Covid-19?
Different countries and cities have different rates of Covid exposure, but what can explain the difference in incidence between neighbourhoods? New York residents Milena Almagro and Angelo Orane-Hutchinson tell Tim Phillips what made the difference in their city. Read their research (https://cepr.org/file/9052/download?token=yw0qcqql) in Covid Economics 13.
14m Jun 19, 2020
14m
S3 Ep27: The Great Reversal
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 families are each $5,000 a year poorer.
24m Jun 12, 2020
24m