VoxTalks

Piketty on equality

• Thomas Piketty interviewed by
• Tim Phillips

Recorded live at CEPR Paris Symposium 2022: Thomas Piketty’s short new book promises A brief history of equality. He tells Tim Phillips about why institutions are precarious, why policymakers should consider the consequences for inequality before they intervene – but also why we should be optimistic about the long-term trends in equality.

Male and female voices in economics

• Sarah Smith interviewed by
• Tim Phillips

We know women are under-represented in economics. But if male economists are more comfortable expressing a strong opinion, does this increase the perceived imbalance?

The price of war

• Mikhail Mamonov
• Anna Pestova interviewed by
• Tim Phillips

How hard will sanctions on Russia bite? Anna Pestova and Mikhail Mamonov tell Tim Phillips about the depth of the economic hardship that the Russian people will suffer in 2022.

What is the purpose of a finance professor?

• Alex Edmans interviewed by
• Tim Phillips

Alex Edmans asked this question in his keynote at the Financial Management Association Annual Meeting and offered some provocative answers. He tells Tim Phillips about passion, luck, originality, and the value of teaching.

The food crisis has no respect for borders

• Guido Porto
• Bob Rijkers interviewed by
• Tim Phillips

This week António Guterres, secretary-general of the UN, warned that the war in Ukraine would tip tens of millions into food insecurity. Guido Porto and Bob Rijkers tell Tim Phillips about who suffers and how much from food price inflation.

How Fox News inspired vaccine hesitancy

• Matteo Pinna interviewed by
• Tim Phillips

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, some cable news hosts cast doubt on the effectiveness of vaccines. Matteo Pinna tells Tim Phillips about his research on the impact of Fox News on vaccination rates.

What can helicopter money do?

• Ricardo Reis

If you're going to drop lots of money from a helicopter, what will happen to the economy? When would it make a difference, and to who? Helicopter money is increasingly being taken seriously as policy. Ricardo Reis tells Tim Phillips whether helicopter money really can solve our economic problems.

Helping fathers to acknowledge paternity

• Anna Raute interviewed by
• Tim Phillips

If fathers don't acknowledge paternity, it affects both mother and child. Should the state increase financial support for single parents, should we incentivise marriage – or is there another option? Anna Raute tells Tim Phillips that the surprising impact of an unrelated German social policy suggests there may be.

The limits of microfinance

• Jack Thiemel interviewed by
• Tim Phillips

Microfinance has helped millions of the world's poor build better lives. But can it help the world's poorest people, who spend most of their lives growing food to feed their families, to diversify into other jobs? Jack Thiemel tells Tim Phillips about the impact of one of these projects, and what it tells us about the best ways to help the ultra-poor.

Inequality and creative destruction

Governments are desperate to create innovation hubs or attract tech companies to kickstart economic growth, but that creates winners and losers. Richard Blundell tells Tim Phillips how policy can balance the impact of innovation on inequality and create policies so that creative destruction and social mobility can go hand-in-hand.

Forced displacement, then and now

• Sascha O. Becker interviewed by
• Tim Phillips

Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine: forced migration is constantly in the news, but these events have been happening for hundreds of years. Sascha Becker tells Tim Phillips about new research that is discovering the economic impact of mass displacement in history, both on refugees and on communities – and the lessons we can learn from the past.

Motivated science and green innovation

• Tim Besley interviewed by
• Tim Phillips

Scientists create innovation. Is this because they are paid to do it, or because they care about the outcome? Tim Besley tells Tim Phillips how motivated science drives down the cost of innovation and may accelerate the green transition.