VoxTalks Economics

VoxTalks Economics


Latest Episodes

S5 Ep43: The illusion of control
September 23, 2022

We need a financial system, but does that mean we must also have regular financial crises? Regulation and risk management attempt to eliminate them, but does the cost and effort simply deliver what Jon Danielsson, in his new book, calls The Illusion of Co

S5 Ep42: Does inequality create growth?
September 16, 2022

If we are less equal, is that good or bad news for economic growth? Reto Foellmi reviewed the research, and he has some answers for Tim Phillips.

S5 Ep41: Ghost firms and tax fraud
September 09, 2022

The problem of fake firms that issue fake receipts so that clients can claim fraudulent tax deductions is widespread but hard to stop, and its costing governments everywhere billions in lost revenues. Dave Donaldson and Dina Pomeranz talk to Tim Phillips

S5 Ep40: Our workless future
September 02, 2022

As intelligent autonomous machines become better at doing all our jobs, will there be enough work and income to go around? If only some of us work, who will that be, and what happens to the rest of us? Anton Korinek talks to Tim Phillips.

S5 Ep39: The political economy of lockdown
August 12, 2022

During the Covid-19 pandemic governments had to take unpopular measures to restrict our freedoms, and we had to choose whether we did what we were told. Were governments in countries with free media more likely to act – and were their citizens more likely

S5 Ep38: Divest or engage?
August 03, 2022

When pension giant ABP faced protests about its fossil fuel investment strategy, did it choose to exert pressure on oil companies or divest from them? Jeff Wurgler and Dirk Schoenmaker talk to Tim Phillips about how the finance sector can accelerate a gre

S5 Ep37: Yellow vests and carbon taxes
July 29, 2022

Opposition to a carbon tax was at the root of the gilets jaunes protests in France. Did the protestors think the tax wouldn’t work, or that it wasn’t fair, or that they would personally lose out? Adrien Fabre talks to Tim Phillips about the link between t

S5 Ep36: Distracted donors and political violence
July 27, 2022

When aid donors are distracted by domestic concerns, do aid recipients take advantage to suppress political opposition? Data from Africa suggest that they do, Dominic Rohner tells Tim Phillips. Photo: Alisdare Hickson.

S5 Ep35: The global real interest rate
July 20, 2022

Global real rates are stuck at a low level, and until recently policy rates everywhere were effectively zero. Can we use historical data to explain why this happened, and to predict whether we will be back at the ZLB when inflation falls? Pierre-Olivier G

S5 Ep34: Covid-19’s impact on innovation
July 15, 2022

The Covid crisis inspired extraordinary innovation. Carsten Fink and Reinhilde Veugelers are two of the editors of a new ebook from CEPR called Resilience and Ingenuity that examines how countries, organisations and industries were able to innovate. Tim P