VoxTalks Economics
Latest Episodes
54: 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
53: 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 po
52: 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.
51: 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.
50: 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.
49: 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.
48: 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 a
47: 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
46: 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 Econo
45: 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 aroun