VoxTalks Economics

What effect do populist rulers of economic superpowers have on international relations, peace, and inequality? If a populist takes power in one of these countries, does it lead to more conflict in other places? Massimo Morelli describes Donald trump as “The quintessential populist”. As Trump prepares to resume his presidency in the US, he shares some surprising conclusions with Tim Phillips about...

How do men think they should behave? How important is it to dominate, to win, to control women, or to refuse help? How do views on this correlate to economic performance, to men’s physical and mental health, even to politics? Ralph De Haas and Victoria Baranov are two of the authors of research into what masculinity means around the world. They tell Tim Phillips about the surprising differences th...

Bank branches are closing rapidly as banking activity migrates online. What are the consequences, for the public, for a bank’s business customers, or the wider economy? Niklas Amberg and Bo Becker tell Tim Phillips about the unintended consequences for Sweden’s small businesses – and economic activity – of removing face-to-face banking. 

Recorded at the Climate Change and the Environment Conference, organised by the AXA Research Fund and CEPR. We are familiar with frightening images of deforestation, and you’ve heard the warnings of the impact on nature if we do not do a better job of protecting our tropical rainforests. But how can we quantify the gains from reversing deforestation, and at what carbon price is reforestation econo...

The second of three special episodes of VoxTalks Economics recorded at the Climate Change and the Environment Conference in Paris, jointly organised by the AXA Research Fund and CEPR. The green transition needs investment. So who will fund it, and under what conditions? Tim Phillips asks Gilles Moec of AXA and Katheline Schubert of the Sorbonne and PSE about how capital can be mobilised to get us...

The first of three special episodes of VoxTalks Economics recorded at the Climate Change and the Environment Conference in Paris, jointly organised by the AXA Research Fund and CEPR. Weather patterns are changing around the world, and weather-related insurance claims are rising. As climate change increases losses from these events, is it the responsibility of governments to compensate those who lo...

In the early hours of 2 September 1666, a spark in Thomas Farriner's bakery on Pudding Lane in the City of London ignited a blaze that would go on to consume 90% of the City’s houses. But how did economic activity and wealth rebound after the fire? Philipp Ager of the University of Mannheim and Paul Sharp of the University of Southern Denmark have used contemporary records to describe London’s une...

In some places in Europe, young college graduates are more likely to be unemployed than young high school graduates. We assume that jobs are more likely to go to people with more education, so can economics explain why this is happening? Sena Coskun of tells Tim Phillips what is different about these countries – and the young jobseekers in them. 

The saying “don’t be a toad” in Colombia tells people to mind their own business and not to tell on others. The warning that “snitches get stitches” is common to many societies. It’s easy to imagine why groups adopt prosocial norms like sharing and volunteering. But what sustains an “antisocial” norm like this one? James Robinson talks to Tim Phillips about why people dislike but adopt antisocial...

A Nobel season episode: what is the background of the scientists who win the big prize? If talent is equally distributed, but the opportunity to use that talent is not, both individuals and society lose. Paul Novosad and Sam Asher talk to Tim Phillips about the background of the scientists who win the Nobel, and what that tells us about equality of opportunity. 

In May 2022 the Indian government responded to a heatwave that had cut crop yields by unexpectedly banning wheat exports. Ministers spoke of the need for domestic food security, and the important of reducing wheat prices for the India’s citizens. But the policy was unpopular with domestic farmers and in countries that imported wheat, where prices had already risen following the Russian invasion of...

Every year we see thousands of protest movements on our city streets. Most are fuelled by social media. But why do some protests persist, and some disappear. Why do some remain peaceful, but others become violent? Benoît Schmutz-Bloch tells Tim Phillips about how social media gives life to protest movements – but can also hasten their destruction.

US federal debt is expected to grow to historic highs in the next 10 years, and the interest bill for that debt will continue to grow too. But does it matter? Yes, say Giancarlo Corsetti and Riccardo Trezzi They tell Tim Phillips about the unpalatable policy options if the US wants to stabilise its ballooning debt and interest payments. Read their VoxEU column

During the global spread of Covid, governments were forced to rely on NPIs – non-pharmaceutical interventions – such as masks and social distancing. Carol Propper tells Tim about the stunning effectiveness during the pandemic of a less obvious intervention: access to 3G internet in Indonesia.

Organisations don’t just provide employment: they solve, or attempt to solve, important problems in our society. Organisational economics has made some impressive strides in recent years to show what choices organisations make. But there is much less research on how they come up with the strategies that guide those choices. Ghazala Azmat tells Tim Phillips about a new initiative that aims to deepe...

In 2004 75 million people in 10 countries joined the EU. Their GDP per capita has grown dramatically in the last 20 years – but how much of that is due to EU membership, and how much would have happened anyway? Basile Grassi tells Tim Phillips that the enlargement of the EU in 2004 was “a miracle” for the economies of these countries, even though nationalist politicians may argue otherwise.

Today doctors recognise the symptoms of burnout from work-related stress. It’s a common problem, but one that can have serious, long-term consequences for sufferers. New research shows that there are measurable consequences for partners and children too, and lasting effects on fertility. Arash Nekoei and Josef Sigurdsson talk to Tim Phillips about the scale of the burnout burden, and what can we d...

Sending regular small sums of money to households or individuals are go-to policy. Should these transfers be universal or targeted? And how big, and how regular, should the sums be? In another episode based on the most interesting presentations from the CEPR-PSE Symposium 2024, Paul Niehaus explains to Tim Phillips how cash transfers work best to relieve poverty. Picture credit: WFP/Simon Pierre D...

Data about the personal finances of the richest people in our society is hard to find. A team of economists in France have attempted to answer a question that increasing preoccupies both policymakers and the public: how much tax do the ultra-rich actually pay? Antoine Bozio talks to Tim Phillips about why France’s tax regime is no longer progressive – and what would happen if progressivity was res...

Economic development, especially in Africa, often implies improving crop agriculture. But many rural populations are pastoralists, grazing their cattle on land that policymakers have earmarked for crops. So is good news for crop farmers also a threat to the pastoralists’ way of life? Eoin McGuirk tells Tim Phillips about how some apparently successful development projects create conflict between c...

Women are under-represented in politics. If women aren’t chosen to stand for election, and voters are biased against them when they do, what can break this vicious circle? S Anukriti tells Tim Phillips about how local decision-making as part of a school-building programme in India has allowed women to show they are effective leaders, to change the political agenda, and even to convince sceptics th...

More new research from the CEPR-PSE Symposium 2024.  It’s infuriating when you’re expecting a digital payment to arrive, it is lost in the system somewhere, and no one seems to be able to do anything about it. Now imagine how devastating it is if that payment is all that’s keeping you and your family out of poverty. Yusuf Neggers is one of a team that have created an app to improve the administrat...

In our latest podcast from the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum 2024, we feature three of the young economists who made their mark at the conference. Tim Phillips talks to Alice Chiocchetti about the extent and impact of profit shifting by French firms, Yuan Hu about green technological change after natural disasters, and Christoph Semken about how we all underestimate the impact of our emissions-reducing li...

More new research from the CEPR-PSE Symposium 2024.  More than 100 countries have some form of quota regulation that requires firms to hire people with disabilities. Does this example of affirmative action help people who have a disability to find a job, and what is the impact on the firm, and on fellow workers? Christiane Szerman tells Tim Phillips about the surprising labour market effects of a...

If we’re going to get to net zero in time, economists argue that carbon taxation alone is the best policy. But less than a quarter of emissions are subject to any carbon pricing. And even then, the price of carbon is far too low. So how much climate finance will it take to fill that gap to get us to a socially optimal solution? Lasse Heje Pedersen talks to Alissa and Tim about how he estimates the...