EconoFact Chats

The American public has always struggled with immigration policy, particularly as it intersects with race, poverty and economic opportunity. This week on EconoFact Chats, Tara Watson discusses her new book co-authored with Kalee Thompson, The Border Within: The Economics of Immigration in the Age of Fear. The book is both an economic analysis of the effects of immigration on the United States econ...

Economic forecasting is rarely easy. This is especially true in the current environment, as the relationship between economic activity and public health metrics such as the percentage of people vaccinated, or the number of COVID cases, remains far from predictable.  Key macroeconomic questions remain. Is higher inflation likely to persist, or will it prove transitory? Will businesses be able to bo...

Even as the initial economic shocks of COVID-19 abate, labor shortages, supply constraints, demand shifts, and inflation continue to cloud the U.S.' macroeconomic outlook. To discuss whether these phenomena might prove transitory, or more durable, EconoFact Chats welcomes back a panel of distinguished economic journalists: Binyamin Appelbaum of the New York Times, Scott Horsley of NPR, Greg Ip of...

In the wake of the economic crisis of the 1970s, and again, in the aftermath of 2008, macroeconomists have had to rethink their understanding of the drivers of recessions, as well as the most effective policy responses to them. This week on EconoFact Chats, Karen Dynan and Michael Klein discuss how past recessions have shaped today’s fiscal and monetary policy, the role of inflation, and inflation...

Economic theories often inform policy choices, but events can call into question these same theories. In this episode of EconoFact Chats, John Cassidy, Staff Writer for The New Yorker joins Michael Klein to discuss how policies based on the advantages of unfettered free markets were challenged by the 2008 financial and economic crisis.  John also discusses other instances of challenges to theories...

Nationalist economic policies, including rising opposition to free trade, skepticism of international institutions, and anti-immigrant sentiment, are on the rise at a time when the pandemic and climate change are making international cooperation more necessary than ever. This week on EconoFact Chats, Michael Klein speaks with Maurice Obstfeld, widely recognized as one of the world's leading expert...

Even as overdose deaths from opioids in the US reached a disturbing peak of 69,000 in 2020, monthly state-level data for 2021 suggests that overdose deaths are on pace to rise even further; likely driven by a combination of increased stress, reduced access to care, and a greater prevalence of more lethal drugs. This week on EconoFact Chats, Alicia Sasser Modestino of Northeastern University discus...

High inflation has become a central concern. After four decades of low inflation, the so-called ‘great moderation,’ the key question is whether the current situation portends a return to the high and rising inflation of the 1970s, or whether we are seeing a temporary blip due to supply chain disruptions and other effects of the pandemic. Looking at a finer-grained analysis of the price changes of...

How can journalists present statistics in a way that is both understandable and accurate? Why are data visualizations sometimes misleading rather than informative? As newspapers scale up their data coverage, journalists are developing insights into how best to report complex statistics without misrepresenting them. This week on EconoFact Chats, Michael Klein and Ben Casselman of the New York Times...

How do laws affect commerce between nations? Are WTO decisions routinely biased against the interests of the United States? What are the biggest legal challenges to the international trading system? What role do labor standards and the protection of intellectual property play for international trade? This week on EconoFact Chats, Joel Trachtman, a leading scholar of of international trade law, dis...

Even as the popularity of cryptocurrencies grows, debates surrounding their viability as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and as an investment remain contentious. In this episode of EconoFact Chats, Eswar Prasad of Cornell University joins Michael Klein for a discussion of how cryptocurrencies work, the ways in which they differ from central bank digital currencies, issues surrounding the r...

The high and rising inflation of the 1970s caused widespread economic insecurity, raised fundamental questions about the government's ability to manage the economy, and caused macro-economists to doubt many of their theories. Now, as inflation rises after a decades-long lull, economists and policy-makers are faced with a key question: is the current rise in prices transitory; driven by supply chai...

The move to remote learning in high schools and kindergartens has proved among the more pervasive disruptions of COVID-19. Hardest hit have been those without access to technology, or adequate places to do schoolwork at home -- a group in which low-income students and students of color are overrepresented. While the government has made resources available to school districts to address learning di...

James Stock, professor at Harvard University, and a former member of the Council of Economic Advisers joins EconoFact Chats this week to discuss the role of economic policy in slowing climate change. Jim argues that declining green energy prices are leading to a fundamental shift in the economic thinking around climate policy -- with the key question no longer 'how can we make it more expensive to...

Julia Coronado, president and founder of MacroPolicy Perspectives, joins EconoFact Chats this week to describe how she and her team organize their thinking and analysis of the U.S. economy at a time when the pandemic has disrupted the conventional models and rules of thumb that forecasters traditionally use.

Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama, Jason Furman joins EconoFact Chats this week to discuss the economy’s emergence from the COVID-19 recession.

David Deming (Harvard) discusses why manufacturing jobs are no longer a straightforward path to the middle class, and why greater investments in public colleges can help more people get well-paying jobs in a changing economy.

With over 1 in 7 children living in poverty in 2019, the United States is an outlier among rich nations. It doesn't have to be this way, according to University of California, Berkeley professor Hilary Hoynes.

Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics lays out evidence for the U.S.'s retreat from globalization, and its potential consequences.

COVID-driven lockdowns contributed to a sharp drop in the rates of many types of crime, although the rates of some crimes, such as homicides, increased in 2020. Drawing on his original research, Professor David Abrams (University of Pennsylvania) speaks to Michael Klein about these divergent trends.

A discussion with Matt Kahn, director of Johns Hopkins' 21st Century Cities Initiative on what causes some cities to grow, while others shrink.

Since Roosevelt coined the phrase in 1933, 'the first 100 days' has become a benchmark to gauge the early success of a president. As the Biden Administration concludes its first 100 days, EconoFact Chats draws on a panel of distinguished economic journalists, Binyamin Appelbaum of the New York Times, Scott Horsley of NPR, Greg Ip of the Wall Street Journal and Heather Long of the Washington Post,...

Eric Rosengren, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is the longest serving regional Fed President and has been at the helm through the 2007 financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic. In this episode of EconoFact Chats, Eric discusses his perspective on the most immediate financial stability issues that the COVID crisis revealed and ways to address them. He shares his reasons fo...

Tom Frieden, former Director of the CDC, joins Michael Klein for a discussion of the factors that make COVID-19 particularly deadly, the importance of good governance in slowing its spread, and the need for better primary care, especially in underserved communities.

The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre destroyed an area known as “Black Wall Street,” but its effects were felt more widely than in just Oklahoma. In this episode of EconoFact Chats, Lisa D. Cook of Michigan State University joins Michael Klein to discuss her original research on how the Tulsa Massacre raised questions among African Americans about their equal protection under the law and, as a consequence...