VoxTalks Economics

From the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum at the Paris School of Economics. One route out of poverty is to change external conditions: provide assets, jobs, healthcare. But can we also treat depression, or low self-esteem, or low aspirations, and does that help poverty reduction? Dean Karlan of Northwestern University tells Tim Phillips what new research is telling us – and what we don’t yet know. 

Recorded live at the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum at the Paris School of Economics. We all learn that high inflation creates price distortions. But it has been impossible to observe that effect directly -- until now. Klaus Adam of the University of Mannheim has used price data to identify those elusive distortions, and he tells Tim Phillips how he did it.

Recorded live at the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum at the Paris School of Economics. Does economic inequality create political inequality? Julia Cagé tells Tim Phillips about the strategies that rich people can use to influence the political debate, how democracy is undermined when the wealthy have access to power – and how we can change the system to restore the confidence of voters.

Recorded live at the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum at the Paris School of Economics. India is still one of the five worst countries in the world for the health and survival of women. The recent introduction of massive health insurance programmes should help close this deadly gender gap. But is that happening? Pascaline Dupas of Stanford talks to Tim Phillips.

From the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum at the Paris School of Economics, Tim Phillips meets three of the young researchers who were chosen to present to the conference. Duncan Webb and Thiago Scarelli of PSE, and Carmen Villa-Llera of the University of Warwick talk about their research – and what their hopes are for the future of economics.

Is innovation our best hope for dealing with climate change and, if so, how can we stimulate the sort of innovation that we need to make the green energy transition? Philippe Aghion tells Tim Phillips that we need both carbon tax and industrial policy and, like a visit to the dentist, the pain gets worse the longer we wait.

From the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum at the Paris School of Economics. The IFS in the UK and the IPP in France combine rigorous research with a commitment to communicate the results to media and public. How do they make sure their message cuts through the noise, and how do they safeguard their reputations for independence and authority? Paul Johnson and Antoine Bozio talk to Tim Phillips.

From the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum at the Paris School of Economics. What caused inflation in the US, where will it settle, and how much unemployment will be the cost of bringing it back to target? Olivier Blanchard talks to Tim Phillips.

In the first of a series of podcasts recorded at the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum at the Paris School of Economics, Esther Duflo talks to Tim Phillips about how development economics can respond to the challenges of the 21st century, the link between climate justice and corporate taxation, and why development economics is like cooking a ragoût.

Is economics a young person’s game? Great mathematicians tend to peak early, but not great artists – so which category does a professor of economics fall into? Dan Hamermesh has investigated the productivity of economists as they grow old, and he tells Tim Phillips what he discovered.