VoxTalks Economics

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has published a report that investigates how work is changing in Europe and Asia's transition economies. Tim Phillips talks to the Bank's chief economist, Sergei Guriev, about who is working, how, and where.Picture copyright: EBRD.

It blows the minds of economists when voters choose protectionist policies that, they point out, make most of them poorer. Gene Grossman tells Tim Phillips how trade models can explain this, if they incorporate insights from other social sciences.

If our wealth has been acquired unjustly in the past, does that injustice fade or persist? David Miles of Imperial College tells Tim Phillips how economics can help to answer this question.Read more about David's work on injustice.

We usually measure the effectiveness of economists by how many papers they publish, or how many citations they get. But a new measure takes into account their influence on the work of their colleagues as well. Michael König explains to Tim Phillips how this works, and who gets to be number one.Read more about the research on VoxEU.org.

How should banks and their regulators manage cyber risk? A new discussion paper from the CEPR sets out six principles from an economist's point of view. Anil Kashyap of the University of Chicago and Anne Wetherilt of the Bank of England tell Tim Phillips what they are recommending.

Women with college degrees are becoming more likely to get good jobs, but for college-educated men, the opposite is true. Henry Siu of the University of British Columbia tells Tim Phillips that the demand for social skills may explain the trend.

Even though countries all over the developed world implemented short-time work policies during the great recession, we didn't know whether they worked. Now we do: Camille Landais and Giulia Giupponi of the London School of Economics tell Tim Phillips whether short-time work protects workers, firms or economies.

We are sending more people to prison than ever. But we know surprisingly little about whether, and how, prison sentences cut crime. Gordon Dahl of USC San Diego tells Tim Phillips about new research that shows how prison sentences can work for both inmates and society.

Firms like to be politically connected, because it makes it easier for them to do business. But is it good for the rest of us? Ufuk Akcigit of the University of Chicago tells Tim Phillips about the consequences of connecting to power.Read about Ufuk's other work on business taxation, innovation and protectionism on VoxEU.org.

In the developed world borders are being closed and popular resistance to immigration is rising. Yet Lant Pritchett of Harvard University tells Tim Phillips that the rate of migration from poor to rich countries is actually five times too low. Planned mass migration of unskilled labour, he argues, would make everyone better off.Read more about Lant's views on labour mobility on VoxEU.