VoxTalks Economics

We think about climate policies as moderating or interceding in markets. But a new paper implies that when stock markets play a bigger part in the economy, polluting industries become cleaner. Tim Phillips asks Ralph De Haas of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development whether we already have a green finance initiative under our noses.

When there's a financial crisis, policymakers and politicians increasingly kowtow to the demands of an influential group: the global middle class. Jeffrey Chwieroth and Andrew Walter tell Tim Phillips how their Great Expectations are destabilising the world economy.Read about Great Expectations at VoxEU.

Doing a good job of deciding who can borrow is fundamental for the global economy. Stefania Albanesi tells Tim Phillips that current consumer credit ratings do a poor job at predicting which of us will default, and explains how she has used machine learning to improve them.

When the law changed to allow same-sex partners to get married, did the symbolism of marriage have any effect on the stability of relationships? Shuai Chen tells Tim Phillips about a surprising result from The Netherlands.

How much is spent on end-of-life care, and who foots the bill? Eric French of UCL tells Tim Phillips about the total cost of the last year of our lives, and how different countries have very different ideas of who should pay it.Read about the research at VoxEU.org, and download the VoxEU book about the economics of ageing.

The Royal Economic Society has launched Discover Economics, an ambitious three-year campaign to attract more women, minority students and students from state schools to study the subject. Sarah Smith and Arun Advani, co-chairs of the campaign, plus Rachel Griffith, RES president, tell Tim Phillips about how they plan to make this happen.Read about Discover Economics at VoxEU.

We are living longer, and that affects every part of our economic future. David Bloom is the editor of a new VoxEU book on what he calls "the what, the so what, and the now what" of ageing. He tells Tim Phillips about some of the policy choices our societies will have to make in the near future.

Economists date the growth of London's financial system, and its impact on the British economy, from the end of the 17th century. Nathan Sussman tells Tim Phillips how how he discovered contemporary records that tell a different story.

Patrick Honohan took over as governor of the Central Bank of Ireland in 2009 with the economy in meltdown, and steered it through its deepest crisis. His new book re-examines what happened, and lessons for future crises. Tim Phillips talks to Patrick and the FT's Martin Sandbu about what policymakers and central bankers can learn from Ireland's ordeal.Read about Patrick's book at VoxEU.org.Picture: William Murphy/CC

On 24 September the CEPR launches the latest Geneva Report on the world economy, called Banking disrupted? Financial intermediation in an era of transformational technology. Tim Phillips asks Tara Rice and Kathryn Petralia, two of the authors, whether fintechs and cryptocurrencies signal the beginning of the end for banks.Download the report, or read about it at VoxEU.

Economists argue whether foreign direct investment in developing economies exports pollution or generates green growth. Beata Javorcik talks to Tim Phillips about a surprising conclusion from factory-level research.Read about the research at VoxEU.

Starting on the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the second world war, VoxEU is publishing a series of articles about the economics of the war. Tim Phillips talks to some of the authors about their research.Read more about the project at VoxEU.

On average, if you are born in Africa today you have much better chances to succeed than your parents or grandparents. But which countries have the best, and worst, intergenerational mobility? Elias Papaioannou tells Tim Phillips about the four-year hunt for Africa's lands of opportunity.

The US has an epidemic of "deaths of despair". Michael Reich tells Tim Phillips that new research implies that a $15 minimum wage doesn't just cut poverty, it also saves lives. But is Congress listening?

As Brexit nears (again), are British firms choosing to invest in the UK or in other European markets? Are European firms investing in the UK to preserve access to its markets? And has "global Britain" got off the drawing board yet? Holger Breinlich and Dennis Novy lead Tim Phillips through the numbers.

When does social media polarize opinion, and when does it bring us closer together? Yves Zenou tells Tim Phillips about a new economic model that shows us how affinity can become division, and why the trolls often win.

Despite all the evidence to the contrary we continue to overestimate how much work we will do tomorrow, or how often we will go to the gym. Why? Peter Schwardmann tells Tim Phillips that we do learn from experience about ourselves - in the right circumstances.

France has surprisingly low social mobility. OECD chief economist Laurence Boone tells Tim Phillips why this is the case, how the problem fuels the gilets jaunes protests, and what can be done about it.

Supposedly 'green' diesel engines with devices to cheat emissions tests have been polluting as much as 150 ordinary cars. Hannes Schwandt tell Tim Phillips about the staggering human cost of VW's fraud.

Children in different countries start school at very different ages. Thomas Cornelissen tells Tim Phillips about new research that suggests an early start may help their development.Check out the research on VoxEU.org

Are Italy's populist policies of miniBOTs and flat taxes the right medicine for its economic sickness? Fabio Ghironi tells Tim Phillips that, if Italy doesn't attempt fundamental structural reforms, it may be on the path to Eurexit.

As the G20 gather in Japan, Tim Phillips talks to Simon Evenett, one of the authors of the Global Trade Alert, on how the ministers can halt the "free for all" on protectionism. Download the 24th Global Trade Alert by visiting VoxEU.org

A new book from the CEPR argues that the current trade war is a long-term danger to all economies, not just those of the US and China. Editor Meredith Crowley of the University of Cambridge and two of the authors tell Tim Phillips why prospects for the world economy are 'grim'.Download The Clash of Economic Systems Endangering Global Prosperity.

David Ricardo was the first economist to think rigorously about international trade, and his theory of comparative advantage has stood the test of time. So why do so many politicians ignore it? And what would he do about Brexit? Peter Neary of the University of Oxford talks to Tim Phillips. Image: Thomas Phillips [Public domain]

This week UN special rapporteur claimed the UK's social safety net has been "replaced with a harsh and uncaring ethos". Dame Minouche Shafik, director of the LSE, talks to Tim Phillips about whether our welfare states can survive in their current form, and what might replace them.Image: Gerd Altmann

The award is given to the best European economist under 45. This year, Oriana Bandiera of LSE and Imran Rasul of UCL share the prize. They talk to Tim Phillips about their work, and #whateconomistsreallydo.

Women earn less than men after they start a family. Can better policies close the gap? Camille Landais of LSE tells Tim Phillips about new research comparing six countries. Read about the research on VoxEU.org

Did the KGB manage its informers using the iron fist or the invisible hand? Mark Harrison tells Tim Phillips how the state motivated and disciplined its secret workforce.Read more of Mark's research on the Soviet Union here, here, and here. And the paper on Stasi activity in Germany he referred to is here.

Who will be the biggest loser in this trade war? Chad Bown tells Tim Phillips why it could be the WTO's dispute resolution system, and why we should worry if this happens.

MariaCristina De Nardi tells Tim Phillips that non-college-educated Americans born in the 1960s are dying younger, earning less, and paying more for healthcare than in their parents' generation.

What does economics teach us about art auctions? Katy Graddy of Brandeis University tells Tim Phillips what he needs to know before he bids for a painting of some artichokes.

Has the trade war with China been good for American businesses and consumers? The first results are in, and David Weinstein tells Tim Phillips who the winners and losers are.

How should multiple choice tests be scored? It seems like a harmless question, but Nagore Iriberri tells Tim Phillips how she discovered that well-intentioned marking schemes may be penalising girls, and what we can do about it.

We're not short of policies intended to save us from catastrophic climate change, but should monetary policy be part of this effort? Dirk Schoenmaker of Erasmus University thinks so, and he tells Tim Phillips how it would work in practice.

Randomised controlled trials have revolutionised development policy. But do the interventions that work in the short run have a benefit 10 or 20 years later? Ted Miguel tells Tim Phillips how he and his colleagues aim to find out.

Our cities are diverse, but often the schools in these cities are less so. Bas van der Klaauw of VU University Amsterdam tells Tim Phillips that not necessarily where we live that creates school segregation.

We all want happy, successful kids, so how can economics help? Fabrizio Zilibotti of Yale talks to Tim Phillips about the research that he and his peers have done into parenting and what it tells us.Here's a VoxEU column by Fabrizio, and here's a link to his book.

The European Community's FRAME project, of which the CEPR has been a partner, recently held its final conference in London. Tim Phillips talked to the attendees about what FRAME's research into innovation tells us, and how it might be translated into policy.Visit FRAME's web site, and read about its research.

The digital economy makes it possible for data-savvy firms to grow very large, very quickly. Laura Veldkamp of Columbia Business School tells Tim Phillips about her new project to model the Big Data economy.

Why do girls do less well than boys in school math tests? Paola Giuliano of UCLA explains to Tim Phillips that, for many girls, the problem starts at home.

A new data set compiles the history of international finance spanning a century and a half, revealing new information about globalisation, crises and capital flows. Rui Esteves of the Graduate Institute, Geneva, tells Tim Phillips what lessons it offers for policymakers today.

On 17 October 2018, Canada legalised recreational cannabis use, with an immediate effect on how Canadian people use cash. Jonathan Ashworth explains to Tim Phillips how legalisation crimps the black economy.Read our VoxEU column on the topic.

Trade growth is slowing down. But is it, as the media and populist politicians claim, the end of globalisation? Kevin O'Rourke tells Tim Phillips how economic history can answer the question, and what we can learn from the history of global trade.

In our second podcast on the The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's report on Work in Transition, Tim Phillips talks to Nate Young about how the growth of large cities in EBRD regions affects economic growth and wellbeing.Picture copyright: EBRD.

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.