VoxTalks Economics

Recorded at CEPR Paris Symposium 2023: data that's collected at the level of a household, a firm, or even an individual is extraordinarily valuable for researchers. But there's not enough affordable, accessible, high-quality data of this type in Europe. Tim Phillips talks to Filippo di Mauro of CompNet and Ugo Panizza of the Graduate Institute in Geneva about their plans, backed by CEPR, to create more open, more consistent sources of policy-relevant microdata.

Recorded at CEPR Paris Symposium 2023: Can we make a link between pre-modern scholars and GDP – and, if so, what is that link? David de la Croix has compiled data on Europe’s scholars from 1000-1800AD, including their expertise, where they were born and where they studied. Tim Phillips asks him if the seeds of knowledge were also the seeds of modern economic growth.

Recorded at CEPR Paris Symposium 2023: Tim Phillips meets three of the young researchers who were chosen to present. Margot Belguise, Arnaud Dyevre and Yasmine van der Straten talk about their work – and offer some advice for anyone who is starting out on their research.

In the brief history of climate finance, Andrew Karolyi has been one of the pioneers, both as an author and a catalyst to encourage other finance experts to become involved. He talks to Alissa Kleinnijenhuis and Tim Phillips about what inspired him to take on what he calls “the wickedest of wicked problems”, how he kickstarted research on the topic, and the little-known involvement of King Charles III in the genesis of climate finance.

Recorded at CEPR Paris Symposium 2023: The Fed has been rapidly raising rates recently. In the recent past this would have caused a red alert in the central banks of emerging markets. But not this time – so why not? Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan tells Tim Phillips why this time, it’s different.

Africa’s refugees often live in large, permanent camps. While the arrival of refugees is often an economic boost for the region, it is also bad for the health of the children of local families. Anna Maria Mayda and Jean-François Maystadt tell Tim Phillips how their research resolved this contradiction. Picture: Julien Harneis/Flickr

COP28 has just concluded. Every COP demonstrates both the urgent need to devise policies that will shape the future of our planet and the people who inhabit it, but also the difficulty of implementing those initiatives. That’s why CEPR is introducing 'Climate Change and the Environment' as its latest programme area. Mar Reguant, who will lead the programme, and Beatrice Weder di Mauro , President of CEPR talk to Tim Phillips about whether COP can ever deliver, how climate change is now a part of every economist’s research agenda, and how you can get involved in the programme.

When city dwellers travel, they worry about problems like about traffic jams, congestion charges, and the time spent waiting for public transport. Nicolas Martinez made a model of what happens when a street-smart population decides how and when to travel every day, and he tells Tim Phillips about how he applied it to investigate the usefulness of Paris’s traffic regulations.

In the US, redistricting is done by the party in power. If you wanted to maximise the advantage to your side, how would you do it? And is that happening in practice? Allison Stashko talks to Tim Phillips about whether gerrymandering in the US is crossing the line.

In 1970 Milton Friedman told us that “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its profits.” Faced with climate change, is that still the right objective for a company, and what could replace it? Dirk Schoenmaker, one of the authors of “Corporate Finance for Long-Term Value” talks to Alissa Kleinnijenhuis and Tim Phillips.