Political Economy Forum

In this episode, UW undergraduate students Bella Wright, Asher Goldstein, and Weston Beckmann speak to host Nicolas Wittstock about the current state of US labor unions, recent efforts to unionize at Starbucks and Amazon, as well as applications of game theory in these contexts. 

In this episode, Prof. Brett Christophers of Uppsala University speaks to host Nicolas Wittstock about the difficulties of obtaining financing for clean energy projects despite recent cost reductions of renewables. 

In this episode, host Nicolas Wittstock speaks to Rachel Castellano and Ryan Goehrung, both PhD Candidates in the Political Science Dept. at the University of Washington, about their work on Human Trafficking in the US. In a recent paper, Rachel and Ryan explore the T-Visa program, intended to offer survivors of human trafficking a form of legal relief. US Department of Labor list of goods produced with forced labor: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods

In this episode, Morgan Wack speaks to Prof. Chris Blattman of the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, discussing the roots of war and paths to peace, which Blattman writes about in his recent book: "Why We Fight". 

In this episode, Prof. Mark Schwartz of UVA discusses the cause of reductions in US economic growth since 1970, arguing that industrial organization plays a key role.

In this episode, Prof. Margaret O'Mara of the University of Washington discusses the origins and workings of the US Tech industry - in reference to her 2019 book: The Code - Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America. 

In this episode, Prof. Judith Shapiro of American University and Prof. Yifei Li of NYU Shanghai discuss their book "China Goes Green: Coercive Environmentalism for a Troubled Planet?". Here, the authors discuss the varied impact of environmental policies under authoritarian government - and seek to evaluate the prospect of and rationale behind China's ambition to become an "ecological civilization". 

In this episode, Prof. Vincent Geloso of George Mason University discusses historical US income inequality, the "U-Curve", and whether our thinking about income inequality should be reconsidered in the face of new evidence. 

In this Episode, Prof. Daniel Greene of the University of Maryland speaks about his book "The Promise of Access", which evaluates the attraction of simple technological fixes to complicated social problems like poverty in the United States. 

In this episode, Prof. Jan Eeckhout of the University of Barcelona Pompeu Fabra, speaks about his most recent book: "The Profit Paradox - How Thriving Firms Threaten the Future of Work."