EconoFact Chats

Most people don't think of economics as having a religious basis, and may question whether religion affects people’s views of economic issues. But in his recent book, 'Religion and the Rise of Capitalism,' our guest on EconoFact Chats this week, Professor Benjamin Friedman of Harvard University, discusses the influence of religion on economics, including how the ideas of the Social Gospel and the Gospel of Wealth played a role in the development of American economic thinking in the late 19th century, how religious thinking influenced people’s views of economic policy in the 20th century, and how that influence continues to the present day. Professor Friedman is the William Joseph Maier Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University. He has authored over 170 scholarly articles, and written or edited a dozen books, including The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth.

Sanctions in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine have had less of an impact than initially hoped by the West, or feared by Russia. But Russia’s longer-term economic prospects don't look particularly good. Which sectors and segments of Russian society have Western sanctions affected most? How leaky have they been? What short and long-run effects are they designed to have? And are they likely to achieve their ultimate goal of making the cost of continuing the invasion of Ukraine too high? To discuss these issues, EconoFact Chats welcomes back Christopher Miller. Chris is an Assistant Professor of International History at the Fletcher School at Tufts University. His research focuses on Russian history, politics, and economics. He is the author of “Putinomics: Power and Money In a Resurgent Russia,” and "We Shall Be Masters: Russian Pivots to East Asia From Peter the Great to Putin."

The U.S. dollar recently traded at par with the euro for the first time in almost 20 years, and the dollar now buys more British pounds than at any time since the mid-1980s. While the strength of the dollar is good for American tourists in the U.K. and the Eurozone and for those in the U.S. purchasing imports from those countries, it presents challenges for American exporters and has other disruptive effects for the world economy.  Why is the dollar so strong? What are the implications for the U.S. and other countries? In the face of these currency swings, does it make sense to reconstitute a fixed exchange rate system in order to promote greater macroeconomic stability? EconoFact Chats welcomes Kathryn Dominguez of the University of Michigan to discuss these issues. Kathryn is a Professor of Public Policy and Economics at the University of Michigan. She is also a member of the panel of economic advisors at the Congressional Budget Office, and is on the Economic Advisory Panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Inflation erodes purchasing power, but the reported inflation rate can mask very different experiences across groups of people. For example, the current rapidly rising rents and food and energy prices hit lower-income households harder since they spend a higher proportion of their income on these items. Dan Sichel discusses the measurement of inflation and how the single, headline statistic may not fully reveal the range of effects across income groups or categories of goods and services.   Dan is a professor at Wellesley College. He recently served as Chair of a National Academies panel that wrote the report “Modernizing the Consumer Price Index for the 21st Century”. He also worked at the Federal Reserve Board for over 20 years.

The pandemic has resulted in supply chain disruptions, and goods shortages across multiple industries. But few shortages have caught the public’s attention like that of infant formula. Kadee Russ of UC Davis joins EconoFact Chats to discuss some of the structural reasons behind this shortage, focusing on the role of regulation, the power of lobbying, the role of advertising, and the impact of trade restrictions. Kadee also highlights what good government policy for ensuring the supply of infant formula might look like. Kadee Russ is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of California at Davis.

Looking from the early 2000s, the rise in international trade and financial flows seemed almost inexorable. Yet, political opposition to greater integration grew significantly over the past decade. This opposition intensified with the pandemic, which led people to question how dependent they should be on other countries for supplies of essential goods. What does this growing opposition portend for the future of globalization? And how does it play out in the political sphere in the U.S. and in other countries? To discuss these issues, EconoFact Chats welcomes back Jeffry Frieden of Harvard University.  Jeff is a Professor and Chair of the Government Department at Harvard University.

China's economic rise -- which brought hundreds of millions of its citizens out of poverty, and drove about one quarter of global GDP growth over the past two decades, has been among the most consequential events of the past century. However, like many countries, China's economy today faces deep challenges. To discuss some of these challenges, as well as the drivers of China’s growth over the past decades, EconoFact Chats welcomes back Eswar Prasad of Cornell University. Eswar is the Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy at Cornell University and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

The Pew Research Center reports that the U.S. public now views inflation as the top problem facing the country, by a wide margin. It's not hard to see why. After decades of low and stable inflation, the U.S. economy is witnessing a rate of price increase unseen since the 1970s and 80s. Why is inflation so high? Who does it hurt most? And what are the prospects for it coming down? Karen Dynan of Harvard University joins EconoFact Chats to discuss some of these questions. Karen is a Professor of Practice in the Department of Economics at Harvard University. She previously served as Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The S&P 500 index more than doubled between March 2020 and the end of 2021. It has recorded steady losses since then, falling by about 15% as of June 2022 . What determines stock prices? Were stock prices too high before 2022? Are they too low now? More generally, how do we gauge whether stock prices are too low or too high? Eric Zitzewitz of Dartmouth College joins EconoFact Chats to discuss these questions. Eric is Professor of Economics at Dartmouth. His expertise is in industrial organization and agency issues in the financial and informational industries.

The United States currently generates 20% of its energy supply from nuclear power; a figure that has been remarkably stable for decades. As the U.S. moves towards a carbon-free energy future, what role is nuclear power likely to play? What are the risks associated with fission power generation and waste storage? To discuss these issues, EconoFact Chats welcomes back Gilbert Metcalf. Gib is a Professor of Economics at Tufts University. His latest book is Paying for Pollution: Why a Carbon Tax is Good for America.