Chad Bown of the Peterson Institute for International Economics joins Michael Klein to discuss China's role in the global economy, as well as the international cooperation involved in COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing and distribution.

The gender pay gap in the United States has narrowed over the last 50 years, but today women still earn about 20 percent less than men. In this episode of EconoFact Chats, Francine Blau joins Michael Klein to discuss the gender pay gap, female labor force participation in the US, and the push to reduce gender discrimination, specifically in the economics profession. Francine is the Frances Perkins Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations, and a professor of economics at Cornell University. For her contributions to the economic analysis of labor market inequality, she became the first woman to receive the Institute for the Study of Labor Prize.

Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman joins Michael Klein for a discussion on globalization, global trade patterns since the late 19th century, trade policy, protectionism and tariffs, and industrial policy. They also discuss the economics of geography, and the importance of communicating clear economic models. Krugman is a Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of numerous books, including most recently "Arguing with Zombies Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future."

Over 10 million children in the United States live in poverty. Poor children tend to have worse physical and mental health, worse educational outcomes, and lower lifetime earnings than their peers. On this episode of EconoFact Chats, University of Maryland professor Melissa Kearney joins Michael Klein to discuss the scope and causes of child poverty in the U.S., and the policy efforts to alleviate it.