EconoFact Chats

Tom Frieden (former Director, CDC) highlights factors that make COVID-19 particularly deadly, the importance of good governance in slowing its spread, and the need for better primary care in underserved areas.

The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre destroyed an area known as “Black Wall Street,” but its effects were felt more widely than in just Oklahoma. In this episode of EconoFact Chats, Lisa D. Cook of Michigan State University joins Michael Klein to discuss her original research on how the Tulsa Massacre raised questions among African Americans about their equal protection under the law and, as a consequence, how this led to a nationwide falloff in patents awarded to Black inventors.  This represented a loss to these inventors, of course, but also to the economy as a whole. Lisa also discusses her other work on the historical effects of racism. Lisa serves as the Director of the American Economic Association’s summer program to prepare talented undergraduates from underrepresented minorities for doctoral programs in economics. She is member of the Executive Committee of the American Economic Association, and has served on the Council of Economic Advisors in the Obama Administration.

John Campbell of Harvard University and Michael Klein discuss the links between financial markets and the broader economy.

Michael Klein and Ken Rogoff discuss the ways in which large-denomination bills facilitate criminal activity, tax avoidance, and corruption.

Economists tend to consider public policies from the perspective of efficiency or equity, but do not always consider their political feasibility. However, legislation cannot take effect without the political support required to pass it, no matter how efficient or equitable it may be. In this episode of EconoFact Chats, host Michael Klein, and Jacob Hacker of Yale University discuss the politics behind the enactment, sustainability, and expandability of economic policies, highlighting how concerns of losing existing benefits can sustain a policy, and how existing policies can foster powerful lobbying groups that influence future legislation.

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."