Chicago Booth Review Podcast

Mike Gibbs, an economist from Chicago Booth, discusses his groundbreaking research on collaboration and innovation. He dives into the importance of social networks and reveals that a larger network can indeed lead to better ideas. The conversation explores how remote work impacts networking, highlighting that collaboration boosts idea quality but its effects are often short-lived. Gibbs emphasizes the role of brokers in bridging gaps between teams, ultimately expanding innovation. The dynamic of hybrid work complicates collaboration, challenging the traditional views on workplace settings.

Would you work if you weren’t being paid for it? Social media is full of people criticizing companies for exploiting interns and prospective hires by underpaying or not paying them. Is that a universal feeling, or does it reflect western values and attitudes that aren’t replicated elsewhere in the world? Chicago Booth’s Thomas Talhelm talks about his research on what motivates people around the world to work.

Chad Syverson, an economist from Chicago Booth specializing in housing markets, dives into the complex world of real estate pricing. He discusses how rising home costs are influenced more by land prices and permitting issues than construction costs. Historical trends show drastic price increases since the 1970s, with spikes driven by demand shifts and limited supply. Chad emphasizes the need for reforms to increase housing density and reduce legal restrictions to tackle affordability. He also contrasts coastal metro challenges with more affordable inland cities.

Have you had an AI job interview? Would you prefer to be interviewed by AI than by a human? And how would you expect AI interviewers to perform compared to their human counterparts? Chicago Booth’s Brian Jabarian talks about his research on AI interviews. Will they make human-to-human job interviews a thing of the past?

One way health policymakers can get people to exercise more is to pay them. But should we pay greater amounts to people who exercise more, and smaller sums to those who do less? Rebecca Dizon Ross tells us about her research on personalizing incentive payments to try to encourage exercise. Does getting people to choose their own exercise targets and financial compensation encourage them to walk more?

Veronika Ročková, an econometrician at Chicago Booth, dives into the intriguing world of AI and its unpredictability. She discusses how AI's tendency to 'hallucinate' information can be harnessed creatively. By applying Bayesian methods, she shows how to leverage randomness for improved medical diagnoses and smarter galaxy classification. Veronika emphasizes the importance of using probabilistic uncertainty for better decision-making and shares tips on crafting effective prompts to enhance AI outputs across various fields.

Technology is typically thought of as driving humans apart. But could it be used to promote a sense of empathy with others? Chicago Booth’s Alex Imas tells us about an experiment he ran using an immersive virtual-reality installation. Virtual reality, Imas reckons, could be used to help us relate to other people in real life.

We typically think of self-awareness as being a good thing. But if someone behaves badly and is aware that they’re behaving badly, is that worse than if they’re blissfully unaware? Chicago Booth’s Shereen Chaudhry has conducted research into the effects of self-awareness. When should we express self-awareness, and when should we convey that we weren’t as self-aware as we should have been?

Almost all companies borrow money – some of secured by assets they own, other debts unsecured. But is that distinction meaningful in the real world? Chicago Booth’s Raghuram Rajan talks about his research into corporate debt. In the past century, the amount of unsecured debt has soared. What’s the significance of that, and is it really unsecured?

What do startup founders need to do to get venture capitalists to invest? Do VCs invest in the right team, or the right idea? Do they invest where they can add value, or do they try to pick new businesses that are going to be winners from the start? Chicago Booth’s Steve Kaplan has surveyed venture capitalists to find out what they look for in startups, and he has a framework he uses to advise both founders and funders on how to pick winning companies.