VoxTalks Economics

When we live through a financial crisis, many of us think differently about money afterwards. Neuroscientists can show that the experience changes the physical structure of our brains, and Ulrike Malmendier tells Tim Phillips how this should also change the way that economists think about preferences for risk.

As life expectancy increases, so does the importance of a fair pension system that reflects our contribution but won't leave anyone in poverty. Can we create a progressive pension system that doesn't discourage work? Fabian Kindermann tells Tim Phillips how it could be designed.

Even after their role in the global financial crisis, globalised, minimally regulated financial markets are still regarded as inevitable and, on balance, good for us. Maurice Obstfeld of Berkeley tells Tim Phillips about the short but action-packed history of financial globalisation and asks whether we should be rethinking this aspect of capitalism too.

Robots and offshoring are blamed for destroying manufacturing jobs in advanced economies. But could automation also be a way to make domestic manufacturing more competitive? If so, those outsourced jobs may return. Alessandra Bonfiglioli tells Tim Phillips why there may be reasons to welcome our new robot overlords.

There is often an urgent need for humanitarian assistance in low-income countries. But how can it be targeted efficiently and quickly? Joshua Blumenstock tells Tim Phillips how, in Togo, a combination of machine learning and mobile phone data dramatically increased the effectiveness of Covid assistance.

If you want your startup to be funded, everybody knows you have to dial up the energy and enthusiasm when you meet investors to the maximum. But is this really good advice for startups, and is a passionate pitch really a reliable signal for an investor? Song Ma of Yale School of Management used machine learning to evaluate thousands of pitches. He tells Tim Phillips whether passionate entrepreneurs make better startups.

In March 2020 we all assumed there would be some reaction to Covid-19 on Wall Street but, when markets did the opposite of what most people expected, the Fed had to step in to stabilise the economy. Anil Kashyap and Kathryn Judge tell Tim Phillips what happened, why, and how to stop it happening again.

Earlier in 2021 Peter Neary passed away. This special episode pays tribute to his work and examines why Peter was held in such affection by his colleagues. With contributions from Patrick Honohan, Richard Portes, Monika Mrázová, Beata Javorcik, and Abi Adams-Prassl.

How many lives could be saved if rich countries shared their vaccines? Less than 2% of people in low-income countries have received even one dose. Mehdi Benatiya Andaloussi tells Tim Phillips about his calculation of how many lives would be saved by the end of 2021 if vaccines were shared more fairly - and how many have been lost because this hasn't happened so far.

The records of London's Foundling Hospital provide centuries of information on children's health. Eric Schneider tells Tim Phillips how he used this data to discover surprising information about the link between nutrition and common childhood illnesses.