VoxTalks Economics

In 1932, Hitler and his followers believed that marching through the streets of Hamburg in uniform would convince its citizens to vote him into power. But did the flags, songs and stomping boots actually persuade people? Hans-Joachim Voth tells Tim Phillips how polling data (and the spread of a pandemic) reveal whether this type of propaganda actually worked.

In the scramble for PPE in early 2020, prices spiked, supplies dried up, and doctors were forced to use garbage bags for protection. A year on, Chad Bown has examined what happened, and he tells Tim Phillips how we can avoid a repeat.

Remember when your local newspaper was filled with classified advertising? Once, three-line ads for lonely hearts and used cars for sale were a guaranteed source of revenue. Then Craigslist replaced classifieds in the US, and the result, Ruben Durante tells Tim Phillips, has been less political reporting and more partisan polarisation.

Jonathan Ostry of the IMF has investigated a century of pandemics and discovered that not only do they make our societies less equal, but they lead to a K-shaped recovery. He tells Tim Phillips that, unlike other crises, pandemics open a permanent gap between winners and losers. Ungated paper at https://cepr.online/DP16122

Imran Rasul tells Tim Phillips about new research that shows the fraction of published economics research devoted to the causes and consequences of racial inequality is much smaller than in political science or sociology - and that this inequality has been getting worse.

People everywhere sometimes pretend to be sick on a Friday because a day off work means a three-day weekend. In Italy, sick workers may now get a surprise home visit from the doctor. Tito Boeri tells Tim Phillips how effective this has been as a cure for "Friday morning fever".

If some kids lie a little, and some lie a lot, is that just the way they are, or can we increase a child’s honesty in day-to-day life? Johannes Abeler tells Tim Phillips about how mentors can create lasting behaviour change. The paper discussed is: Abeler, J, Falk, A and Kosse, F. 2021. 'Malleability of preferences for honesty'. London, Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=16164

Do cultural norms determine whether women go back to work after having a child? And if culture changes, does their behaviour change too? Anna Raute and Uta Schӧnberg tell Tim Phillips how the reunification of Germany provided unique data. The paper discussed is: Boelmann, B, Raute, A and Schӧnberg, U. 2021. 'Wind of Change? Cultural Determinants of Maternal Labor Supply'. London, Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=16149

John Maynard Keynes famously predicted that no one would need to work for more than three hours a day by 2030. How did he get it so wrong? Nick Crafts tells Tim Phillips that, in one way, Keynes has underestimated the change in our work-life balance.

What's the future of capitalism? Luis Garicano asked this question to 21 of his fellow economists, and this week the interviews are published as a CEPR ebook. He tells Tim Phillips that Covid-19 may inspire us "to rethink everything we are doing". You can download the new CEPR Press eBook 'Capitalism after Covid: Conversations with 21 economists' here