
VoxTalks Economics
Learn about groundbreaking new research, commentary and policy ideas from the world's leading economists. Presented by Tim Phillips.
Latest episodes

Feb 15, 2019 • 18min
S2 Ep7: A history of international finance
A new data set compiles the history of international finance spanning a century and a half, revealing new information about globalisation, crises and capital flows. Rui Esteves of the Graduate Institute, Geneva, tells Tim Phillips what lessons it offers for policymakers today.

Feb 8, 2019 • 12min
S2 Ep6: Legal cannabis and the black economy
On 17 October 2018, Canada legalised recreational cannabis use, with an immediate effect on how Canadian people use cash. Jonathan Ashworth explains to Tim Phillips how legalisation crimps the black economy.
Read our VoxEU column on the topic.

Feb 1, 2019 • 17min
S2 Ep5: The end of globalisation?
Trade growth is slowing down. But is it, as the media and populist politicians claim, the end of globalisation? Kevin O'Rourke tells Tim Phillips how economic history can answer the question, and what we can learn from the history of global trade.

Jan 25, 2019 • 16min
S2 Ep4: Work in transition, part 2
In our second podcast on the The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's report on Work in Transition, Tim Phillips talks to Nate Young about how the growth of large cities in EBRD regions affects economic growth and wellbeing.
Picture copyright: EBRD.

Jan 18, 2019 • 19min
S2 Ep3: Work in transition, part 1
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has published a report that investigates how work is changing in Europe and Asia's transition economies. Tim Phillips talks to the Bank's chief economist, Sergei Guriev, about who is working, how, and where.
Picture copyright: EBRD.

Jan 11, 2019 • 10min
S2 Ep2: Why we vote for protectionism
It blows the minds of economists when voters choose protectionist policies that, they point out, make most of them poorer. Gene Grossman tells Tim Phillips how trade models can explain this, if they incorporate insights from other social sciences.

Jan 4, 2019 • 22min
S2 Ep1: The half-life of injustice
If our wealth has been acquired unjustly in the past, does that injustice fade or persist? David Miles of Imperial College tells Tim Phillips how economics can help to answer this question.
Read more about David's work on injustice.

Dec 28, 2018 • 12min
S1 Ep29: Superstar economists
We usually measure the effectiveness of economists by how many papers they publish, or how many citations they get. But a new measure takes into account their influence on the work of their colleagues as well. Michael König explains to Tim Phillips how this works, and who gets to be number one.
Read more about the research on VoxEU.org.

Dec 21, 2018 • 10min
S1 Ep28: Regulating cyber risk
How should banks and their regulators manage cyber risk? A new discussion paper from the CEPR sets out six principles from an economist's point of view. Anil Kashyap of the University of Chicago and Anne Wetherilt of the Bank of England tell Tim Phillips what they are recommending.

Dec 14, 2018 • 15min
S1 Ep27: The end of men
Women with college degrees are becoming more likely to get good jobs, but for college-educated men, the opposite is true. Henry Siu of the University of British Columbia tells Tim Phillips that the demand for social skills may explain the trend.