VoxTalks Economics

Economists have long been sceptical of the potential of cryptocurrencies and other electronic forms of money. But are central banks coming round to the idea? Tim Phillips asks Beatrice Weder di Mauro whether central banks might start issuing their own cryptocurrencies. Read more on VoxEU about crypto's challenge to central banks.

When President Trump recently spoke of his hope for "a great bilateral trade agreement” with the UK after Brexit, what did he really mean? Tim Phillips interviews Dennis Novy of the University of Warwick. Dennis describes what these political good intentions may look like in reality, the problems that both sides will have to solve to agree a UK-US deal, and the factors that might derail any agreement. Read about Dennis's research on what caused the Brexit vote, and its effect on living standards, on VoxEU.

We all know how films and television tell the story of the Mafia, but what can economics tell us about its origins? Tim Phillips talks to Giuseppe De Feo about a new paper that tells the story of how the drought of 1893 has had social and economic effects that are still being felt today. Read about this research on VoxEU.

For the families of millions of migrant workers around the world, remittances can literally be a life-saver. But the cost of sending money home remains puzzlingly high. So why aren't remittances getting cheaper? Tim Phillips talks to Stephen Cecchetti of Brandeis University and Kim Schoenholtz of the Stern School at NYU. Read Steve and Kim's column on the subject at VoxEU.

For most of the 20th century, inequality between Europe's regions declined. But what has happened in the last 40 years? New historical data gives us the answer. Tim Phillips talks to Joan Rosés of the London School of Economics and Nikolaus Wolf of Humboldt University, Berlin. Find out more by reading the authors' VoxEU column.

Blockchain technology has the potential to be a catalyst for change in the financial sector. But can it overcome its technical limitations and governance problems? Tim Phillips talks to Simon Johnson, Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Sloan School of Management, MIT, and one of the authors of the latest Geneva Report on the World Economy, which looks at blockchain's applications and challenges. Read about the report, and download it for free from VoxEU.