The Pie: An Economics Podcast

Hyuk-soo Kwon, an Assistant Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, discusses the critical role of government subsidies in advancing electric vehicle (EV) innovation. He highlights how nations like Norway and China leverage incentives to reshape vehicle design and production dynamics. Kwon sheds light on the importance of established expertise in driving breakthroughs and reflects on the implications of U.S. policy shifts. He also shares his academic journey and passion for the EV industry, emphasizing mentorship in his career development.

Matt Notowidigdo, a Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School, shares insights on how COVID-19 reshaped our economy. He discusses the rapid recovery in the labor market and the rise of remote work. Lockdowns presented a dilemma between health and economic costs, especially regarding children's education. Notowidigdo also uncovers paradoxical health trends during recessions and reflects on the long-term implications for the economy and immigration. The conversation blends serious analysis with light-hearted stories about learning and personal growth.

Lesley Turner, an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, dives into the reasons behind high college dropout rates and effective strategies for re-enrollment. She discusses a mentoring experiment aimed at helping former students return to their studies and the systemic barriers they face. Turner also explores the complexities of federal loan policies for graduate students, revealing their unintended consequences on tuition prices and enrollment rates, sparking a vital conversation on education access.

Carolyn Pfluger, an Associate Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, explores fascinating insights into economic behavior and policy perceptions. She reveals that Americans overstate their church attendance and discusses how recessions can paradoxically improve health. The conversation includes the critical role of public perception of the Federal Reserve’s actions and the unexpected consequences of pesticide use tied to declining bat populations, shedding light on the intertwining of economics and ecology.

Many low-income countries face a dilemma: keep taxes low and remain unable to build state capacity, or raise taxes and risk political unrest. In this episode of The Pie, Ben Krause, Executive Director of the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics, shares insights from an experiment in Haiti demonstrating how the provision of public goods can boost tax compliance.

Lubos Pastor is a distinguished finance professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, delving into the hidden costs of corporate greenhouse gas emissions. He discusses redefining corporate value to include environmental impacts, emphasizing the need for innovative metrics. The conversation also highlights the implications of the Paris Agreement on U.S. emissions, addressing how consumer behavior influences energy demand. Finally, a lightning round reveals personal reflections on economics and its real-world significance, peppered with humor.

When some US states allowed nurse practitioners to prescribe controlled substances without physician oversight, a serious unintended consequence took hold: Doctors found themselves competing with those nurses for patients. Molly Schnell, BFI Saieh Family Fellow and assistant professor at Northwestern University, along with her colleagues—Janet Currie of Princeton and Anran Li of Cornell—examine the resultant uptick in prescriptions in controlled substances, and the impact on patients.

James Robinson, a University Professor with appointments in both UChicago’s Harris School of Public Policy as well as the Political Science Department in the Division of Social Sciences, is the university’s latest faculty member to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. On this episode of “An Extra Slice of The Pie,” Robinson joins Ben Krause, BFI Executive Director and new, semi-regular guest host, to discuss his research and the path to a Nobel. Tune in to learn more about Robinson’s early challenges as a young researcher, his major breakthroughs, and his ideas for future work.

Bats are considered a natural pesticide. When they began to die out due to an invasive fungus, farmers turned to chemicals to control pests. The result, as Eyal Frank of the Harris school of Public Policy describes on this episode of The Pie, was skyrocketing infant deaths. Tune in to learn more about the vast ramifications of ecosystem disruptions.

Private equity investors made some $200 billion worth of healthcare acquisitions in 2021, and $1 trillion worth in the 10 years leading up to 2023. In this episode of The Pie, Maggie Shi, professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, discusses how private equity impacts hospitals along multiple dimensions, including patient volumes, revenues, employment, and technology adoption.