The Pie: An Economics Podcast

What happens to humans when vultures go extinct? Why did the student loan pause increase debt? Plus, do government benefits change how parents invest in their kids? To wrap up 2023, Tess Vigeland reviews some of the economic research we've featured on the show throughout the year. Plus, a word from the UChicago team behind The Pie.

Yana Gallen, an Assistant Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, shares insights from her research on the economic implications of reproductive choices. She discusses how unplanned pregnancies can lead to significant earnings losses for women, while planned births are less detrimental. The conversation highlights the historical impact of birth control on women's career trajectories and the importance of policy in shaping these decisions. Gallen also explores the interplay between motherhood and academia, revealing complex dynamics in work-life balance.

Would you rather keep things as is, or, remove yourself and all your friends from social media? You aren’t alone if you chose the latter. Recent research from UChicago economist Leo Bursztyn ushers new survey evidence to show how fear of missing out keeps some users online. Learn more on The Pie.

Roughly a quarter of all paid workdays are now done from home, up from 7% in 2019. How did this shift unfold across different areas, industries, and worker demographics? Steven Davis, Professor Emeritus at Chicago Booth and work-from-home expert, joins The Pie to share his research.

The United States imprisons its population at a rate that is on par with North Korea. In this episode, Evan Rose of the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics discusses what happens when this massive subset of individuals rejoins the labor force. Hint: It’s not what you might expect.

The rate of school suspensions has more than doubled for Black and Latino children since 1974, inspiring a small but growing movement aimed at finding new disciplinary solutions that deter undesirable behavior without imparting harm. Harris Policy's Anjali Adukia joins The Pie to discuss her partnership with Chicago Public Schools, and what happened when teachers replaced exclusionary disciplinary practices, such as suspensions, with restorative practices that emphasize community building and restitution.

Police use of force has prompted a national debate around misconduct and how to solve what many believe to be a systemic issue. Harris Policy’s Oeindrila Dube and Chicago Booth’s Anuj Shah partnered with the Chicago Police Department for an experiment that found a different kind of behavioral training could effectively reduce adverse outcomes.

Renowned economist Lars Peter Hansen discusses the value of the Amazon rainforest as a carbon sink and its impact on climate change. They explore the challenges of incorporating uncertainty in economic models and the trade-offs of using land for agriculture versus carbon capture. The concept of putting a value on the rainforest and the importance of setting an external price for land use are also discussed. Potential solutions for rainforest preservation and the effectiveness of cost adjustments are highlighted.

Economists Peter Ganong and Joe Vavra discuss the impacts of pandemic unemployment benefits on spending and job-finding. They explore the increase in benefits, challenges in delivering them, and the stabilizing effect of temporary expansions. They also discuss the need for careful policy design and implementing automatic triggers based on labor market indicators.

How much effect do government policies have on doctors’ wages? And when those wages are high, does it drive inequality in other jobs? And how does Taylor Swift factor in? Or Beyoncé? Joshua D. Gottlieb of the Harris School of Public Policy joins The Pie to discuss his research using detailed data to study earnings and how they’re influenced by forces like public policy and rising inequality.