The New Bazaar

As a young man in his native Benin, Leonard Wantchekon was arrested for leading a student uprising against the repressive government, tortured in prison, and 18 months later escaped from prison into Nigeria. Nearly four decades later, he is now a Princeton economist and the founder of the African School of Economics. But the experiences and observations from his astonishing early life embedded themselves into his work in economics—not just his research, but his mission to educate a new generation of African economists. Leonard speaks with Cardiff about those formative events, and then they discuss the following research papers published by Leonard: — “Education and Human Capital Externalities: Evidence from Colonial Benin” [Co-authored with Marko Klasˇnja and Natalija Novta] — “The Curse of Good Soil? Land Fertility, Roads, and Rural Poverty in Africa” [Co-authored with Piero Stanig] — “The Slave Trade and the Origins of Mistrust in Africa” [Co-authored with Nathan Nunn]And they also discuss Leonard's goals as founder of The African School of Economics, and why it's so important for African students economists to be taken more seriously inside the economics profession. Related links: Leonard Wantchekon page at Princeton IMF profileEconomist profile Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Skanda Amarnath is the executive director of Employ America, an organization that advocates for strong labor markets. He recently published a research note titled "What Are You Expecting? How The Fed Slows Down Inflation Through The Labor Market", in which he and co-author Alex Williams explores how the Federal Reserve's tools work to influence employment outcomes and the prices of goods and services. Skanda joins Cardiff to discuss: — The definition of full employment — How to investigate all the competing theories for what really causes inflation — The specific channels through which monetary policy affects inflation — What the Fed should do now to combat high inflation in the US — What Skanda has learned about monetary policymaking in the pandemic eraRelated links: Skanda's Twitter feed Employ America main site"What Are You Expecting? How The Fed Slows Down Inflation Through The Labor Market" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin Sandbu is European Economics Commentator at the Financial Times, where he also writes Free Lunch, a weekly newsletter about global economic policy. And he’s the author of The Economics of Belonging: A Radical Plan to Win Back the Left Behind and Achieve Prosperity for All, which has just been released in paperback. Martin joins Cardiff to discuss: – How the failures of the social market economy threaten political stability and undermine openness to the rest of the world – The pervasive economic effects of the loss of manufacturing jobs – How policymakers failed– Why it’s necessary to be honest about the jobs of the future– Ideas for how policymakers can improve their management of the economy – Why the world is experiencing high inflation, and the case for patienceRelated links: The Economics of Belonging book page Martin’s writing at the Financial Times Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Economic historian Leah Boustan joins Cardiff to discuss her new book, "Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success", co-authored with Ran Abramitsky. This wonderful book complicates and in some cases contradicts many of the prevailing myths and impressions of how immigration works, and it does so using a fascinating and cutting-edge approach to gathering data. Leah and Cardiff talk about how modern immigration trends resemble those of America's prior immigration peak from 1880 to 1920, the economic mobility of immigrants and their children, the ways immigrants influence their adopted culture (and are influenced by it), and much more. Related links: Streets of Gold book pageLeah Boustan's Princeton pageRan Abramitzky Stanford page Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Klein, co-author of "Trade Wars are Class Wars" and old friend of the show, returns for another special collaborative episode. Matt writes the excellent Overshoot newsletter, where he is posting additional commentary and charts to accompany this chat with Cardiff. Check it out and subscribe!Matt is Cardiff's favorite economic-data sleuth, and on this episode they discuss: — The recovery of the US economy, and whether it really did reverse in the first quarter — What accounts for such high inflation in the US, and whether it will self-correct — The economic effects of the Ukraine-Russia war — How the severe China lockdowns will— The freakout in financial markets this year More related links: Matt's Overshoot newsletter main page Matt on inflationMatt on the China lockdownsMatt's latest on Ukraine-RussiaRoosevelt Institute: "Increasing Wages for Low-Income Workers Is Key for a Full Economic Recovery" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mary Childs—author of The Bond King, cohost of the Planet Money podcast, and dear pal of Cardiff and Aimee—joins The New Bazaar to discuss how finance is portrayed in culture and the arts. Mary is both a finance journalist and herself a recreational painter with a comprehensive knowledge of the art world, and Cardiff asked her to choose an example each of a movie, book, song, TV series, painter, and contemporary artist to chat about on the show. Below are her choices, with links embedded:MOVIE: American PsychoBOOK: Lake Success SONG: Paper Planes TV SERIES: Succession PAINTER: Bill Powhida CONTEMPORARY ARTIST: Sarah Meyohas Mary and Cardiff then close the episode by talking about Mary's new article in Town & Country on how rich financiers use art to wage cultural battles against each other. "These cases often spin out of control", Mary writes, "because art is always more than its component parts. It can become a manifestation of personal identity and control. Sometimes the art itself becomes a cudgel."Other related links:Mary's stories at NPRThe Bond King Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cardiff speaks with Jeremiah Johnson, the co-founder and political director of The Neoliberal Project, to discuss the historical evolution of what it means to be Neoliberal, and why advocates and critics of Neoliberalism so often talk past each other.Jeremiah clarifies for Cardiff the current Neoliberal position on taxes, unions, healthcare, Universal Basic Income, privatization of public services, trade with China, the minimum wage, regulation, and more issues. They discuss the challenges of shifting the definition of a word that ideological opponents and others have already fixed in their minds, why disputes over definitions are nothing new, and why Jeremiah is hopeful.This episode is simultaneously being featured on The Neoliberal Podcast, which Jeremiah hosts, and which features economists, academics, and industry leaders—including both advocates and, admirably, critics of Neoliberalism.Related links:The Neoliberal ProjectThe Neoliberal PodcastJeremiah Johnson on Twitter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're sharing an episode from our friends over at Cautionary Tales. On the show, Tim Harford tells tragic stories from the past, pointing out the valuable lessons in the greatest mistakes, disasters and fiascos. This episode tells the story of Sir Clive Sinclair, a computer whizz and business mogul to rival Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. He was a visionary who could do no wrong... until he tried to launch an electric vehicle. The C5 “electrically assisted pedal cycle" doesn't seem so outlandish to us now... but 1985 just wasn't ready for the "aerodynamic bathtub" on wheels. Sir Clive was ridiculed and his business ruined. How did it all go so wrong?You can listen to more episodes of Cautionary Tales at https://link.chtbl.com/newbazaarct. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jose Fernandez, chair of the economics department at the University of Louisville, has an unusually eclectic body of work.He speaks with Cardiff about his findings on topics like autism, suicide, and health. They also discuss how he has navigated a career in which he has chosen topics that are so personal to him.Related link:Jose Fernandez's research Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jenny Schuetz is a scholar of the housing market, and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. She has a new book out called Fixer-Upper: How to Repair America's Broken Housing System. In her research and in her book, Jenny considers the housing market in all of its complexity, the reasons it’s broken for so many people, the entrenched barriers to fixing it – and some ideas that just might work. She and Cardiff cover all of this in their chat. Related links:Jenny Schuetz’s expert page at the Brookings InstitutionJenny’s book, Fixer-Upper: How to Repair America's Broken Housing System Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.