EconoFact Chats

Economic theories often inform policy choices, but events can call into question these same theories. In this episode of EconoFact Chats, John Cassidy, Staff Writer for The New Yorker joins Michael Klein to discuss how policies based on the advantages of unfettered free markets were challenged by the 2008 financial and economic crisis.  John also discusses other instances of challenges to theories; for example how evidence has given rise to behavioral economics, and the role of psychology and information to guide policy. 

John is the author of How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities and Dot.Con: How America Lost Its Mind and Money in the Internet Era.

Nationalist economic policies, including rising opposition to free trade, skepticism of international institutions, and anti-immigrant sentiment, are on the rise at a time when the pandemic and climate change are making international cooperation more necessary than ever. This week on EconoFact Chats, Michael Klein speaks with Maurice Obstfeld, widely recognized as one of the world's leading experts in international economics, on the tensions between globalization and economic nationalism – the historical context, current challenges, and the prospects for the future.

Maury Obstfeld is Professor of Economics at U.C. Berkeley. He formerly served as Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund, and as a Member of the Council of Economic Advisors.

Even as overdose deaths from opioids in the US reached a disturbing peak of 69,000 in 2020, monthly state-level data for 2021 suggests that overdose deaths are on pace to rise even further; likely driven by a combination of increased stress, reduced access to care, and a greater prevalence of more lethal drugs. This week on EconoFact Chats, Alicia Sasser Modestino of Northeastern University discusses the origins of this ongoing public health crisis, how the problem has evolved over the decades, and what role there is for public policy, as well as for individuals in addressing this epidemic.

Alicia is an Associate Professor at Northeastern University. She has also been a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Her research focuses on public policy issues affecting labor, housing, and health care.

High inflation has become a central concern. After four decades of low inflation, the so-called ‘great moderation,’ the key question is whether the current situation portends a return to the high and rising inflation of the 1970s, or whether we are seeing a temporary blip due to supply chain disruptions and other effects of the pandemic.

Looking at a finer-grained analysis of the price changes of individual goods and services offers some insight. Alberto Cavallo, a pioneer in gathering and using online micro-data, joins EconoFact Chats this week to discuss the major takeaways from his analysis of over a billion prices.

Alberto is an associate professor at Harvard Business School. He co-founded The Billion Prices Project, and Price Stats -- the leading private source of inflation statistics in over 20 countries.

How can journalists present statistics in a way that is both understandable and accurate? Why are data visualizations sometimes misleading rather than informative? As newspapers scale up their data coverage, journalists are developing insights into how best to report complex statistics without misrepresenting them.

This week on EconoFact Chats, Michael Klein and Ben Casselman of the New York Times discuss the nuances of communicating economic data to a broad audience.

How do laws affect commerce between nations? Are WTO decisions routinely biased against the interests of the United States? What are the biggest legal challenges to the international trading system? What role do labor standards and the protection of intellectual property play for international trade?

This week on EconoFact Chats, Joel Trachtman, a leading scholar of of international trade law, discusses how national and international legal systems impact trade between nations.

Even as the popularity of cryptocurrencies grows, debates surrounding their viability as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and as an investment remain contentious. In this episode of EconoFact Chats, Eswar Prasad of Cornell University joins Michael Klein for a discussion of how cryptocurrencies work, the ways in which they differ from central bank digital currencies, issues surrounding the regulation of cryptocurrency, and the environmental impact of mining cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

The high and rising inflation of the 1970s caused widespread economic insecurity, raised fundamental questions about the government's ability to manage the economy, and caused macro-economists to doubt many of their theories. Now, as inflation rises after a decades-long lull, economists and policy-makers are faced with a key question: is the current rise in prices transitory; driven by supply chain issues and COVID stimulus spending, or are we likely to see a more sustained increase in prices?

This week on EconoFact Chats, Jay Shambaugh of George Washington University joins Michael Klein to discuss the prospects for ongoing inflation, and the ways in which inflation affects your economic well-being.

The move to remote learning in high schools and kindergartens has proved among the more pervasive disruptions of COVID-19. Hardest hit have been those without access to technology, or adequate places to do schoolwork at home -- a group in which low-income students and students of color are overrepresented. While the government has made resources available to school districts to address learning disruptions, questions of how to best deploy these monies remain. Nora Gordon, among the country's leading experts on education policy and finance, joins EconoFact Chats to discuss policy responses to learning loss in the wake of COVID-19.

James Stock, professor at Harvard University, and a former member of the Council of Economic Advisers joins EconoFact Chats this week to discuss the role of economic policy in slowing climate change. Jim argues that declining green energy prices are leading to a fundamental shift in the economic thinking around climate policy -- with the key question no longer 'how can we make it more expensive to pollute?' but rather 'how can we accelerate the date at which it becomes cheaper to be green?' Whether we arrive at a low-cost green future is far from given. But as Jim highlights, whether we get there, and how quickly, hinges on sound policy.