Economics, Applied

Jeffrey Schmid sits down with Steven Davis at the 49th edition of the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium. They chat about Kevin Warsh’s keynote speech, innovations in the payments system, digital assets, competition for banks, and what it means for crisis management by the Fed and other central banks.

ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED

Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant.

Steven Davis chats with Ross Levine about how the rule of law and competition foster prosperity and freedom in a system of market-based capitalism. They highlight the moral dimensions of the case for capitalism and its limits. They explain why the state is necessary for well-functioning markets, and how state power can undermine competition, prosperity, and freedom. They also discuss the toughest challenge facing a capitalist, or any, society – how to ensure widespread opportunity.

ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED

Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant.

Steven Davis chats with Liya Palagashvili about her new paper on “Artificial Intelligence and the Rise of Independent Work.” They start with a discussion of why, as a matter of economics, it’s plausible that generative AI tools make it easier to operate solo businesses. They then turn to Liya’s evidence, which suggests that AI has helped spur the growth of one-person businesses since 2024 in the United States. They close with a discussion of how this development should inform our thinking about labor market policies.

ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED

Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Hundreds of millions of people around the world are deaf or hard of hearing, which can impair job performance. Can AI tools help? Steven Davis speaks to two researchers who study the effects of a new AI tool on the productivity and wages of hearing-impaired workers in the food delivery business. They also discuss how the profit motive drove the adoption and diffusion of the new AI tool, raising the wages and earnings of hearing-impaired workers.

ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED

Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Steven Davis speaks to Aaron Chalfin and Max Kapustin about “focused deterrence,” a strategy that concentrates policing and social services on persons at high risk of gang-related gun violence. After Baltimore implemented this strategy in early 2022, its homicide rate fell 60% over three years. Aaron and Max explain the strategy, and Steve asks them what we know about how and why it works. They also discuss prospects for bringing “focused deterrence” to other American cities.

ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED

Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Steve speaks with William Evans and Ethan Lieber about the heartbreaking rise of deaths due to drug misuse in the United States. A major shift in prescription practices for pain management after 1995 drove higher levels of opiate use and misuse and contributed to an explosion of illicit opiates in the 21st century. It’s a disturbing story of professional misjudgments, deceptive marketing, policy mistakes, and unintended consequences. Reforms in prescription practices, while overdue, will mitigate but not solve current-day problems of drug abuse and misuse.

ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED

Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Cross-border supply chains bring great efficiencies but also present vulnerabilities that adversaries can exploit. How should we think about these vulnerabilities and their implications for economic and national security? How can we identify, assess, and respond to these vulnerabilities? Steve asks two noted trade policy experts, Chad Bown and Soumaya Keynes.

ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED

Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Steven Davis speaks to Evan Starr, a leading expert on the economics of noncompete clauses. They discuss the prevalence of noncompete clauses in employment agreements; the pros and cons for employers, workers, and society; where to draw the line in disallowing noncompete clauses; the role of antitrust in policing noncompete clauses; their effects on the pace of innovation; and whether the United States should adopt a national policy on noncompete clauses.

ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED

Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

When job loss leads to a long spell of unemployment, it causes a big blow to self-esteem, a lasting drop in living standards, and serious hardship for the job loser’s family. Is there a low-cost way to help job losers navigate the search process and find rewarding new work? Yes, say two economists at Cornell University, based on their insightful new study. Steve discusses the study and underlying thinking with the authors.

ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED

Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

How does war affect national output, productivity, and consumer prices in belligerent countries and economies worldwide? Two economists, Jonathan Federle and Moritz Schularick, investigate how war and its intensity relate to national output, productivity, consumer prices, and international trade. They exploit 150 years of data for 60 countries. Steven Davis chats with them about what they learned.

ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED

Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied.