Lunchtime Social Science

The hosts discuss whether scholars should pursue activism. Is it good for their work? Is it good for the public's trust? 

In public policy, scholars like to measure “welfare losses” and that is what we teach to students. Welfare losses are deeply rooted in trying to measure ways in which events or policies distort peoples preferences. But what if people's behaviors eventually change forever, is it still appropriate to call that a cost? The hosts discuss 1) the history of thought in how we came to measure policy effects this way and its connection to the enlightenment; 2) the ways in which people are inconsistent in what they want studied in behavioral economics; 3) what philosophy has to to say about aspiration and transformational preferences. 

The pandemic seems to have brought forth an array of conspiracy theories. Jennifer Silva, author of We're Still Here: Pain and Politics in the Heart of America, join the hosts to discuss how the different social sciences have investigated conspiracy theories. Some of the literature suggests that they are the result of being marginalized or socially disconnected, yet they seem to be consistently widespread in that at majority of Americans believe in at least one. Why is there a "Flat Earth Society"? Do conspiracy theories actually affect policy preferences, or are people just using them to rationalize their views?

In this episode we discuss Germany’s Novel-Corona virus experience with Andreas Peichl. Andreas is the Director of the Ifo Center for Macroeconomics and Surveys & a Professor of Macroeconomics and Public Finance at the University of Munich. He has done a lot of work on modeling the economic and health impacts of the policies that have been adopted to combat the spread of the virus.

Some are saying the COVID-19 recession will be as bad as the Great Depression, others are predicting a quick rebound. What should we expect and why would reasonable people come to such different predictions? 

Liberal societies are characterized by reliance on self-governance, heightened barriers to violating individual rights, voluntary compliance with law, and competing centers of political power. Government responses to pandemics stress these values in an effort to preserve health and safety. Law Professor Beth Cate discusses these issues with Justin Ross and Coady Wing. 

What do recessions do to people? What do people do during recessions? Discussing what we've learned from history and discussing how the COVID-19 pandemic recession may be different from our previous experiences.

Indiana University Professors Denvil Duncan and Coady Wing (Paul H. O’Neill School of Public & Environmental Affairs) discuss Federal policy proposals targeting the economic fallout caused by the Novel Coronavirus. How has the pandemic affected the economy? What problems are we trying to solve, and what trade-offs do we face as we try to solve them.  Should we focus on the speed with which policies can be implemented or should we make sure the benefits are delivered to the right people?
 
Denvil Duncan is a public finance economist who studies economic effects of taxation. He can be found on Twitter at @denvilrduncan.

Coady Wing studies the methodological and substantive conditions under which quasi-experimental research designs appear to reproduce the results of randomized experiments. Follow him through Twitter at @coady_wing.

Lunchtime Social Science hosts preview the podcast.

Economics professors Denvil Duncan, Justin Ross, and Coady Wing of Indiana University's Paul H. O’Neill School of Public & Environmental Affairs weigh in on the controversy of states bidding against each other for the suddenly scarce medical supplies to handle the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a "surge pricing" phenomenon. They discuss the advantages, disadvantages, and alternatives as well as what economic theory has to say about "repugnant" transactions.