Talking Economics

Can tariffs make a country stronger? Do they really protect domestic industries, or can they end up hurting the very economies they are meant to support?

In this episode of Talking Economics, new host Andrew Gardiner speaks with Oleg Itskhoki, Professor of Economics at Harvard University and recipient of the 2022 John Bates Clark Medal, about the economic forces shaping global trade, international relations, and public policy.

From US tariffs and competition with China to the future of global trade, Itskhoki explains why protectionist policies can have unexpected consequences, including stronger currencies, reduced exports, and growing economic uncertainty.

The conversation also explores government debt, the challenges of aging populations, and the growing tensions between generations over public spending.

Turning to Russia's war in Ukraine, Itskhoki reflects on the limits of economic sanctions, the importance of defence spending, and why economic theory suggests that investing in deterrence can help prevent conflict.

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In a new episode of CERGE-EI’s Talking Economics podcast, Assistant Professor Achim Ahrens discusses what economic research tells us about migration, refugees and labour market integration.

Speaking with host Katarina Stehlíková, Ahrens explains that the labour market effects of migration are far more complex than public debate often suggests. “There is no empirical consensus,” he says, noting that the impact depends on the setting, the type of workers arriving and whether the change is sudden or gradual.

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The new episode of Talking Economics brings a timely discussion with Kamil Kovář, Director at Moody’s Analytics and our alumnus, on how today’s overlapping shocks are reshaping the global economy.

Kamil explores how wars, energy disruptions, rearmament, trade fragmentation, and political unpredictability are changing the way economists think about growth, inflation, and risk. “It’s just, as you said, one shock after another, and it just doesn’t stop,” Kamil says. In this environment, he argues, economists can no longer rely on a single central outlook: “It’s more and more important to talk in terms of scenarios and not talk in terms of the baseline outlook only.”

The episode examines what has changed most fundamentally in the global economy, what the most likely path forward may be, and which alternative scenarios matter most. Kamil also reflects on how recent crises have exposed the limits of traditional models, noting that “the distribution has widened so much” that one or two scenarios are no longer enough to capture the risks economies face.

This episode offers a guide to understanding the macroeconomic landscape in a period marked by constant disruption.

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Our job market candidate Margarita Pavlova is the latest guest in the Talking Economics: Emerging Scholars podcast series, which highlights the research and career journeys of CERGE-EI PhD in Economics candidates and recent graduates.

Margarita is an applied microeconomist specializing in labor and gender economics. Her research explores how macroeconomic conditions, labor market policies, and institutions shape labor market outcomes—especially the long-term effects of economic shocks, wage setting, and labor market inequality. In her job market paper, Margarita studies how business-cycle conditions at the time of labor market entry shape early-career trajectories and how these effects evolve over time.

00:00 Introduction

01:15 Why economic research

04:35 Challenges during Covid

07:00 Visiting Yale

08:34 Graduates in a cycle, graduating in a recession

14:07 Women in the labor market

19:29 Competition and the gender pay gap

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The Talking Economics: Emerging Scholars podcast series highlights the research and career journeys of CERGE-EI PhD in Economics candidates and recent graduates. In this episode, we speak with Sona Badalyan, one of our current job market candidates.

Sona is an applied microeconomist with interests in labor, public, and personnel economics. Her job market paper examines internal labor markets, exploring how firm organization, labor market institutions, and frictions shape outcomes for workers and firms in an aging economy.

00:00 Introduction

01:20 Path to a PhD decision

05:10 Challenges and mobility stays

08:06 Motivation for a dissertation topic

08:53 Intra-firm spillovers of raised retirement age

15:30 Old-age employment and organizational structures

17:50 Peer Effects in old-age employment

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Why does discrimination persist even when it’s costly for firms and societies? CERGE-EI alumnus and Associate Professor at the University of Milan, Vojtěch Bartoš, explains how behavioral economics helps uncover the mechanisms behind bias — and how evidence-based tools can help reduce it.

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What happens when the labor market doesn’t match workers and firms efficiently? Can online platforms and better data solve the problem? And what role do families play in shaping the workforce of tomorrow?

Luca Mazzone, Assistant Professor at CERGE-EI and Economist at the IMF, talks about the hidden dynamics behind wage inequality, employment policy, and how households shape labor market outcomes. His research looks into how people and firms find each other—and why this matching process matters for productivity, inequality, and growth.

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What determines the financial decisions we make throughout our lives—like choosing a mortgage, saving for retirement, or deciding whether to invest? In the latest episode of Talking Economics, we explore these questions with Marta Cota, a CERGE-EI PhD alumna and Assistant Professor of Finance at Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon.

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In the latest episode of Talking Economics, we speak with Vladimír Novák, Senior Economist at the National Bank of Slovakia and CERGE-EI PhD alumnus, about his recent research and how it connects to real-world policy challenges. Vladimír’s academic work focuses on how individuals process information—and how that, in turn, shapes their beliefs, decisions, and broader societal outcomes.

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Associate Professor at CERGE-EI, Ctirad Slavík, discusses taxation, inequality, and the economic impact of policy reforms in our latest episode. He shares insights on optimal capital taxation, the effects of automation on wages, and the 2021 Czech income tax reform.

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