VoxTalk Vaults

Viral Acharya, Matthew Richardson interviewed by Viv Davies, 13 May 2011

Viral Acharya and Matthew Richardson of New York University talk to Viv Davies about their book ‘Guaranteed to Fail: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Debacle of Mortgage Finance’. The financial collapse of these government sponsored enterprises led to a government intervention that has already cost US taxpayers around $150 billion. The authors discuss how these institutions collapsed, why housing finance in the US is broken and what now needs to be done to reform the system. The interview was recorded in London in May 2011.

Martin Kocher interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 06 May 2011

Is young people’s economic behaviour different from that of adults? Martin Kocher of the University of Munich talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about his experimental research with children and adolescents aged 8 to 18 – and the implications for policy debates around smoking, drinking, drugs, obesity and other health and education issues. The interview was recorded at the annual congress of the European Economic Association in Glasgow in August 2010.

Sonia Oreffice interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 29 April 2011

How much more do you have to earn to compensate for a higher bodyweight and still find a desirable marriage partner? Sonia Oreffice of the University of Alicante talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about her research on physical and socio-economic characteristics, marriage markets and the potential impact on family outcomes. The interview was recorded at the Royal Economic Society’s annual conference at Royal Holloway, University of London, in April 2011

Diane Coyle interviewed by Viv Davies, 22 April 2011

Diane Coyle talks to Viv Davies about her new book 'The Economics of Enough: How to Run the Economy as if the Future Matters'. The book addresses the need to create a sustainable economy - how to consider tomorrow's needs as well as today's. It covers a broad range of issues, from the banking crisis to climate change, and sets out some of the initial, practical steps that will be needed to build a future economy that is based on a true sense of value. The interview was recorded in London in April 2011.

Per Krusell interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 15 April 2011

Per Krusell of the Institute for International Economic Studies talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about his work modelling the impact of climate change on the world economy. They discuss the differential effects of global warming on different regions of the world, and the policy options for taxes on fossil fuels. The interview was recorded at the annual congress of the European Economic Association in Glasgow in August 2010.

Michael Spence interviewed by Viv Davies, 08 April 2011

Michael Spence of Stanford University talks to Viv Davies about growth prospects in the US and developing countries. He describes the current divergence between growth and employment in the US economy. They also discuss global imbalances, fiscal coordination in Europe, the global investment rate and the threat of rising oil prices to global growth. The interview was recorded in Washington DC in March 2011 at the IMF conference, ‘Macro and Growth Policies in the Wake of the Crisis’.

Robert Solow interviewed by Viv Davies, 01 April 2011

Robert Solow of MIT talks to Viv Davies about discretionary fiscal policy, the fiscal multiplier and automatic stabilisers in light of the financial crisis. They also discuss growth prospects for the US, the importance of international coordination of fiscal policy in Europe, the need for a more sophisticated industrial policy and the issue of global imbalances. The interview was recorded in Washington DC in March 2011 at the IMF conference, ‘Macro and Growth Policies in the Wake of the Crisis’.

Hyun Song Shin interviewed by Viv Davies, 25 March 2011

Hyun Song Shin of Princeton University talks to Viv Davies about his current work on global liquidity and highlights the paradox of how the US, while being the largest net debtor in the world, is also a substantial net creditor in the global banking system. They also discuss the Basel III requirements, bank capital ratios and the lending capacity of bank equity. Shin stresses the importance of international coordination to the success of financial and regulatory reform. The interview was recorded in Washington DC in March 2011 at the IMF conference, ‘Macro and Growth Policies in the Wake of the Crisis’.

Dani Rodrik interviewed by Viv Davies, 18 March 2011

Dani Rodrik of the Harvard Kennedy School talks to Viv Davies about ‘growth-reducing structural change’, the puzzling phenomenon whereby labour moves from high- to low-productivity activities. They also discuss the role of industrial policy in growth strategies, global imbalances and the use of currency policy, climate change and the importance of education and migration for growth. The interview was recorded in Washington DC in March 2011 at the IMF conference, ‘Macro and Growth Policies in the Wake of the Crisis’.

Assaf Razin interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 11 March 2011

Assaf Razin of Cornell University and Tel Aviv University talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about his book, ‘Migration and the Welfare State: Political-Economic Policy Formation’, which explores implications of the observation that open immigration cannot co-exist with a strong safety net, and policies to resolve intra- and intergenerational conflicts over immigration policies and the generosity of the welfare state. The interview was recorded at the annual congress of the European Economic Association in Glasgow in August 2010.