VoxTalk Vaults

Dani Rodrik interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 19 December 2008

Dani Rodrik of the Harvard Kennedy School talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about the role of institutions in economic development. They discuss the use of ‘growth diagnostics’ to identify the binding constraints on economic activity and hence the priorities for policy and institutional reform, drawing on Rodrik’s experiences applying the framework to South Africa. The interview was recorded at the American Economic Association meetings in New Orleans in January 2008.

Simon Evenett interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 12 December 2008

Simon Evenett of the University of St Gallen talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about the latest e-book in Vox’s ‘What leaders should do in the crisis’ series, focusing particularly on the prospects for completing the Doha Round of world trade negotiations in the light of the economic crisis. The interview was recorded on Tuesday 9 December 2008.

Eliana La Ferrara interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 05 December 2008

Eliana La Ferrara of Bocconi University talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about her research on the causes and consequences of conflict within countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The interview was recorded at the annual congress of the European Economic Association in Milan in August 2008.

Paul Milgrom interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 05 December 2008

Paul Milgrom of Stanford University talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about the application of auction theory, focusing particularly on the world’s most frequently used auction – the sponsored-search auction employed by many internet search engines. The interview was recorded at the annual congress of the European Economic Association in Budapest in August 2007.

Patricia Funk interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 28 November 2008

Patricia Funk of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about her research on the impact of direct democracy on government spending, which draws on over a hundred years of data on the cantons of Switzerland. The interview was recorded at the annual congress of the European Economic Association in Milan in August 2008.

Micael Castanheira interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 28 November 2008

Micael Castanheira of ECARES (Université Libre de Bruxelles) talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about the economic analysis of interactions between politicians, political parties and the voters. The interview was recorded at the annual congress of the European Economic Association in Milan in August 2008.

Matthias Doepke interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 21 November 2008

Matthias Doepke of Northwestern University talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about his research on the emergence of women’s rights and gender equality in England and the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth century. The interview was recorded at the annual congress of the European Economic Association in Milan in August 2008.

Daniel Kahneman interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 21 November 2008

Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman of Princeton University talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about wellbeing as an indicator of social progress, arguing that we need at least two measures of happiness – one that comes when you ask people how they feel right now (‘experience happiness’) and one that comes when you ask people how they think about their life (‘life evaluation’). The interview was recorded at a workshop on happiness research at the Centre for Economic Performance in London in October 2008.

Raymond Fisman interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 14 November 2008

Ray Fisman of Columbia University talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about his new book, Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence, and the Poverty of Nations, written with Ted Miguel. They discuss witch-killing in Tanzania, parking violations by United Nations diplomats, and the value of political connections in both the developing and developed world. The interview was recorded at the Centre for Economic Performance in London in November 2008.

Alois Stutzer interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 14 November 2008

Alois Stutzer of the University of Basel talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about his research on the impact of material incentives on people’s willingness to give blood – a field experiment offering free lottery tickets or free cholesterol tests to different groups of current and potential donors. The interview was recorded at the annual congress of the European Economic Association in Milan in August 2008.