VoxTalk Vaults

Martin Sandbu interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 26 March 2016

Was the euro a straitjacket that caused an inevitable crisis? Or would earlier action have staved off a debt catastrophe? In this Vox Talk, Martin Sandbu – author of "Europe’s Orphan: The Future of the Euro and the Politics of Debt" – argues that rather than blaming the euro for the political and economic failures in Europe since the Global Crisis, the responsibility lies firmly on the authorities of the Eurozone and its member countries.

Adair Turner interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 19 March 2016

Prior to the Global Crisis, modern macroeconomics largely ignored the details of the financial system, and favoured mathematical precision and elegance at the expense of realism. So argues Adair Turner in this Vox Talk. He also explains the key arguments in his book, ‘Between Debt and the Devil: Money, Credit and Fixing Global Finance’: that most credit is not needed for economic growth but rather drives real estate booms and busts; and that sometimes it’s better to print your way out of financial crises.    

Gernot Wagner interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 16 December 2015

At the heart of policy debates about our collective responses to climate change is the issue of risk and uncertainty - ‘unknown unknowns’ about the impact of global warming. In this Vox Talk, Gernot Wagner - co-author with Harvard’s Martin L. Weitzman of 'Climate Shock: The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet’ - argues for Pigovian taxes and carbon pricing, against geoengineering solutions, and why 'we need to stick it to CO2, not to capitalism’.

Charles Bean interviewed by Bob Denham, 23 October 2015

Interest rates have been historically low for decades - long before the financial crisis. What are the causes? And what are the consequences? In this Vox Talk Charlie Bean discusses the findings of the 17th Geneva Report. He argues that the main cause of low interest rates globally is higher savings by the middle aged and that this cause will subside as the middle aged start to retire. But that will take decades and in the meantime there are challenges and risks for monetary policy.

Philippe Aghion interviewed by Viv Davies, 19 January 2015

Jean Tirole’s Nobel was for his transformative work on industrial organisation. In this Vox Talk Philippe Aghion talks about Tirole’s contribution. The interview was recorded in November 2014.

Wouter den Haan interviewed by Viv Davies, 23 December 2014

Macroecomics has changed in a number of ways since the global crisis. For example, there is now more emphasis on modeling the financial sector, self-fulfilling panics, herd behaviour and the new role of demand. This Vox Talk discusses these changes as well as those areas in macroeconomics that are currently perhaps not researched enough. Wouter den Haan explains the inadequacy of the conventional 'rational expectations' approach, quantitative easing, endogenous risk and deleveraging and refers to current CEPR research that reflects the changes. He concludes by reminding us that the 'baby boomers' issue could be the basis of the next crisis.

Franklin Allen interviewed by Viv Davies, 23 December 2014

Franklin Allen, Professor of Finance and Economics at Imperial College London, and Director of CEPR's Financial Economics Programme, talks to Viv Davies about current challenges in financial economics. Allen presents what he thinks will be the main focus of the FE Programme going forward. He also discusses banking union in Europe, how financial economics has changed since the crisis and what he considers to be the major risks now facing the Eurozone.

Ian Goldin interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 21 November 2014

Global hyperconnectivity and increased system integration have led to vast benefits in terms of income, education, innovation and technology. Yet globalisation has also created serious concerns about how local events can so easily cascade over national borders to become crises that affect everyone. This Vox Talk discusses the widening gap between systemic risks and their effective management. Goldin argues that the new dynamics and complexities of globalisation are endemic and will potentially destabilise our societies unless they are addressed immediately and more effectively.

Martin Ruhs interviewed by Romesh Vaitilingam, 12 November 2014

Many low-income countries and development organisations are calling for greater liberalisation of labour immigration policies in high-income countries. At the same time, human rights organisations and migrant rights’ advocates demand more equal rights for migrant workers. This Vox Talk discusses the tensions between human rights and citizenship rights and argues that you cannot always have both. 

Philip Lane interviewed by Viv Davies, 03 November 2014

Contrary to widely held beliefs, the world has not yet begun to ‘delever’ and the global debt-to-GDP is still growing. Growth and inflation are also dangerously low. This Vox Talk discusses the findings and policy recommendations of the 16th Geneva Report. It argues that much more can and should be done to improve resilience to debt shocks and discourage excessive debt accumulation.