VoxTalk Vaults

Richard Layard interviewed by Viv Davies, 15 October 2014

Mental ill-health causes more suffering than physical illness, poverty or unemployment. Greater spending on helping people recover from mental health problems would generate massive savings to national economies. This Vox Talk discusses how successful psychological treatments have been developed and urges policymakers to act. Layard argues that psychological therapy costs nothing.

Roland Kupers interviewed by Viv Davies, 25 July 2014

Complexity science is changing the way we think about social systems and social theory. Unfortunately, economists’ policy models have not kept up and are stuck in either a market fundamentalist or government control narrative. This Vox Talk argues for a new, more flexible policy narrative, which envisions society as a complex evolving system that is uncontrollable but can be influenced.

Philippe Weil interviewed by Viv Davies, 20 June 2014

The CEPR Business Cycle Dating Committee recently concluded that there is not yet enough evidence to call a business cycle trough in the Eurozone. Instead, the committee has announced a 'prolonged pause' in the recession. This Vox Talk discusses the possible directions that this situation could lead to and questions whether the Great Recession has harmed the Eurozone’s long-term growth prospects to the extent that meagre growth could become the 'new normal'.

Diane Coyle interviewed by Viv Davies, 09 June 2014

As a measure of economic activity, GDP is imperfect, but no more so than any single indicator of the whole economy. Yet public policy debate about the economy is often focused on GDP growth to the exclusion of other important considerations. This Vox Talk argues the case for a ‘dashboard’ of alternative indicators that, in addition to measuring economic activity, could also capture social welfare, sustainability and the benefits of innovation.

Rachel Griffith interviewed by Viv Davies, 26 May 2014

Diet-related chronic diseases are a major public health concern. Addressing this concern is a key government policy objective. This Vox Talk argues that the impact of these policies on diet and health outcomes depends on how consumers adapt their consumption behaviour and on how firms respond in terms of the prices they set and the foods they offer.

Wendy Carlin interviewed by Viv Davies, 20 May 2014

Wendy Carlin talks to Viv Davies about the 'Curriculum Open-access Resources in Economics' (CORE) project, which was established by the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) at Oxford and proposes a new approach to economics teaching for undergraduates. The aim is to update the existing economics curriculum so that it reflects recent developments in economics, the economy and in teaching methods. They discuss the 'three gaps' in economics teaching that the project seeks to close. The interview was recorded in April 2014 at the annual conference of the Royal Economic Society.

Markus Eberhardt interviewed by Viv Davies, 11 May 2014

The debt-growth link is essential to today's marcoeconomic policy choices. This Vox Talk discusses new evidence based on data on total public debt for 105 economies between 1972 and 2009 and two centuries of data for the UK, US, Sweden and Japan. There is no convincing proof that austerity works and that it is dangerous for policy makers to pretend otherwise.

David Autor interviewed by Viv Davies, 02 May 2014

David Autor talks to Viv Davies about his recent research that analyses the differential effects of trade and technology on employment patterns in US local labour markets between 1990 and 2007. While the effect of trade competition is growing over time, the effect of technology has shifted from automation of production activities in the manufacturing sector towards computerisation of information-processing tasks in the service sector. The interview was recorded in April 2014 at the annual conference of the Royal Economic Society.

Nauro Campos interviewed by Viv Davies, 26 April 2014

Nauro Campos talks to Viv Davies about his recent research with Fabrizio Coricelli and Luigi Moretti that, using data from the various enlargements since the 1970s, yields new results about the benefits that both rich and relatively poor countries, with the exception of Greece, have derived from becoming EU members. Campos estimates the gain in per capita GDP to be approximately 12%. The interview was recorded on 10 April 2014.

Stijn Claessens interviewed by Viv Davies, 18 April 2014

Stijn Claessens talks to Viv Davies about the recent IMF book titled 'Global Crises: Causes, Consequences and Policy Responses', co-edited with M Ayhan Kose, Luc Laeven, and Fabian Valencia. The book provides a comprehensive overview of current research into financial crises and the policy lessons learned. They discuss crisis prevention and management, and the crisis in the Eurozone. The interview was recorded in April 2014.