The International Macroeconomic History Online Seminar Series, hosted by CEPR, is turning 100 this month — not years, but episodes. What began as a lockdown experiment has become a global fixture for anyone who believes economics never forgets. In a special edition of VoxTalks Economics, Tim Phillips talks with organisers Nathan Sussman and Rui Esteves of the Geneva Graduate Institute about the moments that shaped the series and what a hundred lessons from history can teach us today. Why does history matter so much to economists? And how can the series help us understand current events?
Nathan’s selection
The great demographic reversal https://cepr.org/multimedia/imhos-13-great-demographic-reversal-ageing-societies-waning-inequality-and-inflation
Monetary and fiscal history of the US https://cepr.org/multimedia/imhos-81-monetary-and-fiscal-history-united-states-1961-2021
The journey of humanity https://cepr.org/multimedia/imhos-37-journey-humanity
Rui’s selection
The Smoot-Hawley trade war https://cepr.org/multimedia/imhos-26-smoot-hawley-trade-war
Financial sanctions https://cepr.org/multimedia/imhos-59-financial-sanctions-arsenal-democracy-or-feeble-weapon
Industrial policy https://cepr.org/multimedia/imhos-93-panel-industrial-policy-history
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S8 Ep51: A European Carbon Central Bank
In the second of our episodes based on the topics discussed at the conference “Addressing the Risks and Responses to Climate Overshoot”, organised by the AXA Research Fund, CEPR, and Paris School of Economics, Tim Phillips talks to Matthias Kalkuhl of the University of Potsdam about how to remove carbon from the atmosphere. The innovative technologies that might be able to do this in the future need investment now – so one idea is for firms to buy the right to emit carbon now, as long as they commit to remove carbon when mature technology exists. But to administer this, Europe would need a dedicated Carbon Central Bank. Who would be in charge of it, how would it work, and is any politician brave enough to set it up?
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S8 Ep50: The hidden cost of invasive species
In the first of two podcasts recorded at the conference “Addressing the Risks and Responses to Climate Overshoot”, organised by the AXA Research Fund, CEPR, and Paris School of Economics, Tim Phillips talks to Franck Courchamp of the University of Paris-Saclay about an aspect of climate change that is rarely talked about, increasingly important, and very costly.
When plants or animals move, or are moved, to a place they don't belong, there is a risk of damage to natural habitats and an economic cost too. So how do we estimate the size of this risk, and what can we do about it?
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S8 Ep49: Tastes, geography, and culture
It’s cultural meme that teenagers in New York and Seoul will have more in common with each other than with their parents. Has where we come from been downgraded as an influence on what we like, or is there still what Thierry Mayer of Sciences Po and CEPR calls “gravity in tastes”?
His research focuses on a very important aspect of this question: regional French food. Is there still a France of butter, and a France of olive oil? And, if there is, can we draw it on a map, or is this now a cultural and social divide, rather than a regional one?
Vote for VoxTalks Economics in the 2025 Signal Awards! https://talknorm.al/vote
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S8 Ep48: What makes a successful entrepreneur?
We are up to our necks in advice about how to innovate in business, how to succeed as a founder, or how to spot a great startup. Blogs, YouTube channels and airport bookshops claim to reveal the secret. And yet, investors and incubators have a very patchy track record in picking winners.
What if there was a better way to spot entrepreneurs who are more likely to succeed? Konrad Stahl of University of Mannheim is one of a team of researchers who have found one indicator of success that dominates all the others. He tells Tim Phillips what it is, and why it matters.
New Zealand