Economics, Applied

Steven Davis speaks to Evan Starr, a leading expert on the economics of noncompete clauses. They discuss the prevalence of noncompete clauses in employment agreements; the pros and cons for employers, workers, and society; where to draw the line in disallowing noncompete clauses; the role of antitrust in policing noncompete clauses; their effects on the pace of innovation; and whether the United States should adopt a national policy on noncompete clauses. ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

When job loss leads to a long spell of unemployment, it causes a big blow to self-esteem, a lasting drop in living standards, and serious hardship for the job loser’s family. Is there a low-cost way to help job losers navigate the search process and find rewarding new work? Yes, say two economists at Cornell University, based on their insightful new study. Steve discusses the study and underlying thinking with the authors. ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

How does war affect national output, productivity, and consumer prices in belligerent countries and economies worldwide? Two economists, Jonathan Federle and Moritz Schularick, investigate how war and its intensity relate to national output, productivity, consumer prices, and international trade. They exploit 150 years of data for 60 countries. Steven Davis chats with them about what they learned. ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Mortality rates fell sharply for college-educated Americans in recent decades but not for other Americans. Mortality trends also differ sharply between rural and urban areas of the United States and across US counties. Steven Davis asks Jonathan Skinner about these puzzling and troubling trends, and how to explain them. According to Jonathan’s recent research, “Deaths of despair,” “the China shock," obesity, and income inequality don’t explain the trends. Instead, the explanation turns on differences in smoking trends and the consequences for mortality.  ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Tariffs: How high? Who pays? And what’s their impact on trade deficits? Steven Davis speaks to Brent Neiman about President Trump’s approach to tariff policy and the latest data on trade deficits. While tariffs are up in 2025, Brent’s research reveals that actual tariff rates are only half as high as headlines suggest. Steve and Brent also discuss who pays Trump’s tariffs, how we know, the damage caused by uncertainty around tariffs, and the value of commitment in the conduct of trade policy. ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

US military forces captured Nicolás Maduro last month, but the Chavista regime remains intact, at least for now. How can Venezuela find its way back to the rule of law, human rights, democracy, and prosperity? What role should the United States play? Steven Davis asks renowned economist Ricardo Hausmann. ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

The United States has looked to Asia for software developers, scientists, engineers, and physicians in recent decades. How has that worked out for Americans? For other countries?  Immigrants from five Asian countries — India, China, South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines — account for much of the growth in U.S. software developers, scientists, engineers, and physicians since 1990. What forces drove this migration of foreign talent? What are the economic effects in the United States? In the source countries? Steve talks about these matters with Gaurav Khanna, who has done extensive research on high-skilled immigration and its economic consequences.  ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

The U.S. occupational licensing system is riddled with problems and conflicts of interest. How can we fix it? Rebecca Allensworth joins Steven Davis to talk about her new book on occupational licensing, which covers one-fifth of all American jobs. Licensing reduces supply, limits competition, raises prices, and harms consumers, benefiting incumbent practitioners at the public's expense. The US approach to licensing is especially prone to conflicts of interest and poor performance. Professor Allensworth offers several proposals to fix the licensing system, and Davis offers his thoughts as well. ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Nicholas Bloom joins Steven Davis to discuss cool new research presented at the annual Hoover-SIEPR conference on remote work: How much do employers save on wages when they let employees work from home? Why does remote work raise productivity in some settings but lower it in others? Do children perform better at school when parents work from home? What does the rise of remote work mean for cities?  ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) member Jeffrey Schmid speaks with Steven Davis about inflation, labor market conditions, and US monetary policy. They discuss the state of the economy, the thinking behind recent monetary policy decisions, the public’s intense dislike of inflation, central bank credibility, how the recent government shutdown challenged policymakers, and the need to rethink economic statistics. ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Steven Davis speaks to Catherine Pakaluk, author of an audacious book on highly educated American women who choose to have many children. How do these women explain and understand their choices to have large families? What do their stories say about the broader forces that influence fertility decisions? What are the lessons for families and communities?  ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Richmond Fed President, Tom Barkin, joins Steven Davis to consider what it takes for small towns to prosper, and why it matters for families and communities. They also discuss how policymakers and civic leaders can address concerns about the downsides of economic development. ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Austan Goolsbee joins Steven Davis to consider “The Strange and Awful Path of Productivity in the U.S. Construction Sector.” Strange because construction productivity has stagnated for decades. Awful because it makes homes less affordable for American families. They probe the issue, drawing on Austan’s recent research with Chicago Booth Professor Chad Syverson. ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Claudia Goldin joins Steven Davis to discuss the “The Downside of Fertility,” her essay presented at the 2025 Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium. She offers an explanation for why fertility rates fell around the world as women gained greater agency in multiple domains (marriage, reproduction, education, labor markets). When women gain agency, Goldin argues that a “mismatch” between men and women in their expectations about child-rearing responsibilities leads to lower fertility. She also argues that this form of mismatch is more acute in the wake of sustained, rapid economic development, as women pursue newfound opportunities while many men cling to traditional views about marriage and child rearing. RELATED SOURCES “The Downside of Fertility” by Claudia Goldin, 2025. Claudia Goldin, Official Nobel Prize Interview, 2023. The Population Bomb by Paul Ehrlich, 1968 The Vorkosigan Saga, a series of science fiction novels by Lois McMaster Bujold in which artificial wombs profoundly influence human reproduction and the nature of society. RELATED EPISODES “Two Parents or One? What It Means for Children and Society” with Melissa Kearny on Economics, Applied, 8 May 2024. “Engaged Fathers, Flourishing Children” with Brad Wilcox and Ian Rowe, 20 August 2025. ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Mary Daly joins Steven Davis to discuss how the Fed communicates with the public about monetary policy. How precise should the Fed be about its actions and goals? How transparent about its reasoning and internal deliberations? How should the Fed weigh the need for flexibility in responding to unforeseen shocks against the desire for clarity and guidance? How can the Fed improve its communications? Mary and Steve also discuss the market’s reaction to Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Monetary Policy Symposium. RELATED SOURCES “Dynamic Central Bank Communication,” a speech by Mary Daly at the Western Economic Association International Annual Conference, San Francisco, 22 June 2025. “Monetary Policy and the Fed’s Framework Review,” a speech by Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Monetary Policy Forum, 22 August 2025. ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Engaged fathers help children build happy, prosperous lives, as Steven Davis discusses with sociologist Brad Wilcox and educational entrepreneur Ian Rowe. Brad and Ian also share their ideas on how to strengthen fatherhood and help children choose better life paths. RELATED SOURCES Good Fathers, Flourishing Kids: The Importance of Fatherhood in Virginia by Brad Wilcox, Nicholas Zill, Richard Reeves, Ian Rowe, Gerard Robinson and Linda Malone-Colon, 2025. Get Married: Why Americans Should Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families and Save Civilization by Brad Wilcox, 2024. Agency: The Four Point Plan (F.R.E.E.) for ALL Children to Overcome the Victimhood Narrative and Discover Their Pathway to Power by Ian Rowe, 2022. The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind by Melissa Kearney, 2023. “Where Is the Land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States,” Raj Chetty, Nathaniel Hendren, Patrick Kline and Emmanuel Saez, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2014. “Why Marriage Survives: The Institution Has Adapted and Is Showing New Signs of Resilience,” Brad Wilcox, The Atlantic, 29 July 2025. Natonal Marriage Project, University of Virginia Vertex Partnership Academies ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

The international economic system has reached a major turning point. Challenges include the rise of China, U.S. ambivalence about its role on the global stage, and Trumpian trade policy disruptions. What comes next, and what are the potential consequences? RELATED SOURCES “The International Monetary and Financial System: A Fork in the Road,” Andrew Crockett Memorial Lecture delivered by Maurice Obstfeld in Basel, Switzerland, 29 June 2025. “Maurice Obstfeld on the Trade War’s Damage to the Monetary System,” Central Banking, 22 May 2025.  ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Since the end of World War II, the United States has played the leading role in designing, supporting, and governing the international economic system. How did the system operate, and what were its underlying principles, goals, and challenges? Steven Davis speaks to Maurice Obstfeld about the international economic system that emerged after World War II, the central role of the United States, and how the positive-sum nature of the system fostered prosperity. They consider how the system functioned in the Bretton Woods era, the Nixon Shock of 1971, high inflation in the 1970s, transition to sound monetary policy in the 1980s, and how the U.S. Dollar became even more central to the system in the 1990s. RELATED SOURCES “The International Monetary and Financial System: A Fork in the Road,” Andrew Crockett Memorial Lecture delivered by Maurice Obstfeld in Basel, Switzerland, 29 June 2025. ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Steven Davis speaks with Carolina Arteaga and Victoria Barone, two Econ professors, about the US opioid epidemic. They discuss Purdue Pharma’s marketing strategy, its influence on physicians, and policy factors as drivers of the epidemic. Next, they consider economic consequences, the odd character of how the media covered the epidemic, the (slow) response of most politicians to a mounting tragedy, and how – over time – the opioid epidemic and its fallout drove a major political realignment in the United States.  RELATED SOURCES The Great Trade Hack: How Trump’s Trade War Fails and the World Moves On by Richard Baldwin, 2025 The Globotics Upheaval: Globalization, Robotics, and the Future of Work by Richard Baldwin, 2019 “Destructive Trade Policy” by Steven Davis, April 2025 Trends in the Distribution of Household Income from 1979 to 2021, U.S. Congressional Budget Office, September 2024 "Dollar Dominance: A Conversation with Ken Rogoff", Economics Applied podcast, 11 June 2025  VoxEU columns At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House by H.R. McMaster, 2024 ABOUT ECONOMICS, APPLIED Economics, Applied brings together top leaders and researchers to break down key economic developments, offering evidence-based insights and practical lessons for navigating today’s economy. Economic change is constant. Subscribe to keep up: hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. 

Richard Baldwin joins the podcast to speak with Steve about Trumpian Trade Policy, its underlying political logic, its lack of economic coherence, and its consequences for the American and global economies. They also discuss economic and political forces that led to the current protectionist moment in US trade policy, and whether it will endure. Finally, they outline four scenarios for the future international trading system and what it means for US economic fortunes and geopolitical influence. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Richard Baldwin is Professor of International Economics at IMD Business School and Editor-in-Chief of VoxEU, an innovative online platform that publishes short, accessible articles grounded in recent research in economics and political economy. Previously, he held faculty appointments at the Geneva Graduate Institute and Columbia Business School. He also served as Senior Staff Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers under President George H.W. Bush.  Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED SOURCES The Great Trade Hack: How Trump’s Trade War Fails and the World Moves On by Richard Baldwin, 2025 The Globotics Upheaval: Globalization, Robotics, and the Future of Work by Richard Baldwin, 2019 “Destructive Trade Policy” by Steven Davis, April 2025 Trends in the Distribution of Household Income from 1979 to 2021, U.S. Congressional Budget Office, September 2024 "Dollar Dominance: A Conversation with Ken Rogoff", Economics Applied podcast, 11 June 2025  VoxEU columns At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House by H.R. McMaster, 2024

Steven Davis speaks with Kenneth Rogoff about the dominant role of the US Dollar in the international monetary and financial system, drawing on Ken’s new book, Our Dollar, Your Problem. They review how the Dollar became pre-eminent, the benefits and costs, the relationship to U.S. monetary policy, and the forces that could undermine Dollar Dominance. These include geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China, the U.S. fiscal outlook, and threats to central bank independence.   Recorded on June 2, 2025. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Kenneth Rogoff is a Professor of International Economics at Harvard, former Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund, chess grandmaster, and author of many influential works, including his highly celebrated book with Carmen Reinhart, This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED SOURCES Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider’s View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance, and the Road Ahead by Kenneth Rogoff, 2025 This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, 2009 Foundations of International Macroeconomics by Maurice Obstfeld and Kenneth Rogoff, 1996

Steven Davis chats again with Jens Ludwig about his new book on gun deaths in America. The conversation focuses on low-cost policy solutions that can reduce gun deaths without remaking American society. The solutions include pocket parks, predictive policing, and programs that help people think about behavior in stressful situations. Recorded on April 23, 2025. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Jens Ludwig is the Edwin A. and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. He is also the Pritzker Director of the University’s Crime Lab and codirector of the NBER’s working group on the economics of crime. His latest book, just out from the University of Chicago Press, is titled Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence. Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED SOURCES Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence by Jens Ludwig, 2025. Jens Ludwig, personal website Crime Lab, University of Chicago Economics of Crime, NBER working group

Steve Davis speaks to Jens Ludwig about his deeply-researched new book on gun deaths in America. They discuss why America has so many gun deaths, how traditional narratives fail to explain most gun violence, and why past policies failed to reduce the deadly toll. Ludwig also advances a fuller explanation for gun violence, grounded in evidence and behavioral insights. Recorded on April 23, 2025. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Jens Ludwig is the Edwin A. and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. He is also the Pritzker Director of the University’s Crime Lab and codirector of the NBER’s working group on the economics of crime. His latest book, just out from the University of Chicago Press, is titled Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence. Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED SOURCES: Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence by Jens Ludwig, 2025 Jens Ludwig, personal website Crime Lab, University of Chicago Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs Economics of Crime, NBER working group “Does Nothing Stop a Bullet Like a Job? The Effects of Income on Crime,” Annual Review of Criminology, 2025

Steve queries Chad Bown and Doug Irwin about the rupture in U.S. trade policy under Trump 2.0, the economic consequences, and what it would take to restore confidence in the United States as a reliable trade partner. Recorded on April 16, 2025. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Chad Bown is a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, former Chief Economist for the U.S. State Department and the host of  Trade Talks, a podcast about international trade and trade policy. Douglas Irwin is Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute, and author of several books on trade and trade policy, including Clashing over Commerce: A History of U.S. Trade Policy and Free Trade Under Fire. Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED SOURCES: Trade Talks, a podcast with Chad P. Bown Clashing over Commerce: A History of U.S. Trade Policy by Douglas A. Irwin, 2017. Free Trade Under Fire, by Douglas A. Irwin 2020. Trump’s Trade War Timeline 2.0: An Up-to-Date Guide by Chad P. Bown. The Incoherent Case for Tariffs. Trump’s Fixation on Economic Coercion Will Subvert His Economic Goals by Chad P. Bown and Douglas A. Irwin, Foreign Affairs, 11 March 2025. Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty by Scott R. Baker, Nick Bloom, and Steven J. Davis, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2016. FOLLOW OUR GUEST ON THEIR PLATFORMS: Chad Bown's website Chad Bown on X: @ChadBown Douglas Irwin’s website  Douglas Irwin on X: @D_A_Irwin

In the 1920s, the US government sharply restricted immigration inflows from countries in Eastern and Southern Europe. At the time, most immigrants from these countries had modest skills. Steve speaks to Stanford economist Ran Abramitzky about these immigration cutbacks, their effects on the earnings of US-born workers, and how the economy adapted. Recorded on April 2, 2025. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Ran Abramitzky is the Stanford Federal Credit Union Professor of Economics, Senior Associate Dean of the Social Sciences at Stanford University, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. His studies economic history, with a focus on immigration and income inequality.  His recent book with Leah Boustan, Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success (PublicAffairs 2022), was listed on The New Yorker's Best Books of 2022, Forbes' Best Business Books of 2022, and Behavioral Scientist's Notable Books of 2022. Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty.

Steve speaks to Feng Chi about her research on the commercial value of the Decennial Census of Population and Housing. Using a creative empirical approach, Feng offers evidence that fresher government statistics yield better business outcomes and more value for consumers. Steve and Feng also discuss how government statistics improve the value of statistics generated in the private sector.  Recorded on March 19, 2025. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Feng Chi, a PhD candidate at Cornell University, will join the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as an Assistant Professor of Economics in Fall 2025. She holds a Master of Science degree in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University and a B.A. in Finance from Renmin University. Her research interests are in information economics, fintech, and entrepreneurship. Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty.

In the 1930s, as part of the New Deal, the U.S. government hired unemployed writers to interview older Americans and record their life stories. Today’s guest examines those stories to investigate the sources of meaning, happiness, and hardship in the lives of everyday Americans. One theme to emerge is the central role of work as a source of meaning for many people. Another key theme is that men and women differ in how they find meaning in their lives and in the sources of hardship. Join Steve as he speaks with Brown University Professor Stelios Michalopoulos. Recorded on February 27, 2025. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Stelios Michalopoulos is the Eastman Professor of Political Economy in the Department of Economics at Brown University. An imaginative scholar, he works at the intersection of political economy and culture. He has conducted research on folklore, movies, the origins of ethnic diversity, the effects of colonial and pre-colonial institutions on economic development in Africa, and much more. He serves on the editorial boards of the World Bank Economic Review, Journal of Economic Growth, Journal of Comparative Economics, and Journal of the European Economic Association. Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty.

Steve speaks to Harvard professor David Deming about his recent research on the use of GenAI tools in the workplace and what it means for productivity. David’s evidence suggests that GenAI tools have already boosted U.S. labor productivity, with more gains to come. They also highlight the role of unfettered market-based experimentation in sorting out where GenAI tools work well, and where they don’t. In closing, David explains why he titles his substack newsletter Forked Lightning. Recorded on February 19, 2025. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: David Deming is the Isabelle and Scott Black Professor of Political Economy at the Harvard Kennedy School and Faculty Dean of Kirkland House at Harvard College. He has authored noteworthy and award-winning research on the long-run impacts of schooling, soft skills, social mobility, and many other topics. In 2018, he received the David N. Kershaw Prize for distinguished contributions to the field of public policy and management. In 2022, he received the Sherwin Rosen Prize for outstanding contributions to labor economics. In addition to his scholarly research and his substack newsletter, he writes for the New York Times and The Atlantic. Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED RESOURCES: Forked Lightning, David Deming’s substack newsletter David Deming’s articles in The Atlantic and the New York Times The ABC’s of Who Benefits from Working with AI: Ability, Beliefs, and Calibration The rapid adoption of generative ai “The Growing Importance of Social Skills in the Labor Market” Hybrid corn: An exploration in economics of technological change Do not go gentle into that good night, poem by Dylan Thomas Organizational Technology Ladders: Remote Work and Generative AI Adoption” by Gregor Schubert FOLLOW OUR GUEST ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow David Deming on X: @ProfDavidDeming

Many parents – indeed, many Americans – worry that immigrant children in the classroom could detract from the quality of schooling received by U.S.-born children. It’s a reasonable concern. Today’s episode considers new evidence on how more vs. less exposure to immigrant students affects the educational performance of U.S.-born children, drawing on rich data for students at public schools in Florida.   Recorded on January 22, 2025.  ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: David Figlio is the Gordon Fyfe Professor of Economics and Education at the University of Rochester and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. He studies school accountability, the link between health and education, social welfare policies, and the academic profession. He collaborates frequently with state and local health and education agencies, and recently led a National Science Foundation-sponsored network to facilitate the use of matched administrative datasets to inform and evaluate education policy. He was elected to the National Academy of Education in 2017. Paola Sapienza is the J-P Conte Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, where she co-directs the J-P Conte Initiative on Immigration. She is a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a research affiliate of the Center for Economic Policy Research, and a fellow of the European Corporate Governance Institute. Her main research focuses on the impact of cultural norms on economic decisions and outcomes. She applies these concepts to financial development, political economy, and education. Her work in education investigates how vertical and horizontal cultural transmission of preferences may affect educational outcomes. Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED RESOURCES: Diversity in schools: Immigrants and the educational performance of US-born students, Review of economic Studies, 2024. Family disadvantage and the gender gap in behavioral and educational outcomes, American Economc Journal: Applied Economics, 2019. Long-term orientation and educational performance, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2019. J-P Conte Initiative on Immigration  

Many Chinese nationals migrated to the western United States after 1840 to work in mining, railway construction, manufacturing, and personal services. By 1880, they made up 18 percent of the workforce in the western United States. That led to strong social and political backlash among whites, rooted partly in concerns about jobs and wages. Congress responded with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned the immigration of Chinese and shut the door to naturalization for Chinese already living in the U.S. The conversation in today’s episode focuses on two questions: First, how did the Chinese Exclusion Act affect economic development in the Western United States? Second, how did it affect white workers? Recorded on January 9, 2024. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Nancy Qian is an empirical economist who studies economic development, political economy and economic history, with attention to the interplay between economics, geogrpahy, demographics, politics and culture. She co-directs the Global Poverty Research Lab at Northwestern University and founded the independent China Econ Lab. Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED RESOURCES: The Long-run Impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act, working paper, September 2024. Immigrants and the Making of America, Review of Economic Studies, 2020. FOLLOW OUR GUEST ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Nancy Qian on: Project Syndicate Nancy Qian's website: nancyqian.org

Oleg Itskhoki and Elina Ribakova join host Steven Davis to discuss two big questions about economic statecraft: How have economic and financial sanctions on Russia affected its economy and its war-fighting capabilities? More broadly, when are sanctions likely to be effective, ineffective, or downright counterproductive? ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Oleg Itskhoki is a professor of economics at Harvard, a research associate of the NBER, CPER research affiliate, and an associate editor of the American Economic Review. He previously held faculty positions at UCLA and Princeton. Among his other honors, he is a fellow of the Econometric Society and a recipient of the 2022 John Bates Clark Medal. Elina Ribakova is a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and director of the International Affairs Program and vice president for foreign policy at the Kyiv School of Economics. Her previous positions include managing director and head of Europe, Middle East and Africa Research at Deutsche Bank and director and chief economist for Russia and the Commonwealth for Independent States at Citigroup. Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED RESOURCES: The Economics of Sanctions: From Theory Into Practice, prepared for the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, September 2024 Western Companies Are Still Fueling Russia’s War Machine, Financial Times, 23 July 2024. Russian Economy on War Footing, Centre for Economic Policy Research, May 2024. Russia’s New Economy May End Up Prolonging its War, Peterson Institute, 24 July 2024. The Oil Price Cap and Embargo on Russia Are Working Imperfectly, and Defects Must Be Fixed, Peterson Institute, 13 July 2023. International Sanctions and Limits of Lerner Symmetry, AEA Papers & Proceedings, May 2023. The U.S. Technology Fueling Russia’s War in Ukraine: How and Why, Congressional Testimony, 24 February 2024. Sanctions and the Exchange Rate, 18 February 2023. FOLLOW OUR GUESTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Oleg Itskhoki on X: x.com/itskhoki?lang=en Elina Ribakova on X: x.com/elinaribakova Elina Ribakova on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/eribakova/

Hoover Senior Fellow Steven Davis and Stanford Economics Professor Nick Bloom review insights from the latest research on remote work, drawing on a recent conference at Stanford University. Steve and Nick discuss Return-to-Office mandates (RTOs) and their impact on company performance, and long-distance CEOs and why companies hire them. They also explore how remote work facilitated a boom in business start-ups, recent employment gains among people with disabilities, the high value of flexible working arrangements for parents, hard times for burglars, good times for golf, and more. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Nicholas (Nick) Bloom is the William Eberle Professor of Economics at Stanford University. His research focuses on working from home, management practices, and uncertainty. He previously worked at the Treasury of the United Kingdom, McKinsey & Company, and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).. He has a BA from Cambridge, an MPhil from Oxford, and a PhD from University College London. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a recipient of the Guggenheim and Sloan Fellowships, the Frisch Medal, and a National Science Foundation Career Award. In 2022, he was named among the “Bloomberg 50” people and ideas that defined global business for his insights on working from home. Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is an economic adviser to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED RESOURCES: Hoover Institution Conference on The Implications of Remote Work Conference Coverage  Two Beers, A Pandemic, and a Workplace Revolution The Evolution of Work from Home Hybrid Working from Home Improves Retention without Damaging Performance WFHresearch.com Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes WFH Map Project FOLLOW OUR SPEAKER ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Nick Bloom on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nick-bloom-86b79510b/ Nick Bloom on X: x.com/I_Am_NickBloom

Host Steven Davis engages Wendy Edelberg and Madeline Zavodny to discuss the recent wave of U.S. immigration and some of its implications. They discuss the surge in immigration since 2021, the extent to which it reflects unlawful entry, its impact on employment growth, its fiscal consequences, and the failure of U.S. statistical authorities to accurately measure the scale of the surge in real time. They also provide historical context by comparing recent immigration waves from Latin America to past influxes from Europe and Asia. Lastly, the guests discuss potential policy changes to raise the economic benefits of immigration and address fiscal impacts on local governments. For more episodes about immigration:  The Political Reaction to Immigration Immigrants and Innovation in the United States ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Wendy Edelberg is a senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, where she directs the Hamilton Project. Previously, she served as Principal Chief Economist at the Congressional Budget Office and executive director of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. She worked for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers during two administrations. She co-chairs the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Climate and Macroeconomics Roundtable and is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance. She earned her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago. Madeline Zavodny is the Donna L. Gibbs and First Coast Systems Professor of Economics at UNF. She is also a Research Fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Fellow at the Global Labor Organization, and Adjunct Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Her research focuses on economic issues related to immigration, including Beside the Golden Door: U.S. Immigration Reform in a New Era of Globalization (AEI Press, 2010) and The Economics of Immigration (Routledge, 2015; 2nd ed. 2021). Before joining UNF she was a professor of economics at Agnes Scott College and Occidental College and an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. She earned her Ph.D. in Economics from MIT. Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is an elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists and a consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. RELATED RESOURCES: New Immigration Estimates Help Make Sense of the Pace of Employment  Waiting to work: employment among dependent spouses of H-1B visa holders in the U.S.  Immigrants and Their Effects on Labor Market Outcomes of Natives Unprecedented U.S. Immigration Surge Boosts Job Growth, Output Public Education for Immigrant Students: Understanding Plyer v. Doe The Economics of Immigration FOLLOW OUR SPEAKERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Wendy Edelberg: x.com/WendyEdelberg Madeline Zavodny: x.com/madelinezavodny

Host Steven Davis sits down with guest Glenn Hubbard, former dean of Columbia Business School and chairman of the US Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush. They critique industrial policy as practiced under Presidents Trump and Biden and contrast that practice to the insights of Adam Smith, Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek. They also sketch some elements of an economically sound industrial policy. Lastly, they turn to Hubbard’s vision of how to harness "Markets for the People” to advance prosperity for all Americans, while respecting individual liberties. Tune in for a thought-provoking take on the past, present and future of economic policy in the United States.

Immigrants directly account for one-quarter of the economic value generated by U.S. patents. They account for more than one-third of that value after factoring in the collaboration benefits that immigrant inventors bring to native American inventors. Immigrant inventors also play a major role in the two-way flow of scientific and technical knowledge between the United States and other countries. Choking off the flow of immigrant inventors would hamstring the American innovation enterprise and slow the development and diffusion of scientific knowledge. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Rebecca Diamond is The Class of 1988 Professor of Economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business where she teaches Data and Decisions. Her current research studies the causes and consequence of diverging economic growth across U.S. cities and its effects on inequality. She is an applied micro economist and founder and director of the Cities, Housing, and Society Lab. Rebecca was a postdoctoral fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research from 2013 to 2014. She received her PhD in economics from Harvard University in 2013 and her BS in physics and economics and mathematics from Yale University in 2007.  Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is ann economic adviser to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business., serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED RESOURCES: The Contribution of High-Skilled Immigrants to Innovation in the United States Rebecca Diamond Website

Steven Davis interviews Professor Jorge Guzman about the effects of coffee shops on business startups. Starbucks and other sit-down coffee shops offer social spaces where people can converse, exchange ideas, and build trust. In his recent research, Guzman investigates whether and when this networking aspect of coffee shops leads to more business formation in the local neighborhood. Tune in for an assessment of his evidence and discussion of its implications for urban planning and how to strengthen local communities. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Dr. Jorge Guzman is an associate professor in the Management Division at Columbia University Business School. He received his PhD from the Sloan School of Management at MIT, and was previously a postdoc at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and a lecturer at MIT Sloan.  His research focuses on entrepreneurship policy, regional entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial strategy.  He was previously involved in the Boston startup ecosystem. He’s also served as an advisor to numerous startups and to government agencies on how to foster entrepreneurship. Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is ann economic adviser to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business., serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED RESOURCES: Third Places and Neighborhood Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Starbucks Cafés Jorge Guzman Website  

Sandra Sequeira joins host Steven Davis for a discussion of zero-sum thinking, the idea that one group’s gain is another group’s loss. They draw on Sandra’s research to delve into several questions: How prevalent is zero-sum thinking? What are its roots? How does it shape policy preferences? How does zero-sum thinking relate to the partisan divide?

Steven Davis speaks to Jens Ludwig about his recent work on "Predicting Police Misconduct.” They delve into whether we can predict which police officers are most at risk of serious misconduct. The potential benefits of accurate prediction are large, but it also challenging to develop and implement robust prediction models. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Jens Ludwig is the Edwin A. and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, Pritzker Director of the University of Chicago’s Crime Lab, codirector of the Education Lab, and codirector of the National Bureau of Economic Research’s working group on the economics of crime. His research is published in top scientific journals across various disciplines, including the American Economic Review and New England Journal of Medicine. Jens co-founded the Crime Lab and the Education Lab, which help government agencies use insights from behavioral science and data science to address real-world problems. Examples include working with the Chicago Police Department to implement data-driven management changes to reduce gun violence, and partnership with the Mayor’s Office in New York City to help build and implement a new pretrial risk tool as part of the city’s goal to close Riker’s Island. Ludwig holds a BA in economics from Rutgers and an MA and PhD from Duke University. He was a public policy professor at Georgetown University and is on the editorial board of the American Economic Review. In 2012, he was elected vice president of APPAM and received the David N. Kershaw Prize in 2006. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science in 2012. Steven J. Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He is a research associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research, consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, advisor to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, past editor of the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, and an elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the US Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Previously, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED RESOURCES: The Jason Van Dyke Case Predicting Police Misconduct Jens Ludwig profile  

Host Steven Davis is joined by Marco Tabellini from Harvard Business School to explore the political reactions to immigration. They discuss whether economic or cultural concerns drive backlash, and how these reactions influence policy outcomes. The conversation delves into historical and contemporary issues, providing insights into the complex economic, social, and political effects of immigration. The episode closes with a tribute to the late Alberto Alesina, highlighting his contributions to the field of political economy and his lasting influence on students and colleagues. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Marco Tabellini is assistant professor in the Business, Government, and the International Economy unit at the Harvard Business School, and is affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), the Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM), and at the IZA Institute for Labor Economics. Professor Tabellini studies the political and economic effects of immigration. His research seeks to understand what factors facilitate or hinder immigrant assimilation and how ethnic groups interact and affect society. Some of his research considers the early twentieth century US experience, characterized by the massive inflow of Europeans and the first major migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North. He has studied the effects of the second great migration of African Americans between 1940 and 1970, investigating how this episode contributed to the development of the Civil Rights movement. Professor Tabellini earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018, and spent the academic year 2018-2019 as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Business School before joining the faculty. He also holds a B.S. and M.S. in Economics and Social Sciences from Bocconi University. Steven J. Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He is a research associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research, consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, advisor to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, past editor of the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, and an elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the US Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Previously, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. ABOUT THE SERIES: Each episode of the video podcast series Economics, Applied features senior fellow Steven Davis in conversation with leaders and researchers about economic developments and their ramifications. The goal is to bring evidence and economic reasoning to the table, drawing lessons for individuals, organizations, and society. The podcast also aims to showcase the value of individual initiative, markets, the rule of law, and sound policy in fostering prosperity and security. For more information, visit https://www.hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied. RELATED RESOURCES: • The Political Effects of Immigration: Culture or Economics: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jel.20221643 • Immigration in American History: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jel.20151189 • The Long-term Effects of Immigration on Attitudes and Political Preferences: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w28448/w28448.pdf The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University. © 2024 by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University.

Central banks responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with large-scale purchases of bonds, commercial paper, and other financial assets. In some cases, central banks announced “open-ended” programs, with no explicit limits on the scale or duration of asset purchases. Did these open-ended interventions have larger effects on interest rates? On exchange rates? Is this type of purposeful policy vagueness useful in the conduct of monetary policy? If so, why? And when? Join Steven Davis and guest Kathryn Dominguez as they discuss these issues and consider the wisdom of “open-endedness” in central bank policy pronouncements.

It’s easier for two parents to provide the time, attention, love, and financial resources that help children thrive and lead successful lives than it is for a single parent. Yet the share of American children who live with two parents has plummeted in recent decades. The decline is especially steep outside of the college-educated class. Why are so many parents now raising children outside of marriage? What are the consequences for children and society? How do the benefits of two parents play out across racial and ethnic groups? Do the effects differ between boys and girls? What, if anything, can we do so that more children reap the benefits of two-parent households? Tune in, as Melissa Kearney joins Steven Davis to discuss The Two-Parent Privilege, her highly insightful book on these issues. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Melissa Kearny is a chaired professor of economics at the University of Maryland, research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group, non-resident Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution, and a highly accomplished researcher. She holds a BA in Economics from Princeton University and a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Among many other roles, she serves on the editorial boards of the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy and the Journal of Economic Literature, and she is on the board of the Notre Dame Wilson-Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities and a scholar affiliate with the MIT Abdul Jameel Poverty Action Lab. Steven J. Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He is a research associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research, consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, advisor to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, past editor of the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, and an elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the US Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Previously, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED RESOURCES: The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind Social Poverty: Low-Income Parents and the Struggle for Family and Community Ties The Trouble with Boys: Social Influences and the Gender Gap in Disruptive Behavior Male Earnings, Marriageable Men, and Non-Marital Fertility: Evidence from the Fracking Boom Collateralized  Marriage Melissa Kerny personal website

Wednesday, April 24, 2024  “Russia is the home of not one, but two lost empires: The Russian Empire and the Soviet Union.” So writes our guest, Sergei Guriev, in a sweeping survey of recent research on Russian Economic History. Join Sergei and our host, Steven Davis, for a spirited conversation on Russian economic developments in the 19th and 20th centuries, the failures of central planning, and the ongoing reverberations.

Host Steven Davis and guest Elias Papaioannou discuss the resurgence of populism in Europe and the United States over the past fifteen years. They define populism, identify its economic drivers, and consider how democratic institutions moderate and respond to populist pressures. They also consider the implications for economic performance. They wrap up their conversation with some remarks on the outlook for populism and its impact on policies and democratic institutions in the years ahead. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Elias Papaioannou is a professor of economics at the London Business School and academic director of the LBS Wheeler Institute for Business and Development. He is also the joint managing editor at the Review of Economic Studies, a top scholarly journal in economics. His research tackles big issues in political economy and economic development – including the rise of populism, the role of colonialism in Africa, ethnic differences in economic outcomes, and the relationship between democratization and growth. Steven J. Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He is a research associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research, consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, advisor to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, past editor of the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, and an elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists. He cofounded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the US Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Previously, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED RESOURCES: · Elias’s website · “The Political Economy of Populism” by Sergei Guriev and Elias Papaioannou, Journal of Economic Literature, 2022. · “The Enduring Populist Threat” by Sergei Guriev and Elias Papaioannou, Project Syndicate Long Read, March 19, 2021. · “The European Trust Crisis and the Rise of Populism” by Algan Yann, Sergei Guriev, Elias Papaioannou and Evgenia Passari, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 2016. · “Populist Leaders and the Economy” by Manuel Funke, Moritz Schularick, and Christoph Trebesch, American Economic Review, 2023. (ungated version) “Macroeconomic Populism” by Rudiger Dornbusch and Sebastian Edwards, Journal of Development Economics, 1990.  

Host Steven Davis and guest Ayşegül Şahin explore the extraordinary behavior of US labor markets since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. They explain how the global crisis spurred remote work, instigated the "great resignation," drove job vacancy rates to all-time highs, restrained overall wage growth, and altered the structure of wages. Steve and Ayşegül also discuss how the recession and recovery since March 2020 really was different than earlier cyclical episodes, making it harder for the Fed and other policymakers to assess the state of the labor market. They also remark on how the rise of remote work presents new challenges and options for employers and workers, including the opportunity to expand labor-force participation among women with young children and people with physical impairments. It’s an episode packed with insights for economists, journalists, policymakers, and anyone curious about the post-pandemic job market.

Steven Davis speaks with Emma Harrington about her recent study on the power of proximity in facilitating mentoring, employee feedback, and learning on the job. According to the study, software engineers give more written feedback to team members when working in the same building, as compared to working in nearby buildings or from home. Physical proximity has stronger effects on the feedback given and received by women, and it is especially important in facilitating feedback from senior to junior employees. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Emma Harrington is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Virginia and affiliate of JPAL-North America. She received her PhD in Economics from Harvard in 2021. She held a postdoc position in the Industrial Relations Section at Princeton University in 2021-2022 and was assistant professor at the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business in 2022-23. Her research focuses on labor market issues, personnel economics, and law and economics.    Steven J. Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is an economic adviser to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED RESOURCES: Emma's website  “The Power of Proximity to Coworkers: Training for Tomorrow or Productivity Today?” by Natalia Emanuel, Emma Harrington and Amanda Palais 

Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh joins Steven Davis to explain how the remote work revolution affects urban property values, municipal tax revenues, and the outlook for cities. Stijn and Steve also consider how policymakers can respond to the challenges facing cities. In this regard, they discuss the conversion of vacant commercial buildings to new housing units, the need for regulatory reforms that lower construction costs, subsidies to real estate development, and the importance of safe, low-crime urban environments. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh is the Earle W. Kazis and Benjamin Schore Professor of Real Estate and Professor of Finance at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh obtained his B.A. in Economics at Belgium’s Ghent University in 1998 and later earned three advanced degrees at Stanford University (M.Sc. in Financial Mathematics, M.A. in Economics, and Ph.D. in Economics). He is a former editor at The Review of Financial Studies and past president of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association. In 2015, Stijn received the Bérnácer Prize for research on how housing-market shocks affect the broader economy and the prices of financial assets.  Steven J. Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is an economic adviser to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. RELATED RESOURCES: Stijn’s website  “The remote work revolution: Impact on real estate values and the urban environment: 2023 AREUEA Presidential Address”  “Converting brown offices to green apartments”

Suhani Jalota joins Steve to discuss her study of how digital jobs can draw women into paid work in countries like India. The jobs, performed on smartphones, produce data that help train and evaluate AI models. Several job design features help overcome practical barriers to work and sidestep social norms that inhibit work for pay by married women. Jalota tells Steve how this idea can work in practice, how outcomes for women in these jobs can be evaluated, the broader effects of drawing women into this type of work, and what is next on her research agenda. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Suhani Jalota is a PhD candidate in Health Economics at the Stanford School of Medicine, and a Knight Hennessy Scholar.  She holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Global Health from Duke University (2016).  She is also the founder and director of a women's health organization, the Myna Mahila Foundation, based in Mumbai, India.  She has been working in urban slum areas and rural communities researching and designing strategies on projects including the health of adolescent girls, as well as public policies concerning water, sanitation, and social protection.  Her economics honors thesis topic looks at how slum redevelopment has negatively affected child health outcomes, even as rapid urbanization calls for policies that keep people healthy and safe.  She wants to further explore national health systems, their design, as well as challenges and outcomes, especially from a developing country context. Steven J. Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is an economic adviser to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty.

Raj Choudhury joins Hoover Institution fellow Steven Davis to talk about work from home and other flexible working arrangements. They discuss Raj’s study of the transition to remote work by US patent examiners, including its effects on productivity and employee morale. Next, they consider which jobs and organizations are suited for remote work, which are not, and what it takes to successfully manage a remote

Hoover Institution fellow Steven Davis and Nick Bloom discuss the big shift to work from home, what it means for productivity, why perceptions in this regard often differ between managers and workers, and why – on balance – the big shift is a blessing. For more information on the Economics, Applied podcast series, visit https://www.hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied.

"Economics, Applied" is a new podcast series from the Hoover Institution hosted by senior Fellow Steven Davis. Each episode of "Economics, Applied" features Steven Davis in conversation with leaders and researchers about economic developments and their ramifications. The goal is to bring evidence and economic reasoning to the table, drawing lessons for individuals, organizations, and society. The podcast also aims to showcase the value of individual initiative, markets, the rule of law, and sound policy in fostering prosperity and security. To watch the 1st episode in this new series, visit https://youtu.be/9w1iaOLa7OE?si=wgPyTi44GwiJN8HZ. ABOUT THE HOST Steven J. Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is an economic adviser to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty. For more information, visit https://www.hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied.