Can ‘nudges’ improve your New Year’s resolutions? Today we’re looking back at one of our most popular episodes. Host Tess Vigeland sat down with Nobel laureate Richard Thaler in 2021 to discuss new material from his book, Nudge: The Final Edition – including home mortgages, retirement savings, credit card debt, climate change, organ donation, COVID-19, healthcare, and even “sludge ..read more

How will China’s economy respond after the lifting of ‘Zero Covid’ policy? UChicago economist Chang-Tai Hsieh joins The Pie to discuss the surprising party response to political protests, emerging dynamics affecting the Chinese economy today, and what the future may hold ..read more

Ten months into a devastating war, the Russian and Ukrainian economies are struggling yet resilient. Russian-born economist Konstantin Sonin joins The Pie to provide an update on the economic impacts of the ongoing conflict, including the massive long-term toll not yet captured in available data ..read more

The Federal Reserve’s latest 75 basis point rate hike brought interest rates up again on everything from mortgages to car loans and credit cards. Will it be enough to halt inflation? How is the Fed thinking about the US economy, unemployment, and its global impact? University of Chicago economist Anil Kashyap joins to discuss the campaign to bring inflation down and mounting pressure on the central bank ..read more

In this episode, we’re talking about guns. Chicago Booth economist Brad Shapiro has quantified—for the first time—American consumer demand for guns, and how that demand shifts in response to different regulations, including bans and taxes. He was surprised by some of the findings, which offer new and important insights for ongoing gun policy debates ..read more

The remote work revolution is now more than two years old, and it’s a worldwide phenomenon, at least in wealthier countries. Economist Steve Davis has been studying the staying power of work from home around the globe, and finds that not only is it here to stay, but it’s prompting larger societal questions about everything from worker power to the viability of urban city centers ..read more

Last season, we were at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, effecting every aspect of our lives and the economy. So this season, we're back looking at the aftermath of the global pandemic and beyond — talking with economists from the University of Chicago about their cutting-edge research on the issues of today. Join us every other week for season two of The Pie, beginning Tuesday, October 4.  ..read more

Economists and policymakers alike rely on the “value of a statistical life” to make important trade-offs. What are the merits of such a calculation? Can it be improved? Economists Michael Greenstone and Kyle Greenberg join to discuss groundbreaking research examining army reenlistment choices to show how US soldiers, in effect, price the risk of certain career options ..read more

More than a dozen states have announced large lotteries to incentivize vaccinations. On this episode, Steve Levitt and Jeff Severts examine the economics and likely outcomes of the policy strategy. Is this a lottery where everyone wins big? When it comes to cash prizes, does magnitude matter ..read more

With the rise in federal spending over the last several years, there are questions on how the US will pay those bills. Chicago Booth economists Austan Goolsbee and Eric Zwick demystify which rate changes actually impact revenue and expose how economists think about infrastructure spending. Delving into the details on capital gains taxes, they discuss strategies to close loopholes and, ultimately, increase total revenues ..read more