The U.S. government swung into action when the ranks of the pandemic unemployed swelled almost beyond recognition. Three years on, economists are continuing to study the effects of the largest increase in unemployment benefits in U.S. history.

The Hidden Economic Forces That Determine How Much You Earn

Aug 22nd, 2023 20m 49s

How much effect do government policies have on doctors’ wages? And when those wages are high, does it drive inequality in other jobs? And how does Taylor Swift factor in? Or Beyoncé? Joshua D. Gottlieb of the Harris School of Public Policy join

A Case for Public School Choice? Lessons from Los Angeles

Aug 8th, 2023 23m 9s

When the Los Angeles Unified School District combined some neighborhood high schools into Zones of Choice, schools had to compete for students. The result? Achievement gaps narrowed, and more kids reported that they liked school. Chris Campos o

A Case for Public School Choice? Lessons from Los Angeles

Aug 8th, 2023 23m 9s

Do You Even Crypto, Bro?

Jul 25th, 2023 23m 35s

The use of cryptocurrency is on the rise, but who exactly is on the bandwagon? Chicago Booth’s Michael Weber has examined the crypto market – who’s in it, why they believe in it, and what it might mean for the future. He joins The Pie to share

Social Distancing in 2023: The Economic Costs of Lingering COVID Fears

Jul 11th, 2023 19m 52s

Many, if not most, citizens of working age have gone back to their jobs in the three-plus years since the start of the pandemic – but not everybody has. Part of the reason is a lingering fear about workplace safety. Chicago Booth’s Steven Davis

Harvesting Green Investments: The Promise and Perils of ESG

Jun 27th, 2023 24m 31s

In the stock market, we all want to do well, but for some investors it’s also important to do good. In this episode, Chicago Booth’s Lubos Pastor joins to discuss his research on sustainable investing and what two recent studies tell us about t

How Debt Relief Raised Debts: The Untold Story of the Student Loan Moratorium

Jun 6th, 2023 23m 50s

Did borrowers and the American economy benefit from the federal government’s 2020 student debt moratorium? The picture is complicated according to new research from UChicago Economics’ Michael Dinerstein and Chicago Booth’s Constantine Yannelis

Quid Pro Vote: The Politics and Economics of Vote-Buying

May 30th, 2023 18m 56s

Vote-buying, or influencing voters’ decisions through favors or gifts, is pervasive in areas such as Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. UC Berkeley’s Frederico Finan, the TC Liu Distinguished Visitor at BFI, discusses his work studying

Can ChatGPT Describe Company Performance Better than… the Company?

May 16th, 2023 25m 36s

The number of ways we can use AI is exploding, and it’s expected to change how entire industries function. Chicago Booth economist Maximilian Muhn and PhD student Alex Kim studied whether ChatGPT can simplify information and improve outcomes fo

Misperceived Truths: Global Support for Women in the Workplace is More Than You Might Think

May 3rd, 2023 23m 48s

Around the world, people underestimate support for basic women's rights. In new research, UChicago Economics' Leonardo Bursztyn documents these misperceptions and shows how they restrict women's progress. Aligning people's perceived and actual

Inflation: The Good, The Bad, and the Baffling

Apr 18th, 2023 19m 31s

Nobody ever wants to pay more for anything, especially when prices rise drastically – but can inflationary episodes be good for the economy? Harris Policy’s Carolin Pflueger joins The Pie to discuss different types of inflation, how they affect

Sometimes Bigger IS Better: The Case for Bringing Rural Healthcare to Urban Hospitals

Apr 4th, 2023 27m 14s

When rural patients need care that local medical facilities can’t provide, what’s the best way to ensure they get the care they need? Economists Jonathan Dingel and Joshua Gottlieb, Co-Director of BFI’s Health Economics Initiative, explore how

Social Media Algorithms: How You’re Curating a Biased News Feed

Mar 21st, 2023 28m 56s

Social media behaviors, moving at an ever faster pace, may not reflect what users really want, according to new research from economists Sendhil Mullainathan (Chicago Booth) and Amanda Agan (Rutgers University). They join The Pie to discuss how

Evaluating US Healthcare 3 Years after Lockdown

Mar 7th, 2023 25m 6s

At the third anniversary of COVID-19 lockdowns, this episode takes a look at ongoing healthcare market failures and the pandemic’s role in making them plain. Katherine Baicker, healthcare economist and newly appointed Provost of the University

Scavenging for Answers: The Human Toll of Vulture Population Collapse

Feb 21st, 2023 27m 58s

What can vultures and economics tell us about the cost of losing a keystone species? New research from environmental economist Eyal Frank of the Harris School of Public Policy explores the social and economic cost in India, where a plummeting p

Law of Unintended Consequences: Welfare Reform and Crime

Feb 7th, 2023 24m 30s

Does welfare prevent crime — and offset its cost to taxpayers? UChicago economist Manasi Deshpande joins to discuss her novel research studying the criminal justice outcomes of youth removed from supplemental security income.

Economics of Discrimination: How to Measure Systemic Injustices

Jan 24th, 2023 21m 41s

How can discrimination by race, gender, or other factors be measured – especially when its causes may be systemic in nature? Chicago Booth’s Alex Imas studies behavioral science and economics, and is conducting research that is expanding the sc

What Drives Racial Differences in Speeding Tickets and Fines?

Jan 10th, 2023 25m 14s

New research finds minorities are 24-33% more likely to be stopped for speeding and will pay 23-34% more in fines, relative to a white driver traveling the exact same speed. UChicago economists John List and Justin Holz join The Pie to discuss

2023: An Economic Nudge for the New Year

Dec 27th, 2022 36m 22s

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 Editi

China Faltering? Why the End of Zero Covid Won’t Fix Its Economic Problems

Dec 13th, 2022 22m 35s

Podcast note: Please enjoy this episode from season two of The Pie, an economics podcast from the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics. Subscribe where you get your podcasts, or at thepie.uchicago.edu.How will China’s economy respond afte

Economic Warfare: Are Russian Sanctions Working?

Nov 30th, 2022 25m 7s

Fighting Inflation: Is the Fed’s Work Just Beginning?

Nov 15th, 2022 22m 30s

Tax vs Ban: The Unexpected Results on Gun Sales

Nov 1st, 2022 17m 15s

COVID and Schools: Elementary Lessons

Oct 27th, 2022 16m 24s

Podcast Note: Please enjoy this episode from season two of The Pie, an economics podcast from the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics. Subscribe where you get your podcasts, or at thepie.uchicago.edu.Did closing schools during the COVID-19