The Great Moderation was characterised by a period of risk-pooling. Antonio Cabrales discusses his research on the socially optimal design of financial networks for tackling the trade-off between risk sharing and contagion. When firms face heterogeneous distributions of risks, they should optimally form linkages only with firms facing risks of the same kind.
Video Vox
Andara Kamara 06 June 2018
Policymakers use microsimulation models to gauge the impact of policies across the economy. Andara Kamara discusses the work of the IFS with the Ghanaian government, which uses such models to better understand the impact of a range of taxes on different demographic groups, particularly in the absence of historical data.
Maristella Botticini 31 May 2018
There is a common misconception that the reason Jewish people are prominent in certain high-skilled and specialised professions is because of historical restrictions on the jobs they were allowed to hold. Maristella Botticini shows why this assumption is wrong, and that the real reason lies in parents' education investment decisions dating back 2,000 years. This video was recorded at the 2018 annual RES conference.
Ross Warwick 29 May 2018
Similarly to advanced economies, developing countries often subsidise VAT rates on food and other basic goods and services. Ross Warwick discusses his research at the IFS, which suggests these subsidies may in fact disdvantage the poorest, because the subsidised goods and services are consumed disproportionately more by richer households.
Botond Köszegi 25 May 2018
Classical economics holds that regulation prevents individuals from making free decisions about purchases, by limiting their range of choices. Botond Kőszegi discusses his research that suggests this may not be the case. For complex purchase decisions involving contracts, regulation informs the way individuals search the marketplace, and enables them to search a greater range of products. This video was recorded at the 2018 RES Conference.
Dan Nuer 22 May 2018
For Ghana to move beyond aid to being self-sufficient on its own tax revenues, it must first gather huge amounts of data on the tax profiles of its citizens and businesses. Dan Nuer talks about the challenges the Ghanaian government faces in doing this, and how its work with the Institute for Fiscal Studies can help address them.
Filipa Sá 15 May 2018
There is growing concern among households and policymakers alike that house prices in England and Wales are being driven up by foreign buyers making investment purchases. Filipa Sá examines the link between foreign investment and house prices, using local authority data over a span of 15 years. This video was recorded at the 2018 RES annual conference.
Alison Booth 11 May 2018
Recent research has suggested that an element of the gender wage gap can be explained by differences between men and women in their competitiveness and risk-taking. Using evidence from post-Cultural Revolution Beijing and Taipei, Alison Booth discusses her work on the extent to which these differences can be explained by the culture in which people grow up. This video was recorded at the 2018 RES annual conference.
Natalie Chen 08 May 2018
Exchange rate movements pass through to the prices consumers pay domestically. Natalie Chen discusses how, in order to understand the relationship between exchange rates and domestic inflation, we must look beyond the bilateral exchange rates between importing and exporting countries. What is key is the exchange rate movement between the importing currency and the one in which goods are invoiced.
Giordano Mion 04 May 2018
Ten years on from the Global Crisis, productivity growth in the UK lags behind that in economies such as France and Germany. Giordano Mion shares his work on why this 'productivity puzzle' exists. The production capacity of manufacturers has not fallen much since 2008, but demand has faltered. This video was recorded at the 2018 RES Conference.