We bring together scholars across disciplines to discuss the causes and consequences of inequality and strategies to promote economic mobility. Listen and discover novel insights and strategies to address today’s most pressing issues in inequality.
In standard economics, people seek utility. But what if identity—who we think we are—shapes what we should want? Rachel Kranton joins Steven Durlauf and Ariel Kalil to explore how identity transforms how economists understand schools, gender, work, and choice.
Why don’t more qualified young people pursue college? Today’s episode explores this question with economists Salvador Navarro and Stephen Trejo, in conversations with host Steven Durlauf on the barriers to college and the persistent gaps facing Hispanic Americans.
Harvard Professor Deirdre Bloome joins host Steven Durlauf to discuss her work measuring the historical evolution of racial inequalities in the family and the economy, and their lasting impact on mobility.
Steven Durlauf talks with Dionissi Aliprantis about neighborhood effects, the racial wealth gap, and 21st-century segregation.
Scott Page, John Seely Brown Distinguished University Professor at Michigan, joins host Steven Durlauf to explore the rise of complex systems thinking in the social sciences and how diversity can strengthen systems.
Sociologist Daniel Aldana Cohen joins Geoff Wodtke to explore the overlap between the housing and climate crises, highlighting retrofitting, policy solutions, and the risks of "green gentrification.”
Economist Peter Boettke joins Steven Durlauf to explore a more hopeful side of economics—as a moral science focused on human flourishing. They discuss the Austrian school, classical liberalism, and the intellectual roots of this tradition.
Millions of American workers face uncertainty—unstable hours, sudden shift changes, and the constant threat of job loss. Host Geoff Wodtke speaks with Jake Rosenfeld on the decline of labor unions and Daniel Schneider on how precarious work affects households.
We explore the history of gender inequality with economist Martha Bailey on War on Poverty programs and sociologist Natasha Quadlin on education and the job market.
Lauren Rivera, author of Pedigree, reveals how hiring at elite firms often perpetuates privilege. In this conversation with Steven Durlauf, she critiques meritocracy’s failures for women, minorities, and people with disabilities.
