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.
Kim Bowes explores the economic lives of ordinary Romans, drawing on archaeological evidence to rethink consumption, credit, and work. She reflects on the challenges of interpreting ancient data and what it can or cannot reveal about inequality and everyday life.
For our 50th episode, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz reflects on six decades studying inequality. The Columbia economist, author, and former Clinton White House advisor discusses the ideas that shaped his career and how new technologies like AI may influence inequality.
Are today's immigrants different from those who arrived a century ago? Stanford's Ran Abramitzky and Yale's Leah Boustan challenge immigration myths, discussing upward mobility, cultural assimilation, naming patterns, and refugee success with host Steven Durlauf.
Ambitious schools aim to transform how inequality is tackled in education. Host Geoff Wodtke is joined by Sociology Professor Stephen Raudenbush to explore early childhood interventions, organizational change, and the cultural shifts needed to close achievement gaps.
Gender inequality in work and education remains persistent despite years of progress. Nicole Fortin joins host Steven Durlauf to discuss pay gaps, occupational segregation, and how deunionization and AI are reshaping labor markets and women’s economic opportunity.
What can household finance teach us about inequality? Understanding it means grappling with myriad variables. Damon Jones joins co-host Steven Durlauf to unpack income shocks, Black economists’ insights, universal basic income, and more.
Adam Smith is often remembered for championing free markets, but his moral philosophy on inequality and power is less known. Eric Schliesser joins Steven Durlauf to discuss this side of Smith and the decline of the economist as moral philosopher.
Even in high-tax states, most millionaires stay put. Cristobal Young joins Steven Durlauf and Geoff Wodtke to explain why the wealthy remain rooted, and what tax return and census data reveal about mobility, local ties, and the myth of tax flight.
Whatever a country's level of income inequality, its level of wealth inequality is even worse—and the two aren't always linked. Fabian Pfeffer joins Steven Durlauf to uncover what drives the wealth gap and how it shapes opportunity across generations.
Economist Bhash Mazumder shares insights on intergenerational mobility with host Steven Durlauf, exploring income mobility, flawed estimates, health metrics, and the impacts of redlining and urban renewal on mobility in the US.
