Videos on economists and their research


1		Videos on economists and their research - A project by the AEA's CSMGEP, CSWEP, and Div.E.Q.
2	#	Syllabus topic	Relevant concepts	Lesson instructors can use to tie the video to course content	Video title	Researcher	Link	Length (min: sec)	Year

3	1	introduction	What is economics?	Economics is the study of how people and firms make choices. The tools of economics help us understand behavior in many different settings.	What Economists Really Do	Oriana Bandiera, Fraser Clark	https://cepr.org/voxeu/video/what-economists-really-do	6:00	2019
4	2	producer theory, the supply curve	market entry, crowdfunding, business start ups	Entrepreneurs usually need external funding to start their new businesses. Dr. McGuire discusses her research looking at the effects of a new source of funds: crowdfunding.	How Crowdfunding Can Open Doors for Female Entrepreneurs	Erin McGuire	https://vimeo.com/199841699	2:18	2017
5	3	shifts of supply, or shifts of the ppf	technological innovation and productivity	Many economists study public health and health care provision, and, in medical settings as in other industries, technological innovation can increase productivity. Wang discusses her research finding that better health information technology improves physicians access to patient information and reduces opioid-related mortality and morbidity.	How Health IT Reduces Opioid-Related Deaths	Lucy Xiaolu Wang	https://vimeo.com/250465659	2:17	2018
6	4	markets and efficient allocation	the power of markets to allocate goods and risk, futures and commodity markets	Economists study the ability of markets to move goods from surplus areas to deficit regions and to improve risk sharing. Dr. Gabre-Madhin presents her research on the risks faced by small farmers in Ethiopia and the ways in which better market infrastructure could improve the functioning of markets.	A Commodities Exchange for Ethiopia	Eleni Gabre-Madhin	https://www.ted.com/talks/elene_gabre_madhin_on_ethiopian_economics	20:22	2007
7	5	markets, price floors	price floor, minimum wage, looking at data to identify the causal impact of a policy change	Economists use data to test their theories and to identify the causal impact of policies such as price floors. Using data on contiguous counties in the U.S., Dr. Dube finds that increases in the minimum wage cause wages to rise substantially and have minimal negative effect on employment.	The Impact of a Minimum Wage	Arin Dube	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99ZTpN5R3mk	3:57	2016
8	6	efficient allocation of scarce resources	efficiency	Economists study the efficient allocation of scarce resources. Dr. Bednar discusses how better allocation of physical education periods in the school day increases student achievement in math.	How Physical Activity Affects Student Achievement	Steven Bednar	https://vimeo.com/310389478	2:54	2019
9	7	markets	perfect competition, price discrimination, barriers to entry	Dr. Graddy studied the Fulton Fish Market, where there were many dealers with stalls close to each other. Even though customers could easily observe the quantity, quality, and price of fish available, she found that different buyers paid different prices. The market was not perfectly competitve due to barriers to entry.	Fishing for Perfect Competition	Kathryn Graddy	https://core-econ.org/the-economy/book/text/08.html#5hJF8zNJg5I	4:10	2015
10	8	monopoly (or LR macro growth)	property rights, monopoly, innovation	Dr. Moser explains that "copyright protection for 19th century Italian operas led to more and better operas being written, but the evidence also suggests that intellectual property rights may do more harm than good if they are too broad or too long-term."	How Copyright Improved Italian Opera	Petra Moser	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_W1V673YJg&t=7s	4:37	2016
11	9	monopoly, innovation	patents and innovation	Dr. Williams uses new data and empirical methodogies to study and advance technological change in health care markets.	Research at the Intersection of Science, Medicine, Law & Economics	Heidi Williams	https://www.macfound.org/fellows/951/	3:04	2015
12	10	labor markets	labor markets, racism, discrimination	Some economists have built models to show how racial prejudice can affect markets. Dr. Charles discusses his empirical research assessing whether prejudice leads to discrimination in labor markets and, if so, the magnitude of the effect on wages for black workers.	Minding the Racial Wage Gap: Prejudice in Black Wages	Kerwin Kofi Charles	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N38XrQ6x7ck	10:54	2011
13	11	labor markets	labor markets, discrimination	Dr. Rouse discusses her research finding that a change in the audition procedures of symphony orchestras fostered impartiality in hiring and increased the proportion of women in symphony orchestras.	Gender Discrimination in the Labor Market	Cecilia Rouse	https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLZapTuSHtu-CeejcJGLVBLqNT-ipS0Idh&v=A3Nwi1VsF3o	5:59	2016
14	12	labor markets	education, human capital, information, frictions	Dr. Dynarski ran an experiment in which low-income high-school students were offered four years of free tuition and fees at the University of Michigan if they were accepted. The treatment increased application and enrollment rates.	The Power of Offering Free Tuition	Susan Dynarski	https://cepr.org/voxeu/video/power-promising-free-tuition	2:18	2019
15	13	externalities	consumer choice, elasticity, taxes, externalities	Sometimes taxes are used to help markets achieve more efficient allocations by encouraging people to consume less of a good that causes harm (or negative externalities). Dr. Griffith discusses research that measures whether consumers are willing to reduce their consumption of sugar.	Do Soda Taxes work?	Rachel Griffith	https://cepr.org/voxeu/video/do-soda-taxes-work	1:39	2018
16	14	game theory, environment, public goods	tragedy of the commons, free riding, cooperation	"Economists have studied public goods extensively using laboratory experiments in which the subjects are asked to make decisions about how much to contribute to a public good...Dr. Cárdenas performs experiments about social dilemmas with people who are facing similar problems in their real life, such as overexploitation of a forest or a fish stock."	Invisible Hands Working Together	Juan-Camilo Cárdenas	https://core-econ.org/the-economy/book/text/04.html#BqEOGDX766Q	4:40	2015
17	15	environment, prices, efficient allocation	efficiency, externalities, pricing	Economists study the use of scarce resources, and environmental economics offers many important insights about how to use natural resources efficiently and sustainably. Dr. Spiller discusses her research to determine how best to use incentives to save the environment while also saving consumers money.	Examining New Models for Electricity Pricing	Beia Spiller	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjFNdy_2rZs	11:16	2019
18	16	game theory, markets	trust, cooperation, laboratory experiments	Economists sometimes run laboratory experiments to test hypotheses that cannot be easily tested in the real world. Dr. Arechar studies why people cooperate, whether they are honest, and how people should respond to "cheap talk".	The Role of Honesty in Cooperation	Antonio Alonso Arechar	https://vimeo.com/250480329	2:47	2018
19	17	inequality, efficiency, equity	income, inequality, mobility, labor markets	Economists study the distribution of income across households and how the distribution changes over place and time. Dr. Chetty uses big data to investigate social mobility in the U.S. and, ultimately, to improve public policy decisions. He finds that where a person lived as a child predicts whether they will have more economic success than their parents did.	Current Trends in Social Mobility	Raj Chetty	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m05NeaG3d2A	6:35	2016
20	18	inequality, efficiency, equity	wealth vs income, racial wealth gap, economic security as a right	Dr. Hamilton presents his proposal to reduce inequality. "Baby bonds"--trust accounts of up to $60,000 for every newborn, calibrated to the wealth of their family--would give every child "personal seed money for important things like going to college, buying a home or starting a business."	How "Baby Bonds" Could Help Close the Wealth Gap	Darrick Hamilton	https://www.ted.com/talks/darrick_hamilton_how_baby_bonds_could_help_close_the_wealth_gap	12:37	2018
21	19	inequality, efficiency, equity	randomized control trials, development	Economists use randomized trials to identify causal impact of policies and programs. Dr. Duflo uses them to design and evaluate social policies for alleviating poverty in developing nations.	Social Experiments to Fight Poverty	Esther Duflo	https://www.ted.com/talks/esther_duflo_social_experiments_to_fight_poverty/transcript	16:40	2010
22	20	inequality, efficiency, equity	investment, government assistance programs, long run vs short run	Some economists study the longrun effects of prenatal and early life experiences, documenting the impact of conditions such as famines and poverty. Dr. Hoynes finds that access to government assistance programs such as the US Food Stamp program (SNAP) increases food consumption in the short run and, in the long run, reduces the incidence of health problems such as diabetes and increases the economic self-sufficiency of women.	Health and the Welfare State	Hilary Hoynes	https://www.res.org.uk/resources-page/res2017-health-and-the-welfare-state-hilary-hoynes.html	2:20	2017
23	21	macro basics	unemployment, matching	"Does making unemployment benefits more generous keep more people out of work? Ioana Marinescu shares her fascinating discovery that by making the job market more relaxed, they actually help match people with the few available job vacancies."	The SIlver Lining of Unemployment Benefits	Ioana Marinescu	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EcAXMjQyNE	3:53	2015
24	22	macro basics	GDP, time use	"The reliance on GDP as a measure of economics fails to take into account the shift to a service economy. Diane Coyle of Cambridge University proposes a better metric built around how people use their time."	Time to Fix GDP?	Diane Coyle	https://cepr.org/voxeu/video/time-fix-gdp	2:14	2019
25	23	inflation	inflation, monetary policy, expectations	Inflation and the Fed's ability to conduct monetary policy successfully are tied to what consumers think inflation will be. Dr. Binder discussed whether consumers' expectations of inflation are disproportionately influenced by the price of gas.	How Gas Prices are Tied to Consumer Inflation Expectations	Carola Binder	https://vimeo.com/250464956	3:04	2018
26	24	growth	innovation, knowledge diffusion	Dr. Stantcheva discusses how "interaction with 'better' inventors increases knowledge and improves inventions."	Where Does Innovation Come From?	Stephanie Stantcheva	https://cepr.org/voxeu/video/where-does-innovation-come	2:15	2019
27	25	financial markets, banks	financial crises, financial system, banks	Of course, economists also study financial markets and institutions. Dr. Admati discusses her work analyzing the relationship between the structure of the banking system to economy-wide financial crises.	What's Wrong with Banking (and What to Do About It)	Anat Admati	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYxJeuGzXAo	3:44	2017
28	26	longrun growth, financial markets, money	economic growth, financial system	A stable and inclusive financial system can promote a country's economic growth. Dr. Cook discusses her research on factors that increase access to mobile money and other financial products.	Mobile Money	Lisa Cook	https://voxdev.org/topic/technology-innovation/mobile-money	2:19	2017
29	27	business cycles	business cycles (consumer behavior in booms and busts)	Some economic models predict that consumers borrow more when incomes are low, as in a recession. Dr. Pagel's empirial research uncovers a different pattern, one which has implications for the magnitude of business cycles.	Do We Save for the Bad Times?	Michaela Pagel	https://cepr.org/voxeu/video/do-we-save-bad-times	1:31	2019
30	28	fiscal policy	Great Depression, gold standard, fiscal policy, government deficit spending	Economists study the causes and appropriate policy responses to macroeconomic events like recessions and depressions. Jacobson discusses her research on how leaving the gold standard in 1933 helped the U.S. recover from the Great Depression by facilitating government deficit spending.	How Roosevelt Jump-Started the Economy in 1933	Margaret Jacobson	https://vimeo.com/200028233	3:28	2017
31	29	money, banking monetary policy, federal reserve	banks, Federal Reserve, discount window, financial stability	Banks play an important role in the economy by making loans to businesses that produce goods and provide jobs, thus the Federal Reserve may lend to banks to support them in periods of crisis. Dr. Anbil uses a unique historical event to show that this emergency lending facility can prevent bank runs and help banks keep making loans to businesses.	Emergency Lending in the Great Depression	Sriya Anbil	https://vimeo.com/250336542	2:55	2018
32	30	international trade, capital flows, and exchange rates	exchange rates	Dr. Gopinath discusses why exchange rates matter and the importance of the dollar.	Trade: Its All About the Dollar	Gita Gopinath	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFIyZPDuNP8	2:02	2017
33	31	international trade, capital flows, and exchange rates	globalization, outsourcing	Dr. Freeman explains some of the consequences of outsourcing for firm owners, managers, and employees.	You Can't Outsource Responsibility	Richard Freeman	https://core-econ.org/the-economy/book/text/06.html#2Zm5ZLMKhgQ	3:46	2015
34	32	behavioral, LR growth	behavioral economics, nudges, savings behaviors, health behaviors	Behavioral economists explore factors that affect decisionmaking beyond those involved in explicit, rational thinking. Dr. Chen's research examines how the language an individual speaks affects their decisions, hypothesizing that it may be harder to prepare for the future if it is more difficult grammatically to mark future events.	Could Your Language Affect Your Ability to Save Money?	M. Keith Chen	https://www.ted.com/talks/keith_chen_could_your_language_affect_your_ability_to_save_money?language=en	11:59	2012
35	33	policy	policymaking, history, racism, voting	Economists use theory and data to recommend policies that improve societal wellbeing. They also study the factors that affect what policies are currently in place. Dr. Williams finds a relationship between lynchings during 1882-1930 and Black voter registration today.	How Lynchings Affect Black Voting Today	Jhacova Williams	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEWsEHxzKUg	2:39	2020
36	34	growth, labor	skill-biased technological change, changing employer practices	Dr. Case finds that mortality rates for non-college educated people in the US have risen since the 1990s, driven in large part by deaths from alcohol, suicide or drug overdose and the underlying mental health issues. She traces this back to stagnating wages and firms' increasing use of temporary contracts for low-skilled jobs.	Deaths of Despair	Anne Case	https://youtu.be/7G4_gjFkMSY	2:21	2020
37	35	producer theory, the supply curve	factors affecting firm performance, management	Dr. Schoar's research looks at how the market responds to CEO-level management styles. “We look at CEOs that were having their first job in a recession versus in a boom time. You see that those managers have different styles, and the stock market reacts differently to them. So it’s not too far of a stretch to think that there’s a correlation between style and performance.”	Managing with Style	Antoinette Schoar	https://youtu.be/FdUJqsEx-TU	3:38	2020
38	36	externalities	externalities, environment, pollution, health, regulation, correlation vs. causation	Economists study how environmental regulation can be used to address negative externalities. Dr. Alexander uses evidence from emissions cheating to measure the causal impact of car pollution on the health of infants and young children.	The Impact of Car Pollution on Infant and Child Health (Div.E.Q.-econimate 2-part video)	Diane Alexander + econimate video	https://tinyurl.com/u9hdqtz	9:23 total	2020
39	37	public goods, externalities, behavioral	public goods, externalities, public health, social signaling, randomized control trials	Economists find that childhood immunization is one of the most cost effective ways of reducing childhood mortality, as vaccinations provide both private benefits and social benefits through positive externalities. Dr. Karing uses a randomized field experiment to investigate the effects of giving children colorful bracelets to allow their parents to signal to others that they have vaccinated their child.	Social Signaling and Childhood Immunization (Div.E.Q.-econimate 2-part video)	Anne Karing + econimate video	https://tinyurl.com/wkamxec	10:08 total	2020
40	38	inequality, efficiency, equity	inequality, policy, history, racism, natural experiment	The neighborhood you grow up in has a causal impact on your future. (See related video #17.) Dr. Derenoncourt studies the Great Migration of African Americans from 1940 to 1970 as a large natural experiment in which many left the South for better opportunity in the North. She finds that the characteristics of neighborhoods, and thus prospects for upward mobility, depend on the decisions of local residents and governments.	The Historic Determinants of Racial Inequality in the U.S. (Div.E.Q.-econimate 2-part video)	Ellora Derenoncourt + econimate video	https://tinyurl.com/yx22djnz	9:02 total	2020
41	39	housing, neighborhoods, inequality	segregation, redlining, racism, history	History and racism shape where we live, who we know, and what we own. Dr. Logan shares his perspective on how to acknowledge the past and change blighted communities today.	Urban Revitalization or Planned Extinction?	Trevon Logan	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIoM8J7xwRE	13:09	2019
42	40	longrun growth, macro	economic growth, innovation, racism	Dr. Cook investigates how political and social conditions, including violence and racism, affect innovation and economic growth.	What promotes or kills innovation?	Lisa Cook	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2hj_zfrG6g	4:20	2020
43	41	price floors, labor markets, inequality	price floors, minimum wage, inequality	Dr. Derenoncourt finds that "the 1967 extension of the minimum wage can explain more than 20% of the reduction in the racial earnings and income gap during the Civil Rights Era" and that there were no "significant dis-employment effects for black workers."	Equitable Growth talks with Ellora Derenoncourt at ASSA 2020	Ellora Derenoncourt	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q9NWNNNWnk	1:46	2020
44	42	macro basics	GDP, wellbeing, care work	Dr. Strassmann, the founding editor of the journal Feminist Economics, discusses the importance of care work and how it intersects with the paid economy.	What is Feminist Economics?	Diana Strassmann	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eq_f5ET8TY	10:01	2020
45	43	externalities	externalities, inequity, environmental regulation	To study racial environmental (in)justice, Dr. Currie constructs a national dataset showing that 1) African Americas are more likely to live in more polluted places and 2) that the Clean Air Acts reduced the pollution exposure gap.	Racial Disparities in Exposure to Pollution	Janet Currie	https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WSr3KXfqBu-szKMcQsAwEfbUz4z1oVkv/view	6:59
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852