President Trump, aided by DOGE under Elon Musk, promised deep cuts to the US federal bureaucracy. In these cases, and many others in recent history, populist politicians complain about a bloated and unelected “administrative state” that they inherit from a previous regime. They say these public employees frustrate their ability to deliver on their promises. Others argue that a bureaucracy contains the experts that are needed to make policy function smoothly – and removing them will make government function less, not more, efficiently.
So how do populists typically deal with their bureaucrats, and what are the consequences?
An analysis of Italian local politics that was published recently might help us to understand what is happening in the US now, and what might happen next. Matia Vannoni of King’s College London was one of the authors. He talks to Tim Phillips about what happens when we expel the experts.
Read Matia’s research on VoxEU (https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/expelling-experts-cost-populism-bureaucratic-expertise-and-government-performance)
Photo: Gage Skidmore
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S8 Ep19: Central banks as financial agents of the state
Central banks play a crucial role in modern economies, managing money supply, setting interest rates, and ensuring financial stability. But their relationship with governments, particularly their role as financial agents of the state, creates potential risks that could threaten economic stability. Does the way central banks are structured and operate obscure the true fiscal health of the state, and pose risks for the wider economy? That’s what Willem Buiter – former Chief Economist at Citigroup, former member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, among many other things – claims.
In conversation with Tim Phillips, he sets out six challenges that central banks may face in the future and explains what central bankers can do about them.
The discussion paper is here.
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S8 Ep18: When our values clash at work
Do you and your boss see the world in the same way and how does that affect your performance at work? You might not agree with your boss about everything. But if you and your boss don’t have the same outlook, does this mean you will be less productive? Alexia Delfino of Bocconi University measured both the values and the performance of employees at a global bank. She tells Tim Phillips whether shared values mean better outcomes – and what this means for diversity and team building.
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S8 Ep17: The menopause penalty at work
Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. The menopause can be a huge biological shock to women, but there has been almost no research into the consequences for their working lives. A new study uses administrative data from Norway and Sweden to discover the consequences of the menopause, both for health and for earnings. Rita Ginja of the university of Bergen tells Tim Phillips about the surprising size and persistence of the menopause penalty, and the difference that education and choice of career can make.
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S8 Ep16: The next generation: Paris ‘24
Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. Whenever economists gather, you will find many of tomorrow’s best economists too. They get a rare chance to present their research, and traditionally we like to ask three of them to talk to us about it too. In this episode, Tim Phillips talks to three more young researchers about their work – and about how economics can do better. Matyas Molnar of Central European University describes his paper “International exhibitions as trade promotion”. Laura Arnemann of the University of Mannheim investigated “Taxes and Pay without Performance: Evidence from Executives”. And Gustavo García Bernal of Sciences Po speaks about “From Parent to Child: Intergenerational Wealth Dynamics and Inequalities.”
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