499 Videos

Union membership is at its lowest level in a century. Why, despite viral organizing campaigns at Amazon and Starbucks, has union density flatlined?

The most essential work in society isn’t accounted for in economic statistics.

Universities have always been centers of learning—and centers of power.

What does economic inequality look like when we account for gender identity, sexual orientation, and lived experience?

Understanding the forces shaping our digital future.

The future of work is already here—but our social policies are stuck in the past.

We need a new approach to research—one rooted in trust, lived experience, and the stories data often overlooks.

Robert Pollin challenges the myth that climate action hurts working people—and explains why a just transition must be at the heart of a global Green New Deal.

Drug development can better serve public needs—especially in neglected diseases—by reimagining the balance between government, private industry, and nonprofit models.

Big data reveals where opportunity thrives—and where it vanishes—offering powerful tools to reverse the decline in economic mobility.

AI has the potential to fuel historic levels of wealth concentration, leaving workers behind while a handful of companies profit. Or we can choose policies that steer us toward shared prosperity. The future is still up to us.

Recent rulings are rolling back federal regulatory authority, echoing past constitutional battles over administrative governance.

How do we build communities that actually work for people?

Efforts to erase race-conscious policies threaten broader equality initiatives.

What if billionaires paid their fair share—no matter where they lived?

How did hyper-globalization fuel populist backlash?

Thomas Piketty and Michael Sandel explore how inequality isn’t just about wealth—it’s about dignity. They discuss how economic structures fail to value workers without elite credentials and propose solutions that go beyond redistribution.

We need a new blueprint for stability.

Automatic enrollment in retirement plans is a game-changer, but it also brings unexpected consequences.

The power of mutual funds to influence economic and social choices through their voting behavior points to deeper ideologies driving institutional investors.

Economics can either fuel conflict or pave the way to lasting peace, the choice is ours.

If we want durable peace, we need to look for more than just economic expansion.

Trust, Risk, and Relationships

Bringing together 150 years of data, Ellora Derenoncourt is shedding new light on our understanding of the historical roots and persistent challenges of the U.S. racial wealth gap. This new picture highlights the scale of policies needed to achieve economic equality.

Eliminating transit fares can transform lives, connect people to jobs, healthcare, and essential services in more equitable ways.

It’s time to rethink the narrative and recognize the real legacy of forced labor.

There’s more to the census than demographics.

Immanuel Ness critiques the belief that migration drives economic development, revealing how it often merely aids survival and perpetuates exploitation.

What happened to the dream? Rob talks with David Smick about his new film and the inspiration for the project.

We need collective action and social movements to bring about change, but where is our sense of community and shared identity?

How can we understand the bright and dark sides of China’s gilded rise? Through the lens of American history.

If we are to work toward a better future, we must look beyond the surface, and understand the multifaceted reality of China’s ascent in the global arena.

Ed Glaeser, a Harvard economist specializing in cities and infrastructure, emphasizes the importance of everyday infrastructure, such as road quality, in improving the daily lives of millions.

What does the future hold for finance?

Economics can do better, and the change starts with you.

What happened to the excitement of creativity?

Overcoming Anti-Urban Bias to Reduce Inequality in the United States

Transparency and ethics are critical.

Your health shouldn’t be someone else’s wealth.

Do temporary economic shocks like the COVID-19 recession create lasting effects on the economy?

How the dark side of consumer finance prioritizes profit over people.

The Uncertainty of Retirement in the New Economy

James Galbraith flips the script on sanctions. How has Russia adapted?

How can we better prepare for financial downturns?

Jo-Anne Rolle emphasizes the critical role of entrepreneurship and technology in revitalizing local economies and addressing societal issues.

A fair start for every child? Let’s make it reality.

“We need to figure out new ways to relate to the earth.”

The Impact of Public Blockchains and Private Pools

Finance for the Rest of Us

Lenore Palladino explains how stock buybacks drive inequality, and why we desperately need a policy shift.

Bergman’s groundbreaking work in the field of feminist economics challenged conventional economic theories and emphasized the significance of power, patriarchy, and social provisioning.

Paying for America’s Post 9/11 Wars

In part 2 of our conversation with Professor Jessica Gordon Nembhard, she goes deeper into the power of cooperatives and their positive impacts on society and democracy.

Giulia Zacchia focuses on the dynamics of power and gender in the labor market, revealing how sexual harassment not only impacts individual women but also perpetuates broader societal inequalities.

Is self-interest the best way to organize society? If monetarism has taught us anything, the models aren’t at fault, it’s our application of them that’s flawed. Perhaps we just need to do a better job of letting markets guide us? Homo Economicus explains why greed is good.

Branko Milanovic takes us on a historical journey through the evolution of economic inequality in his latest book. Milanovic connects these foundational ideas to contemporary issues, revealing the intricate tapestry of economic, social, and political forces that drive inequality today.

Unpacking the relationship between exploitation and group identity, Folbre offers a nuanced perspective on societal structures, and the pressing need for cooperative strategies to address global crises. Her insights pave the way for a more equitable and sustainable future in this illuminating discussion on intersectionality, political economy, and social justice.

Is inflation just a number game or does it hold deeper societal implications?

The economists are not what they seem.

Can finance stop hindering and start helping the green transition?

Professor Rebeca Gomez Betancourt explores the transformative roles of pioneering women like Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Hazel Kyrk in the field of economics.

On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers, a giant investment bank with a storied history, filed for bankruptcy. The shock was profound; world markets melted down.

Unveiling the U.S. Prison System

Why is the History of Economic Thought important?

If we can measure mobility, we can raise a better society.

Do we care about children, or do we just care about our own children?

Rethink global economics with Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven as she delves into the Eurocentric nature of the field and the role dependency theory could play in decolonizing it.

How do we transform societal structures and pave the way to economic democracy?

Dive into the complexity of inflation and its impacts from a heterodox perspective, exploring its historical journey, social implications, and potential remedies.

How do governments accumulate such high levels of debt without constant major crises? Who is paying the price?

Sandra Navidi shares some of the lessons from her books, and what can be done today for a better tomorrow.

Why do economists avoid ethics, and over-simplify harm?

In honor of the just-announced Nobel Prize in Economics for Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson, we re-post an Economics and Beyond podcast episode from last year, featuring Johnson, discussing Johnson and Acemoglu’s latest book, Power and Progress.

What’s really causing inequality in opportunities and outcomes for kids?

Brendan Ballou discusses the growing harmful role of private equity in the US, and his forthcoming book. Ballou is a federal prosecutor and served as Special Counsel for Private Equity in the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.

OK, but why? This is the question we ask daily at INET. We sit down with experts from around the world to find out what they think, since sometimes it’s the simplest questions that have the most important answers.

Anton Jäger discusses his new book “Welfare for Markets: A Global History of Basic Income” co-authored with Daniel Zamora Vargas.

Daniel Zamora Vargas discusses his new book “Welfare for Markets: A Global History of Basic Income” co-authored with Anton Jäger.

Hannah Farber discusses her book and explains how the insurance business and the United States discovered that they were good for one another.

Historians Naomi Oreskes (Harvard University) and Erik Conway (Caltech) talk to Rob about their just released book, The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market.

INET Grantee & Academic Advisor Perry Mehrling talks about his new book “Money and Empire: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System”

Jamee Moudud discusses the circular relationship of law, politics, and economics.

What is your first association when somebody talks to you about the economy?

Melanie Xue shares insights from her research into the parallel history of women and the intelligentsia in Chinese society.

Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf discusses his just-released book

The market can’t save us.

Generosity or greed? The roots and fruits of venture capital might not be what you have been led to believe.

If time is money, then why is it often ignored in relation to inequality and gender?

Conspicuous Consumption in the US & Germany

Will Milberg discusses the unique history of The New School for Social Research, and why its traditions are particularly relevant today.

All things can be coded as capital, with the right legal coding.

Has the solution to global tensions been waiting at home all along?

Interdisciplinarity is critical in pushing the humanities to better understand humans.

Ying Chen discusses her work to better understand development, labor and environmental impact in the Global South, focusing in particular on the realities of Chinese economic policy as it has evolved.

Why are we incentivizing wealth at the expense of health?

INET grantee Vamsi Vakulabharanam describes his work to gather parallel social threads—such as class, caste, gender and religion—to better understand the mechanisms of inequality in India, and why this can lead to better outcomes around the world.

The conventional measures of economic well-being are dangerously limited, and we are seeing the resulting policy consequences play out daily.

We are in the midst of another global transformation, but this time we might have the tools to get it right.

Expertise is broken. Trust is eroding. Enough is enough.

Frank McCourt discusses his work to reinspire hope in the American experiment, and to build the framework necessary for that better tomorrow.