Listen to leading economists and experts discuss the ideas that shape key development challenges in the EBRD regions and beyond. Latest episodes are available on iTunes or in the player below.
Listen to the new Pocket Dilemmas podcast
Episode 33: Refugees and their hosts
07 June 2018
Description: In the new episode of our ‘Pocket Economics’ podcast, we discuss the challenges faced by refugees and the communities that host them. How can the private sector and international organisations help? Listen to Daphne Jayasinghe in conversation with Vanora Bennett.
Episode 32: Thinking about the world in 2018
17 May 2018
Description: In this special ‘live’ edition of our podcast Pocket Economics, the EBRD’s Jonathan Charles discusses the challenges our world is currently facing with the FT’s Neil Buckley and, also from the EBRD, Sergei Guriev, Alexia Latortue and Tarek Osman.
Episode 31: The future of development finance- part 2
25 April 2018
Description: In the second part of our review of the future of development finance Owen Barder, Vice President at the Center for Global Development, discusses its current goals and challenges with Jonathan Charles. What needs to be done and what can the EBRD and other Multilateral Development Banks do better? Can we deliver the Sustainable Development Goals by their 2030 deadline?
Episode 30: What is green growth and why do we need it?
06 April 2018
Description: Is environmental protection compatible with continued global economic growth? Are economies put on a path to green growth? And which countries are leading the green race? Listen to Sam Fankhauser, Professor at the LSE and Co-Director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment in conversation with Vanora Bennett.
Episode 29: The future of development finance
Episode 28: Does gender matter in lending?
14 March 2018
Description: A new episode of the ‘Pocket Economics’ podcast examines whether women are discriminated against when applying for loans. Do banks treat women and men differently? Listen to Ralph de Haas in conversation with Jonathan Charles.
Episode 27: Integration and the Western Balkans
27 February 2018
Description: In this special edition of the Pocket Economics podcast, Serbia’s Prime Minister, Ana Brnabić, shares with Jonathan Charles her thoughts on regional integration and the Western Balkans.
Episode 26: The rise of populism
15 February 2018
Description: Is populism a threat, something we should be afraid of? Or a corrective for democracy when it stops working as it should? Listen to Sergei Guriev in conversation with Jonathan Charles.
Episode 25: Youth and gender inclusion in a changing world
31 January 2018
Description: How can we ensure equal opportunities in an unequal, increasingly changing world? Listen to Barbara Rambousek in conversation with Jonathan Charles.
Episode 24: How to escape the middle-income trap
18 January, 2018
Description: Is the ‘middle-income trap’ a myth or a reality afflicting many countries? Listen to Alexander Plekhanov in conversation with Jonathan Charles.
Episode 23: Private equity in emerging markets
21 December, 2017
Description: How can equity help companies? Listen to Çağatay Bircan, Principal Economist at the EBRD, discuss impact investing, the recent trends in private equity and whether equity has grown in emerging markets, with Vanora Bennett.
Episode 22: China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative
07 December, 2017
Description: What is China’s Belt and Road Initiative and how is it reshaping the world as we know it? Listen to our Managing Director for Economics, Policy & Governance, Mattia Romani, describe what is arguably China’s most ambitious economic and foreign policy project since the founding of the People’s Republic.
Episode 21:How to prevent the next financial crisis
20 November, 2017
Description: Are financial crises predictable? What conclusions can be drawn from the 2008 financial crisis and how can we prevent the next one? Listen to the latest episode of Pocket Economics with Tamim Bayoumi, deputy director at the International Monetary Fund.
Episode 20: The Great Soviet Experiment
09 November, 2017
Description: What lessons can be drawn from the 1917 Russian Revolution and the seven decades of Soviet rule that followed it? Listen to a very special episode of Pocket Economics with the EBRD’s very own Sergei Guriev.
Episode 19: The economic impact of natural disasters
01 November, 2017
Description: What is the economic impact of natural disasters? How will the 21st century’s economic cycle and its weather cycle influence each other in an era of global warming? Listen to the latest episode of Pocket Economics with Maurice Obstfeld, IMF Chief Economist and Vanora Bennett.
Episode 18: The corruption cycle
11 October, 2017
Description: Does corruption beget more corruption? Why culture matters and what makes the difference between success and failure when a country is fighting corruption? Listen to the latest episode of Pocket Economics with Nicolas Ajzenman from Sciences Po University, Paris.
Episode 17: Innovation in firms, a recipe for growth
25 September, 2017
Description: How do we define and measure innovation in firms? Why are companies afraid of innovating? What holds them back and how can we boost creativity, the driving force behind innovation? Listen to the latest episode of Pocket Economics with the EBRD’s Director of Research, Ralph de Haas.
Episode 16: The best of Pocket Economics
15 August, 2017
Description: This special episode contains some of the highlights of our first year, the perfect soundtrack for your summer holiday! Over the last 12 months the podcast has examined everything from microfinance to economic resilience and life satisfaction to the social contract in the Middle East and North Africa.
Episode 15: How to perform the transition to a market economy
20 July, 2017
Description: How should countries make the transition to market economies? How should they respond to the challenges of globalisation? Listen to the latest episode of Pocket Economics with the EBRD’s Chief Economist Sergei Guriev.
Episode 14: A new social contract for the Middle East and North Africa
June 26, 2017
Description: How has the idea of a social contract been interpreted in the MENA region? Did the uprisings in the Arab world in 2010-11 come as a surprise to economists? Listen to the latest episode of Pocket Economics with the EBRD’s Chief Economist Sergei Guriev and the World Bank’s Chief Economist Shanta Devarajan.
Episode 13: Courts and the economy
June 07, 2017
Description: What takes place behind the courts’ walls and how does this affect the performance of a market economy? How do we measure how effective a justice system is? Listen to the latest episode of Pocket Economics with Peter Grajzl from Washington and Lee University
Episode 12:Economic inclusion or equal opportunities for all
May 22, 2017
Description: Why is economic inclusion one of the defining challenges of our time across the EBRD regions and beyond? What is the EBRD doing to close the inclusion gap? How does it affect the democratic process and institutions? Listen to the latest episode of Pocket Economics with the EBRD’s Lead economist focusing on Inclusion Barbara Rambousek.
Episode 11: Why 'secular stagnation' matters
April 11, 2017
Description: What does secular stagnation mean for a market economy? What causes it and how could countries overcome it? Listen to the latest episode of Pocket Economics with the EBRD’s Sergei Guriev.
Episode 10: How to make economies more resilient
March 20, 2017
Description: What does resilience mean for a market economy? How can it become truly resilient to shocks and global challenges? Listen to the latest episode of Pocket Economics with the EBRD’s Mattia Romani and Bojan Markovic.
Episode 9: Helping women in business
March 10, 2017
Description: What challenges do women entrepreneurs face? What does it take to succeed as a woman in business? Listen to the latest episode of Pocket Economics with the EBRD’s Charlotte Ruhe.
Episode 8: The cost of the gay pay gap
February 21, 2017
Description: What does it mean to be gay or lesbian in the modern workplace? How does sexuality affect salary levels? Listen to the latest episode of Pocket Economics with Cevat Giray Aksoy, Principal Economist at the EBRD, Researcher at the London School of Economics (LSE) and an expert on inequalities in the labour market.
Episode 7: Empowering families and driving global growth
February 13, 2017
Description: What is family empowerment? What role do families play in shaping modern economies? Listen to the latest episode of Pocket Economics with Oriana Bandiera, Professor of Economics at London School of Economics (LSE) and an expert on poverty reduction, inclusion and labour policies.
Episode 6: Life satisfaction and the pursuit of happiness
January 10, 2017
Description: What makes us happy and how should we measure life satisfaction?
EBRD Chief Economist Sergei Guriev explains the findings of our Life in Transition Survey, the largest of its kind ever carried out in the EBRD regions.
Episode 5: Gender Equality
December 6, 2016
Description: What is gender equality and why does it matter?
The EBRD’s Chief Counsellor for Social Issues and the Director of its Gender team, Michaela Bergman, discusses the importance of gender equality in encouraging economic growth.
Episode 4: Inequality and how to fight it
November 16, 2016
Description: How does inequality affect economic growth, the fate of reforms and people’s happiness?
EBRD Chief Economist Sergei Guriev discusses inequality and globalisation. Inequality is the central theme of the EBRD’s Transition Report 2016-17.
Episode 3: Climate finance: picking up the tab for climate change
October 25, 2016
Description: How much will it cost to combat climate change? And who should pay the bill? Who should contribute more: developed or developing countries?
Climate change is fast, expensive and the scale of the challenge is enormous.
In this episode Mattia Romani, EBRD Managing Director for Economics, Policy and Governance, former Chief Economist of the Global Green Growth Institute, explains how we can finance the battle against climate change.
Episode 2: Political Economy and Reforms: the popularity paradox
October 4, 2016
Description: Do reformers have to be popular to be successful? It’s a conundrum thinkers have agonised over for centuries.
Our guest, the EBRD’s Chief Economist, Sergei Guriev, looks at how the concept of political economy has evolved and discusses the dynamic between rulers, ruled and reforms.
He also analyses the importance of leaders’ popularity in both democratic and authoritarian regimes and previews our next Transition Report, which focuses on inequality.
Episode 1: Microfinance- a long disputed “miracle cure” for global poverty
September 21, 2016
Description: Microcredit used to be regarded as a tool that, by funding the creation and expansion of microenterprises, could help lift households out of poverty. However, in recent years, the notion that microfinance is a “miracle cure” has been subject to intense debate.
Ralph De Haas, EBRD’s Head of Research, author of numerous publications on microcredit including ‘Microcredit: neither miracle nor mirage’ helps us shed light on this complex issue.
