Explore every episode of the podcast Talking Economics

In a new episode of CERGE-EI’s Talking Economics podcast, Assistant Professor Achim Ahrens discusses what economic research tells us about migration, refugees and labour market integration.

Speaking with host Katarina Stehlíková, Ahrens explains that the labour market effects of migration are far more complex than public debate often suggests. “There is no empirical consensus,” he says, noting that the impact depends on the setting, the type of workers arriving and whether the change is sudden or gradual.

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The new episode of Talking Economics brings a timely discussion with Kamil Kovář, Director at Moody’s Analytics and our alumnus, on how today’s overlapping shocks are reshaping the global economy.

Kamil explores how wars, energy disruptions, rearmament, trade fragmentation, and political unpredictability are changing the way economists think about growth, inflation, and risk. “It’s just, as you said, one shock after another, and it just doesn’t stop,” Kamil says. In this environment, he argues, economists can no longer rely on a single central outlook: “It’s more and more important to talk in terms of scenarios and not talk in terms of the baseline outlook only.”

The episode examines what has changed most fundamentally in the global economy, what the most likely path forward may be, and which alternative scenarios matter most. Kamil also reflects on how recent crises have exposed the limits of traditional models, noting that “the distribution has widened so much” that one or two scenarios are no longer enough to capture the risks economies face.

This episode offers a guide to understanding the macroeconomic landscape in a period marked by constant disruption.

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Our job market candidate Margarita Pavlova is the latest guest in the Talking Economics: Emerging Scholars podcast series, which highlights the research and career journeys of CERGE-EI PhD in Economics candidates and recent graduates.

Margarita is an applied microeconomist specializing in labor and gender economics. Her research explores how macroeconomic conditions, labor market policies, and institutions shape labor market outcomes—especially the long-term effects of economic shocks, wage setting, and labor market inequality. In her job market paper, Margarita studies how business-cycle conditions at the time of labor market entry shape early-career trajectories and how these effects evolve over time.

00:00 Introduction

01:15 Why economic research

04:35 Challenges during Covid

07:00 Visiting Yale

08:34 Graduates in a cycle, graduating in a recession

14:07 Women in the labor market

19:29 Competition and the gender pay gap

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The Talking Economics: Emerging Scholars podcast series highlights the research and career journeys of CERGE-EI PhD in Economics candidates and recent graduates. In this episode, we speak with Sona Badalyan, one of our current job market candidates.

Sona is an applied microeconomist with interests in labor, public, and personnel economics. Her job market paper examines internal labor markets, exploring how firm organization, labor market institutions, and frictions shape outcomes for workers and firms in an aging economy.

00:00 Introduction

01:20 Path to a PhD decision

05:10 Challenges and mobility stays

08:06 Motivation for a dissertation topic

08:53 Intra-firm spillovers of raised retirement age

15:30 Old-age employment and organizational structures

17:50 Peer Effects in old-age employment

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Why does discrimination persist even when it’s costly for firms and societies? CERGE-EI alumnus and Associate Professor at the University of Milan, Vojtěch Bartoš, explains how behavioral economics helps uncover the mechanisms behind bias — and how evidence-based tools can help reduce it.

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What happens when the labor market doesn’t match workers and firms efficiently? Can online platforms and better data solve the problem? And what role do families play in shaping the workforce of tomorrow?

Luca Mazzone, Assistant Professor at CERGE-EI and Economist at the IMF, talks about the hidden dynamics behind wage inequality, employment policy, and how households shape labor market outcomes. His research looks into how people and firms find each other—and why this matching process matters for productivity, inequality, and growth.

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What determines the financial decisions we make throughout our lives—like choosing a mortgage, saving for retirement, or deciding whether to invest? In the latest episode of Talking Economics, we explore these questions with Marta Cota, a CERGE-EI PhD alumna and Assistant Professor of Finance at Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon.

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In the latest episode of Talking Economics, we speak with Vladimír Novák, Senior Economist at the National Bank of Slovakia and CERGE-EI PhD alumnus, about his recent research and how it connects to real-world policy challenges. Vladimír’s academic work focuses on how individuals process information—and how that, in turn, shapes their beliefs, decisions, and broader societal outcomes.

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Associate Professor at CERGE-EI, Ctirad Slavík, discusses taxation, inequality, and the economic impact of policy reforms in our latest episode. He shares insights on optimal capital taxation, the effects of automation on wages, and the 2021 Czech income tax reform.

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Our next guest on the Talking Economics: Emerging Scholars series is Theodor Kouro, one of CERGE-EI’s job market candidates this year.

Theo’s research spans behavioral, experimental, and development economics, with a particular focus on gender economics. In his job market paper, he explores the mechanics of autonomy in a large-scale natural field experiment on effort provision. This paper earned him the 2023 Young Economist of the Czech Republic award.

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Our next guest on the Talking Economics: Emerging Scholars series is Sinara Gharibyan, one of CERGE-EI’s job market candidates this year

In her job market paper, Sinara examines how memories influence human behavior, particularly political behavior. Her innovative work distinguishes between two types of memory effects: fam-ily memory and collective memory. This paper earned her the prestigious PEDD Young Scholar Award in 2024 in Münster.

🎧 Tune in to hear about Sinara’s personal journey and dive deeper into her fascinating research!

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In the latest episode of the Talking Economics podcast, a CERGE-EI alumnus Lukáš Makovský shares insights on the central questions and tools of urban economics, how models incorporate people’s preferences, and examines the movement toward urbanization alongside the impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

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The podcast series Talking Economics Emerging Scholars is dedicated to showcasing the research and inspiring journeys of CERGE-EI PhD in Economics graduates. Our guest in this episode is Daniil Kashkarov. Daniil’s research interests lie in macroeconomics and labor economics, with a focus on life-cycle modeling, skills accumulation, and the adaptation of workers to labor market disruptions. During his PhD, Daniil spent three semesters at Yale University.  He will join Universidad Carlos III in Madrid as a Postdoctoral Researcher. 

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The podcast series Talking Economics Emerging Scholars is dedicated to showcasing the research and inspiring journeys of CERGE-EI PhD in Economics graduates. Our first guest is Ella Sargsyan, an empirical economist specializing in development economics. Ella's academic journey included research visits to MIT and Columbia University. She will join UCLouvain as a postdoctoral researcher.

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In our latest episode of Talking Economics, we met with Barbara Pertold-Gebicka, a CERGE-EI alumna and Assistant Professor at the Institute of Economic Studies of Charles University, to explore family economics and gender wage gaps.

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We explore the world of criminal behavior and the Czech justice system with Michal Šoltés, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics and Empirical Legal Studies at Charles University Faculty of Law, a CERGE-EI PhD in economics alumnus, and an IDEA think-tank researcher. In his research, he focuses on public economics, empirical legal studies, the economics of criminal justice, and the economics of crime.

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In a recent episode of Talking Economics, we discussed firms and labor markets in developing countries with Andreas Menzel, an Associate Professor with Tenure at CERGE-EI. Andreas’s research projects focus on development, organizational, and labor economics with field experiments in Ghana, Tanzania, and Bangladesh.

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Why do some regions thrive while others struggle to keep up in the race for economic development? In a recent episode of Talking Economics, we talk about regional economics with Christian Ochsner, an Assistant Professor at CERGE-EI.

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In a recent episode of Talking Economics, we embark on a journey with our special guest, Professor of Experimental and Behavioral Economy at the University of New South Wales Business School in Sydney, Australia, Professor Andreas Ortmann, to talk about behavioral economics, exploring the rise and challenges it faces now due to recent reports of fraudulent behavior in the field.

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What are the expectations and how far are the discussions on Central Bank Digital Currencies across the world? In a recent episode of Talking Economics, we took a closer look at digital currencies with Branislav Saxa, a CERGE-EI PhD alumnus, Principal Analyst, and Head of Monetary Analyses and Monetary Policy Transmission Team at Czech National Bank.

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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is an international financial institution, established in 1991 to help Central and Eastern Europe transition to a market economy after the fall of communism. How has the bank’s mission changed over time and what are its priorities now? We discuss EBRD’s response to world changes with Libor Krkoška, a CERGE-EI PhD in Economics alumnus and EBRD Deputy Director, Country strategy.

Central and Eastern European regions have undergone significant socioeconomic transformation; following the fall of communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and European Union’s accession in recent years. What are the main challenges for the regions’ economies now?  We discuss CEE region’s economic performance with Katarzyna Rzentarzewska in our most recent episode of Talking Economics.
Katarzyna Rzentarzewska is a CERGE-EI PhD in Economics alumna and Chief CEE Macro Analyst at Erste Group in Vienna. At Erste Group's research team, she analyzes and comments on macroeconomic developments in CEE with a focus on regional views and cross-country analyses.

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The challenges of recent years bring mental health issues to the forefront of all science fields, including economics. In the most recent episode of Talking Economics, Katarína Stehlíková discusses long-term mental health trends and the effect of the pandemic with Liyou Borga. 

Liyou Borga is a CERGE-EI PhD graduate in Economics and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Luxembourg Institute of Health. His main research experience lies in applied econometrics; mainly health, labor, and development economics.

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Can humans cooperate with one another when facing extremely low survival chances? Do pre-existing social ties increase one's chances of survival in life-and-death situations? Social linkages in extreme circumstances are discussed with Štěpán Jurajda in Talking Economics.

Štěpán Jurajda is the Mellon Endowment Professor with Tenure at CERGE-EI, a Full Professor at CERGE, Charles University, and a Senior Researcher at the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. He also serves as Deputy Minister for Science, Research and Innovation of the Czech Republic. His paper Social Networks and Surviving the Holocaust brings new evidence for historical research.

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When and why do national institutions change? Can some people living under particular institutions, such as democracy, play a crucial role in changing their institutions back home? Do national leaders matter? Katarína Stehlíková and Sebastian Ottinger look back to European history, and from the perspective of political economy, discuss its relevance for institutional change in today’s China or Russia.

Sebastian Ottinger has been an Assistant Professor at CERGE-EI since September 2022. He is an Applied Microeconomist with research projects in the fields of Urban Economics and Political Economy, all drawing on European or American Economic History. He earned his Ph.D. from UCLA Anderson School of Management in 2021.

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Empires, nation states, and democracies: Perspectives on the war in Ukraine is what our anchor, Katarína Stehlíková, has discussed with our special guest, prof. Gérard Roland, in the latest episode of Talking Economics.

Professor Gérard Roland is a member of CERGE-EI’s Executive and Supervisory Committee, an E. Morris Cox Professor of Economics, and Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. His early work includes political economy of communism. He has been one of the world's most renowned and influential scholars in transition economics since 1990. His work also focuses on the impact of culture and political institutions on the prosperity of countries.

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The Czech labor market situation has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and in recent months by the war in Ukraine. What are the main characteristics of the Czech labor market now? What changes has the labor market undergone in recent years? What is the position of women in the Czech labor market? In Talking Economics Katarína Stehlíková talks about these issues with Klára Kalíšková.

Klára Kalíšková is a CERGE-EI PhD alumna, an Assistant Professor at Faculty of Informatics and Statistics, Prague University of Economics and Business, researcher of IDEA think tank, and Associated Scientist at Economics Institute of Czech Academy of Sciences. Her main research interests lie in empirical and policy-oriented research in labor economics and applied econometrics.

How are monetary and fiscal policy, the main macroeconomic tools used to steer our economies, able to address the unprecedented challenges presented by the events of recent years, such as COVID-19, war on Ukraine, or increase in energy prices? In Talking Economics, Katarína Stehlíková and Jaroslav Borovička give us a macroeconomic look at the current economy.

Jaroslav Borovička is a CERGE-EI MA in Economics alumnus and one of the leading Czech macro economists. He holds a Ph.D. degree from the University of Chicago and works as an Associate Professor at the Department of Economics at New York University in the United States.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has boosted the already high prices of oil and gas. How come the energy situation in the EU is so dependent on Russia? What are the prognoses for energy costs and related costs of living for the near future? Katarína Stehlíková talks about War on Ukraine’s effect on European energy with Silvester van Koten.

Silvester is a CERGE-EI PhD Alumnus and senior researcher at the Faculty of Social and Economic Studies, University of Jan Evangelista Purkyně. He specializes in Energy Economics and Economics Experiments with a special interest in economics of electricity markets, renewables, and regulation.

What are the main challenges children and teachers have to face in our schools due to an unprecedented inflow of Ukrainian children and youth into our educational system? Is the situation more complicated because schools suffered from the 2-year pandemic? Can we take this situation as an opportunity? Katarína Stehlíková talks about these questions with Daniel Münich.

Daniel Münich is a CERGE-EI PhD in Economics alumnus, member of CERGE-EI Faculty, and executive director of the academic think-tank IDEA at CERGE-EI.

Inflation and monetary policy have become hot topics recently. The world economy first seemed to be heading towards recession due to Covid. Now, we face huge increases in energy prices and soaring inflation. What are the main causes of such high inflation? Will the inflation go back to lower levels? Katarína Stehlíková asked Dana Hájková these questions in the latest episode of Talking Economics.

Dana Hájková is a CERGE-EI PhD in Economics alumna and Director of Monetary Policy and Fiscal Analyses Division at Czech National Bank.

What is the difference between the main sanctions imposed on Russia now and those from 2014/2017? What are the impacts of the sanctions? In Talking Economics, Katarína Stehlíková talks with Anna Pestova and Mikhail Mamonov on sanctions on Russia at the macro level.

"The current sanctions are not able to stop the inflow of foreign currency totally. They are not able to change the model of export-related activities of the Russian economy," said Anna Pestova and added: "Our estimate says that the amount of the oil embargo currently announced plus potential European oil embargo and the cut of European imports of gas by two thirds will decrease the export revenue by one quarter."

Anna Pestova and Mikhail Mamonov are both CERGE-EI PhD students doing their research stay at the University of Zurich. They have published several articles about sanctions imposed on Russia for VOX.EU, a policy portal of Economic Policy Research Centre. They are working on papers at CERGE-EI and Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT). Before joining CERGE-EI, Anna and Mikhail worked for ten years in the leading Russian think tank providing macroeconomic and financial policy consultations

In the most recent Talking Economics Podcast, Katarína Stehlíková and Jared Laxton have a closer look at challenges and opportunities in economic forecasting and modeling.

Jared moved to Prague about ten years ago and worked for six years in macroeconomic forecasting. He completed his Masters in Applied Economics at CERGE-EI in 2018 before moving to SpaceKnow, a start-up.

According to him, he was "trying to make satellite data relevant for economic forecasting and decision making." But he is now returning to his roots and beginning a new venture with his father focusing on bringing helpful economic modeling and analysis practices to anyone willing to listen.

How has the current pandemic affected measuring and evaluating poverty and welfare programs? In Talking Economics, Katarína Stehlíková directs this question to Nikolas Mittag, Associate Professor with Tenure at CERGE-EI.

According to Nikolas, the evaluation of government programs designed during the pandemic is essential: "The pandemic brought a lot of action to the idea of helping other people, and fending off poverty. So we tried a lot of new things. Now would be the time to look at them and think what worked, what can we do better next time (we'd better be prepared), and what might work in normal situations."

Nikolas Mittag has been an Associate Professor at CERGE and Charles University, and a Researcher at the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. He is affiliated with the Institute for the Study of Labor and the University of Chicago where he received his Ph.D. in Public Policy Studies from the Harris School of Public Policy. His main research interest is in the evaluations of government programs, applied microeconomics, labor economics, and measurement error issues.

"How have banks survived the pandemics? And what are the trends in the banking industry?" In the Talking Economics Podcast, Katarína Stehlíková asks Richard Podpiera, CERGE-EI's Ph.D. Alumnus and ČSOB’s Executive Director.

Richard thinks that banks have proven to be quite resilient during the pandemic: "But that does not mean that COVID was a walk in the park. We were shocked as any other industry, perhaps even more because banks are generally leveraged plays on the economy. From one day to another, we had to resolve operational issues."

Richard sees two new directions in the banking industry’s future.

"Sustainability (green, energy, responsible behavior) and the effort of banks to be useful and relevant in client lives – simplify the way services are provided, estimate what clients want based on increasingly sophisticated data models, and provide most relevant offers and help to clients at the right time and through the most convenient channel."

Richard Podpiera is CERGE-EI's Ph.D. Economics Alumnus and ČSOB’s Executive Director. He manages retail group segments at ČSOB, one of the largest banks in the Czech Republic. Richard is also a lecturer of Master’s in Applied Economics, teaching Corporate Finance and Valuation courses at CERGE-EI. Prior to his current engagement, he has also worked for McKinsey&Company and for the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C..

"Have we learned anything new about the educational system during the pandemic? And why are the economics of education becoming more important these days?" asks Katarína Stehlíková in Talking Economics, a Podcast with Daniel Münich.

Daniel Münich, a CERGE-EI Ph.D. in Economics and member of the CERGE-EI Faculty, points out that inequality emerged during the pandemic: "I mean inequality in access to good education. It was already a problem before Covid-19. We don't have much data, but I'm convinced, given what I know, that inequality in education and resulting skills will substantially increase during the pandemic. That's a big issue even for us researchers."

Has the pandemic had a substantial impact on energy economics, or has the supply and use of energy worldwide remained stable during this time? And how does the current focus on climate change affect this interdisciplinary field? Katarína Stehlíková talks with Silvester van Koten also about the current increase in electricity prices in the Talking Economics Podcast.

Silvester van Koten is a CERGE-EI Ph.D. alumnus and a senior researcher at the Faculty of Social and Economic Studies at Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem. He specializes in energy economics and experimental economics with a particular interest in the economics of electricity markets, renewables, and regulations.

What information do we need to introduce good economic policies? Have we learned anything from the pandemic? In the Talking Economics Podcast, Katarina Stehlíková talks with Filip Pertold and takes a closer look at data and its role in effective government.

Has the current pandemic changed the role of women in family, society, and work? How does the crisis affect women in developing countries? In the Talking Economics Podcast, Katarina Stehlíková talks with Martina Miotto and takes a closer look at these and other questions related to Gender and Development Economics.

Martina Miotto is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences and a research associate at the CAGE Research Centre in Warwick. Martina holds a Ph.D. degree from the University of Warwick. Her research interests lie in development economics and economic history, focusing on the interconnection between the two. Among others, Martina has recently co-authored a study entitled "Gender and the COVID Crisis."

In the Talking Economics Podcast, Katarina Stehlíková talks with Eva Hromádková about health economics and its contribution to the current debate on health, healthcare, and healthcare policy.

How has the pandemic changed health economics? „In the last year, interest seems to have seized most of the population. This is indeed great for the field, and I’m actually looking forward to all the new studies and findings. (..) For us all as human beings, I just wish we could all live in the boring times again,“ Eva says.

Eva Hromadkova is a CERGE-EI Ph.D. in Economics Alumna and the program director for our Master in Applied Economics program. Eva also works in the Monetary and Statistics Department at the Czech National Bank as an Expert Analyst of the Economy.

What are the biggest challenges in economics due to the COVID-19 pandemic? One of the questions answered by Jan Švejnar in the Talking Economics Podcast focused on the effects of the pandemic on the economics and economy.