Bloomberg Benchmark

The macroeconomic kind of economist tends to get the most attention - talking about growth, inflation and whether interest rates should go up or down. But it’s the micro economists working away quietly on smaller parts of the economy who have typically done most to change the world. This week Stephanie Flanders talks to one of them - Harvard University’s Michael Kremer about winning the 2019 Nobel Prize for Economics with two other researchers - and how their work has transformed the way we tackle global poverty. There’s something for macro fans as well with a high level discussion on the future of monetary policy.  Should central banks be trying to save the planet - and are there tools to fight the next recession which do not disproportionately benefit the rich? These are Just two of the questions up for debate in a panel Stephanie chaired this week featuring Claudio Borio of the Bank for International Settlements, former Bank of England policy makers Sir Charlie Bean and Dame Kate Barker, and Graham Turner,

Growth has been slowing around the developed world — not just in recent months but for decades. One potential reason is that women are having fewer babies. On this week's Stephanomics, reporter Jeannette Neumann visits a region in Spain with the lowest fertility rate in Europe to find out why this is happening and what it means for the global economy. Host Stephanie Flanders also talks with Darrell Bricker, co-author of the book “Empty Planet,” about his theory that the global population will begin to decline.One way to prop up the birthrate could be to offer employees a better work-life balance. Recent U.S. data showed that people who work at home aren't just growing in number but also, on average, earn more than those who commute. Bloomberg Opinion columnist Justin Fox joins Stephanie to consider the implications of this striking fact.

Stephanie Flanders returns with a new season of Stephanomics, bringing on-the-ground insights from Bloomberg's reporters and economists into the forces driving the global economy. On this week's episode, senior trade reporter Shawn Donnan heads to the front lines of the US-China trade war in Wisconsin, and Stephanie talks through its global impact with Penny Goldberg, chief economist at the World Bank.One silver lining to all this, says Goldberg, is that more attention is finally being paid to trade policy. She also discusses whether this period will mark the high point for globalization - and confirms the suspicions of manufacturers that Shawn spoke to out in the field, who believe that they are paying the tariffs - not China, as claimed so often by Donald Trump. 

Stephanie Flanders, head of Bloomberg Economics, returns to bring you another season of on-the-ground insight into the forces driving global growth and jobs today. From the cosmetics maker in California grappling with Donald Trump's tariff war, to the coffee vendor in Argentina burdened by the nation's never-ending crises, Bloomberg's 130-plus economic reporters and economists around the world head into the field to tell these stories. Stephanomics will also look hard at the solutions, in the lead-up to Bloomberg’s second New Economy Forum in Beijing, where a select group of business leaders, politicians and thinkers will gather to chart a better course on trade, global governance, climate and more. Stephanomics will help lead the way for those debates not just with Bloomberg journalists but also discussion and analysis from world-renowned experts into the forces that are moving markets and reshaping the world. The new season of Stephanomics launches Oct. 3.

On this new season of Prognosis, we look at the spread of infections that are resistant to antimicrobial medicines. You're probably more likely to have heard of these as superbugs. Their rise has been described as a silent tsunami of catastrophic proportions. We travel to countries on the frontline of the crisis, and explore how hospitals and doctors around the world are fighting back. Prognosis’ new season launches Sept. 5. 

Under pressure from President Donald Trump, Mexico is cracking down on migrants coming from its own southern neighbor, Guatemala. But the hit to the local economy could have unanticipated consequences for the U.S. Bloomberg's Eric Martin reports from the border, while Stephanie takes stock of these and other challenges for international economic cooperation at a conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.  This month also marks 75 years since the Allied powers gathered at the Mount Washington hotel to lay the groundwork for the post-World War II economic order. At a conference commemorating the anniversary she talks with Meg Lundsager, the U.S.'s representative at the IMF from 2007 to 2014 and Nouriel Roubini - the economist famed for predicting the financial crisis who's recently become a big critic of the speculation in cryptocurrencies. 

The yellow-vest protests that shook France last year may be over, but the forces of political and economic anger continue to ripple around the world. Stephanie visits the City of Lights to speak with two key figures about how the country is faring and how major nations' finance chiefs are tackling these issues -- as well as Facebook's proposed digital currency, Libra -- at this week's Group of Seven meeting in France. Listen to her interviews with French Finance Minister Bruno le Maire and Laurence Boone, chief economist at the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Donald Trump’s trade policies have created winners and losers around the world. Among the big losers so far, count Spanish olive farmers. Their exports to the U.S. were hit with a huge tariff last year. U.S. officials claimed they had been undercutting California olive growers by selling Spanish olives on the cheap. Though barely a blip on the global trade war, it has been very bad news for the olive groves of southern Spain. But business is booming for Europe’s aluminum industry, especially its exports to the U.S., despite President Trump’s tariffs. What gives?  Bloomberg's Jeannette Neumann wades into the worlds of olives and aluminum to figure out what's going on, then Stephanie talks through some of the many other unintended consequences of U.S. trade wars with Bloomberg trade tsar, Brendan Murray. She and Executive Editor Simon Kennedy also chat about the political pressure being piled on the US Federal Reserve and many other central banks. 

This week we bring you a special conversation between host Stephanie Flanders and Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf. They try to make sense of the rise in populism in recent years, what it means for the global economy, and whether it spells the end of liberal democracy. The event was recorded in London on July 1.

This week we focus on the two giants of the global economy: China and India. At first glance, China seems to be shrugging off the effects of U.S. tariffs, but Bloomberg economists looked closer and found that Chinese exports to the US in 1,000s of product categories had been hit hard and this trade had not also been replaced by U.S. production or exports from other countries. Host Stephanie Flanders gets the full story from Bloomberg economist Maeva Cousin. We also explore a great economic puzzle of recent times:  how can India grow by 6%-7% a year for 20 years without creating jobs for half of its potential workers?     The world’s second most-populous economy has seen a step change in its economic performance in the past 20 years but job growth keeps coming up short. Less than half of the working-age population is in work or even looking for a job -- and nearly 80% of women are not in the workforce at all. Anirban Nag and Vrishti Beniwal go in search of an answer on the streets of N

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi earned the ire of Donald Trump this week with his farewell speech at a major annual conference. Editor Paul Gordon was there at the prestigious gathering in Sintra, Portugal, and breaks down Draghi's comments with host Stephanie Flanders.  Then hear a special recording of Stephanie's engaging live panel discussion this week in London with two of the city's most prominent economic voices, HSBC Chief Economist Janet Henry and the Chief Economic Advisor to the UK Treasury, Clare Lombardelli. They discuss an increasingly hazy outlook for the world economy and offer their unique perspective on women and diversity in the economics profession -- or lack thereof.

Workers around the globe are in for a shock in coming decades as automation transforms the workplace and maybe destroys their jobs. But for Nobel-winning economist Christopher Pissarides, it's not all dismal. Host Stephanie Flanders has an extended talk with the London School of Economics professor about the upsides of automation and how Europe may actually be well-positioned to survive this transition. They also discuss the risk of another Eurozone crisis and the need for a broader measure of economic success than national output or GDP. Then Stephanie catches up with Bloomberg reporter Shawn Donnan for an update on the U.S.-China trade war and his observations from a recent visit to the Asian nation. 

If you live in the U.K., your workweek could soon be a day shorter if the political winds tilt more heavily toward the left. Jess Shankleman reports on how the proposal is gaining momentum and how it might affect Britain, then Bloomberg Opinion columnist Noah Smith joins host Stephanie Flanders for a deeper look at the economic questions raised by the four-day week.

On this week's episode, former Obama administration official Wendy Cutler draws on her deep experience as a trade negotiator to offer her views on the tariff standoff between the U.S. and China. Guest host Tom Orlik, Bloomberg's chief economist, also gets an inside look at the talks from reporter Jenny Leonard in Washington. Meanwhile, reporter Ivan Levingston sheds light on how Israel is desperate to fill jobs and is turning to a religious group that's also crucial to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition.

“What Goes Up” is a new show from Bloomberg that tracks the main themes influencing global markets. Hosts Sarah Ponczek and Mike Regan speak with guests about the wildest movements in markets and what they mean for your investments. The show is out now, and can be found on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

Marty Markowitz had his share of problems. His parents had recently died. He had troubles at work. A failing relationship. He needed someone to help him through this rough patch in his life. So he decided to get some professional help from a psychiatrist. What he did not count on, was what happened in his life over the next twenty-nine years. This is a story about power, control, and turning to the wrong person for help.  Listen now at bloomberg.com/shrinknextdoor

The longest economic expansion in the developed world may not be much longer for this world -- and that fear helped drive the shock election result in Australia last week. In the country where GDP has been growing for an amazing almost 28 years, Bloomberg's Chris Bourke explores how the cratering real estate market is threatening the first recession since Vanilla Ice topped the music charts.    Host Stephanie Flanders also talks with Bloomberg editor Malcolm Scott and economist Tamara Henderson about what the conservative government's re-election means for the economy Down Under. Then Stephanie catches up with Federal Reserve reporter Chris Condon about the central bank's sweeping review of how it approaches policy. 

Germany's engineering prowess has driven the nation's economic success for decades. Now that model is being questioned thanks to rising protectionism, slowing global growth, new technologies and Germany's own underinvestment in its infrastructure. Bloomberg's Catherine Bosley has a report from the factory floor, then host Stephanie Flanders talks with columnist Ferdinando Giugliano about what's ailing Europe's powerhouse.    Stephanie also hears from economic editor Paul Gordon about another hot topic where Germany's influence is uncertain: the race for the next president of the European Central Bank.

Where are there more millennials than in North America, Europe and the Middle East combined, who are vastly different from their parents' generation? China, of course. Kevin Hamlin reports on how these young people are redefining the world's second-biggest economy -- and also the world.    Host Stephanie Flanders then turns to Andrew Browne, head of Bloomberg's New Economy Forum, and Bloomberg chief economist Tom Orlik for their perspective what makes Chinese millennials special and the impact they will have. Finally, Bloomberg senior trade reporter Shawn Donnan returns to Stephanomics to talk about the latest developments in the U.S.-China tariff war.

These days about one in three bites of food you eat wouldn’t be possible without commercial bee pollination. And the economic value of insect pollination worldwide is estimated to be about $217 billion. But as important as bees have become for farming, there’s also increasing signs that bees are in trouble. In the decade-plus since the first cases of Colony Collapse Disorder were reported, bees are still dying in record numbers, and important questions remain unanswered. On this new miniseries, host Adam Allington and environment reporters David Schultz and Tiffany Stecker travel to all corners of the honeybee ecosystem from Washington, D.C., to the California almond fields, and orchards of the upper Midwest to find answers to these questions.