Dialogues économiques | AMSE | Aix-Marseille School of Economics

An online media outlet dedicated to making economics accessible, bridging the gap between academic knowledge and the general public. Dialogues économiques publishes articles, video interviews, and infographics, twice a month, providing information on a wide range of topics addressed by economic research. Available in both French and English, the content may be reproduced in its entirety, provided the authors and the source Dialogues économiques are credited (CC BY-NC-ND). Readers can subscribe to receive each new publication directly in their inbox.

Dialogues économiques

Protecting and Taking Advantage of Nature: A Paradox?

In the current Anthropocene epoch, human economic activities seem increasingly incompatible with nature preservation. In fact, many habitats and species have already paid the price… Researchers Noël Bonneuil and Raouf Boucekkine strive to address this apparent paradox by proposing an approach that combines population genetics and econometrics.

DECEMBER 7, 2021

Dialogues économiques

The Infertility Boom: What Are the Costs to Society?

It is becoming increasingly more difficult to have a baby. In France, one in every eight couples seeks help for a fertility problem. Solutions such as medically assisted reproduction (MAR) do exist, but these treatments can be costly for both individuals and society. Faced with this phenomenon, economists Johanna Etner, Natacha Raffin, and Thomas Seegmuller have sought the best system to reduce the inequalities generated by infertility, which affects individuals in an increasingly random manner.

NOVEMBER 23, 2021

Dialogues économiques

Microcredit in India: Forging A New Path to School?

For the most impoverished, the various obstacles and pitfalls along the path to school do not always make it a walk in the park. To fight against poverty, many microcredit programs have been set up. One of these, the “Self Help Group” in the state of Jharkhand, India, has been studied by economists Jean-Marie Baland, Timothée Demont, and Rohini Somanathan. After six years of operation, the program has increased school enrollment by 40%. However, it remains ineffective in reducing child labor. These results can further help us understand how microcredit works.

NOVEMBER 9, 2021

Dialogues économiques

Compétences socio-émotionnelles : faut-il avoir une famille nombreuse ?

Qualifications are not everything in the job market. Knowing how to be patient, work in a team, and manage your emotions are all highly valued skills. These so-called non-cognitive or social-emotional skills are developed during a key period in our life: childhood. Economists Simon Briole, Hélène Le Forner, and Anthony Lepinteur reveal in a recent study how sibling size influences the development of social-emotional skills and has the dependent variable of gender.

OCTOBER 26, 2021

Dialogues économiques

Voting When Conflicted

When you step into a voting booth, you are faced with a choice: who do you vote for? What happens to people who share the ideas of several parties at once? How can these people influence elections? These are the questions that Sacha Bourgeois-Gironde and João V. Ferreira answer in an article that examines how individuals divided between several ideologies can impact elections.

OCTOBER 12, 2021

Dialogues économiques

Collective Decision: Preventing the Worst from Happening

Should we wish for the best or focus on damage control? From deciding who will sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, to choosing a cake for guests, or distributing a budget, the question is always there. Anna Bogomolnaia, Ron Holzman, and Hervé Moulin look at the mechanisms of decision-making and come up with ways to increase the guarantee that the worst will not happen.

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

Dialogues économiques

Health economics - Interview with Bruno Ventelou

Bruno Ventelou (AMSE/CNRS), a health economist, talks about his research.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2021

Dialogues économiques

Prevention is better than ... getting old?

In 2019, public health expenditure in the European Union amounted to 983 billion euros - 7% of GDP on average. According to a study conducted by researchers Yevgeniy Goryakin, Sophie Thiébaut, Sébastien Cortaredona, Aliénor Lerouge, Michele Cecchini, Andrea Feigl, and Bruno Ventelou, health spending will continue to increase steadily, reaching an estimated figure of between 1223 and 1278 billion euros by 2050.

AUGUST 31, 2021

Photo by Fotogestoeber / Aurore Basiuk on Adobestock

Dialogues économiques

Why do most prices rarely change?

Fuel prices are almost constantly changing, whilst prices paid for electrical appliances may remain stable for several months. For most products, prices tend to remain the same over weeks or even months. There is a simple explanation for this: it would be too expensive for companies to perpetually analyse market price changes. This is the conclusion reached by economists Mark N. Harris, Hervé Le Bihan and Patrick Sevestre after analysing the evolution of prices of several hundred industrial product pricess.

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

Dialogues économiques

Summer with Dialogues économiques

Dialogues économiques is taking its summer break and looks forward to seeing you on September 1st ! To keep you waiting until then, the online magazine offers you a selection of articles to (re)read...

JULY 19, 2021