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

How the Mental Load for Women is Twofold

Let’s say that a woman spends more time at work than her partner. Where’s the problem in that? In any case, it’s a rare occurrence—and for good reason. According to a study by Sarah Flèche, Anthony Lepinteur, and Nattavudh Powdthavee, the unequal distribution of domestic tasks often takes a toll on a woman's professional life. This study demonstrates how this mental load (which the majority of women still bear today) prevents them from being able to equally juggle their professional and family life and also harms their well-being.

MARCH 3, 2021

Dialogues économiques

Towards universal health coverage in developing countries

The aim of universal health coverage is the provision of healthcare for all. Universal health coverage – in its essence, a deeply humanitarian initiative - is difficult to implement, because of its high cost to the public finance. At present in Palestine, more than half of the population is already covered, but what would it cost to extend coverage to every one of the country's inhabitants? How should such a policy be financed? Economists Mohammad Abu-Zaineh, Sameera Awawda and Bruno Ventelou have conducted a study of the issue.

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

Dialogues économiques

Rising Property Prices – Reason for Businesses to Celebrate?

When real estate prices rise, it influences business investment. For large-scale property owners, this is something to celebrate, and investment increases. For those whose activities are smaller in scale, the outlook dims as investments decline. In their studies, Denis Fougère, Rémy Lecat, and Simon Ray are focusing on financial frictions with relation to property investments.

FEBRUARY 2, 2021

Dialogues économiques

Students Loans: Running into Debt? Speculative bubbles, Part II.

In the United States, student debt is skyrocketing, and young people are saddled with surging interest rates on their loans. It is not uncommon for Americans to start their career already $100,000 in debt. However, an investment in human capital (education) is, in theory, a productive investment. Economists Xavier Raurich and Thomas Seegmuller demonstrate this by analyzing how the speculative bubbles individuals use to finance their studies or raise children are, in the end, good for growth.

JANUARY 20, 2021

"Wall street bubbles - always the same", by Udo Keppler (1901) - ©DR

Dialogues économiques

When Bubbles Inflate Growth. Speculative Bubbles, Part I.

Speculative bubbles are good for growth! This observation led to major debates among economists in the 2000s. Researchers Xavier Raurich and Thomas Seegmuller sought to explain this phenomenon by studying how economic agents make investment decisions during the periods of their life as young adults, middle-aged adults, and retirees. Young people can therefore invest in their education, which is a productive but illiquid capital, through credits from the bubble (liquid assets stemming from speculative capital).

JANUARY 5, 2021

Dialogues économiques

Can we improve competitiveness at any cost?

What is the common feature between global imbalances, the Crédit d’Impôt pour la Compétitivité et l’Emploi (CICE), and Donald Trump's tweets against China? Competitiveness! This concept has been at the heart of political discourse since the European debt crisis in 2010, leading to much scrutiny of its performance and praise of its growth. So, when it comes to reforms aimed at increasing competitiveness, economists Lise Patureau and Céline Poilly point out the importance of considering the impact of corporate markup.

DECEMBER 8, 2020

Dialogues économiques

Deprescribing: Another way to heal

When an individual is afflicted with several chronic conditions at the same time, it is called multimorbidity. This is an increasingly common problem in Europe. How do general practitioners deal with it? How do they manage prescriptions that are not only vastly different but can lead to damaging drug interactions? These questions are explored by researchers Hélène Carrier, Anna Zaytseva, Aurélie Bocquier, Patrick Villani, Hélène Verdoux, Martin Fortin, and Pierre Verger in an article that examines the attitudes and practices of private general practitioners.

NOVEMBER 24, 2020

Photo by Moody Potato on Unsplash and Aurore Basiuk

Dialogues économiques

Invasive Species: join the fight against them!

Invasive species are the second most frequent cause of global biodiversity loss, and financial consequences in Europe are estimated at 12 billion euros per year. Is it possible to eradicate these devilish pests with limited financial resources? To help identify priorities in such battles, a method is offered by authors Pierre Courtois, Charles Figuières, Chloé Mulier et Joakim Weill, which is based on interactions between different species.

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

Dialogues économiques

When Game Theory Takes Us on a Ride

According to game theory, free competition is not always ideal for society. Economists Gaëtan Fournier and Marco Scarsini use this perspective to study the spatial competition between several retailers. The retailers choose the location of their business to maximize their profits. According to the researchers’ model, pursuing an individual profit leads to stable but undesirable situations for the common good.

OCTOBER 27, 2020

Dialogues économiques

World Poverty: The numbers do not add up

How many people are living in poverty in the world? Finding the answer to this simple question poses a wealth of difficulty. Determining who lives in poverty is a difficult task, and the various means used to count these people can give quite different values. Economists Zhou Xun and Michel Lubrano seek to illustrate this issue in their article, in which they propose a new method for assessing poverty in developing countries.

OCTOBER 13, 2020