The Economics of Work Podcast @economicsofwork

Watch the full episode with Ben Zweig and NY Fed economist Natalia Emanuel: revelio.link/4eging3

Commuting to an office just to sit on Zoom calls defeats the purpose of returning in person. When employees work in different cities from their teams, return-to-office mandates can mean the worst of both worlds: commuting without the benefits of face-to-face collaboration.

Returning to the office is harder than it sounds. Companies that hired workers across different cities can't easily reverse those decisions. Shifting back to in-person work may require years of local hiring, difficult staffing decisions, or new ways to collaborate.

In this week’s episode of The Economics of Work, host Ben Zweig and NY Fed economist Natalia Emanuel discuss the disconnect between how workers and managers value remote work. Watch the full episode: revelio.link/4eging3

Managers are underestimating how much workers value remote work. Research finds that employees are willing to give up 4–10% of their wages to work remotely, yet managers underestimate how much workers value that flexibility by roughly 40%.

In this week’s episode of The Economics of Work, host Ben Zweig and NY Fed economist Natalia Emanuel discuss the science behind in-person collaboration and what it means for remote work. Watch the full episode: revelio.link/4eging3

Our brains respond differently to conversations on Zoom than they do in person. Research suggests face-to-face conversations create neural synchrony that is substantially reduced over video calls, potentially helping explain why in-person collaboration can foster creativity.

Watch the full episode with guest Ernie Tedeschi, Head of Economic Insights & Research at Stripe: revelio.link/47bB6FG

Remote work may be one of the most underrated social transformations of the past decade. Despite return-to-office mandates, working from home remains far more common than before the pandemic, reshaping how companies operate and how people work.

Watch the full episode: revelio.link/47bB6FG

The internet changed the travel agent industry. As online booking became widespread, travel agents increasingly shifted toward serving wealthier clients willing to pay for personalized service, with higher earnings for those who remained.

In this week’s episode of The Economics of Work, Ben Zweig and Ernie Tedeschi discuss why measuring inflation gets complicated when the things we buy are constantly evolving. Watch the full episode: revelio.link/47bB6FG

How do you compare prices when the products themselves keep changing? From 18th-century warships to modern data centers, measuring inflation means accounting for changes in technology, quality, and value, not just price.

In this week’s episode of The Economics of Work, host Ben Zweig and Ernie Tedeschi discuss why measuring productivity is harder than it seems. Watch the full episode: revelio.link/47bB6FG

Measuring productivity is more complicated than it sounds. Productivity depends on two difficult-to-measure factors: economic output and hours worked. Even small inconsistencies in either can make comparisons across industries and countries challenging.

Watch the full episode of The Economics of Work with Mike Spence, Nobel laureate, and Ben Zweig: reveliolabs.com/podcasts/the-e…

AI could change what it means to be a good teacher. Nobel laureate Mike Spence argues that AI can be a powerful tutor, while teachers increasingly focus on what technology can’t replace: sparking curiosity, motivating students, and teaching them to think for themselves.

Watch the full episode of The Economics of Work with Mike Spence, Nobel laureate, and Ben Zweig: reveliolabs.com/podcasts/the-e…

What if students cared less about getting into an elite college? If students were more indifferent between attending an elite university and other schools, top institutions might face more pressure to focus on what they actually provide: a high-quality education.

Watch the full episode of The Economics of Work with Mike Spence, Nobel laureate, and Ben Zweig: reveliolabs.com/podcasts/the-e…

You don’t need to attend an elite college to be successful. Nobel laureate Mike Spence challenges the idea that an Ivy League or Stanford degree is necessary to succeed, and argues that pushing kids to prepare for college too early can come at the expense of curiosity.