The Innovation and Diffusion Podcast

In this episode, our guest is Eric Zwick from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business and we talked about his academic journey, his and Owen Zidar's new book "The Everywhere Millionaire: Who Is Really Rich in America and How They Got There", a new groundbreaking working paper on entrepreneurship, and more! Link to his book: https://www.everywheremillionaire.comHost: Ruveyda Nur Gozen (@ruveyda_gozen on X) 00:56 Big Picture Questions 07:35 The Everywhere Millionaire15:58 Tax Policy and Thoughts 20:49 Political Influence and "Stealthy Wealthy"26:00  Creating New Businesses in America: The Determinants of and Returns to Entrepreneurship45:20 Cheezy Questions!

In this episode, our guest is Harun Alp from the FED and we talk about his academic journey, role models, subsistences versus transformative entrepreneurs, who becomes a transformative entrepreneur, efficient policy making, and more! Enjoy!00:00 What are the big picture questions that Harun Alp is after?02:13 His Role Models 04:56 Co-Authorship Dynamics: Who Should You Choose as your Co-Author? 07:11 Any Useful Research Habits? 10:00 Entrepreneurship Fundamentals: What goes into the Entrepreneurship box? 13:35 Who are Transformative vs Subsistence Entrepreneurs? 16:10 Who Becomes a Transformative Entrepreneur? 22:29 Macroeconomic Determinants of Entrepreneurship 26:40 Which policy is the best? 29:52 Cheezy Questions and Never Have I Ever!Link for the paper: https://www.harunalp.net/assets/papers/AAPP_May2025.pdf 

In this episode, our guest is Alexander T. Whalley from the University of Calgary and we talked about his academic journey, paper suggestions, large public R&D policies, space race, and more! Host: Ruveyda Gozen (@ruveyda_gozen on X) 01:35 Big Picture Questions and Alex’s Academic Journey 03:35 A Research Habit Recommendation05:01 A “Must-Read” Paper Suggestion (Enrico Moretti: https://moretti.econ.berkeley.edu ) 06:40 Returns to Public R&D: Space Race and Cold War 13:15 CIA Data: Is it Accessible? 15:39 How Should We Understand the “No Productivity Effects”? 18:30 Should Governments Implement More Mission-Focus R&D Policies? 22:01 Surprising Moments from the “Moonshot” Paper23:00 Geography of Innovation 25:56 Gaps in the Literature 27:38 Cheezy Questions & Never Have I Ever!Papers Mentioned:Moonshot: Public R&D and Growth 150 Years of the Geography of Innovation

In this episode, our guest is Reka Juhasz from the University of British Columbia and we talked about her academic journey, favorite books and papers in economics, why some countries could successfully industrialize while others failed, what made Meiji Japan special, and more! 06:58 Why could some countries industrialize more successfully than others? 09:55 What specifically happened in Meiji Japan in the 19th century? 20:10 What is the main message of this QJE paper? 23:00 Industrial Policy and Political Agendas28:25 Cheezy Questions and Never Have I Ever!Papers/Books mentioned in the episode: Codification, Technology Absorption, and the Globalization of the Industrial Revolution: https://www.nber.org/papers/w32667The Rise of "the Rest": https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-rise-of-the-rest-9780195170597?cc=gb&lang=en&The Wind of Change: Maritime Technology, Trade, and Economic Development: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20140832

In this episode, our guest is Fabian Waldinger (University of Munich) and we talked about his research interests, scientific production and boycotts in the World War 1 era, women in academia, the role of socio-economic background on academic success, and more! Enjoy!0:52 What is the main question that he is after? 01:29 What drew him into his research areas? 03:21 Who were his role models? 04:14 Which paper in economics is his favorite?  05:47 International Scientific Production, WW1 and Boycotts22:16 What are the implications of “International Collaboration in Science” for today? 24:07 Data comes first or the question? What is Fabian’s production function? 26:05 Women in Academia throughout the 20th Century28:55 Socio-economic background and the Success Likelihood of being in Academia36:00 Cheezy Questions & Never Have I Ever!

In this episode, our guest is Camille Landais (@landais_camille on X) from the London School of Economics and we talk about his academic journey, interests in family economics, policy making versus academia, the relationship between gender inequality and child penalty, and more! Enjoy!Host: Ruveyda Gozen (@ruveyda_gozen on X)Intro: His Academic Journey and Interests on Gender Inequality & Family Economics05:58 Academia or Policy Making?08:05 Gender Inequality and Having Children 14:49 What are the channels or mechanisms?17:28 Child Penalty is Larger in Developed Economies: childpenaltyatlas.org23:52 Do Welfare Policies Work? What are Camille’s Family Policy Suggestions?29:01 Cheezy Questions!

In this episode, our guest is Salomé Baslandze from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and we talked about her academic journey, influential economists in her career, new data on product vs process innovations, firm growth, political connections, policy suggestions, and more!Host: Ruveyda Nur Gozen (@ruveyda_gozen on X)1:04 Her Academic Journey4:52 Comparison between Academia and Policy Institutions 7:40 The "AI" Heat on Academia22:57 Why do economists use theoretical models? 29:50 The Role of Competition Authorities32:56 Research Gaps in the Literature36:00 Cheezy Questions!38:03 Never Have I Ever!

In this episode, our guest is Thomas Philippon who is a Professor of Finance at NYU Stern. We talked about his academic journey from Physics to Economics, influential economists, competition, superstar firms, concentration, and more!13:36 Debating Market Competition24:23 Historical Context of Superstar Firms 27:49 Impact of COVID on Market Dynamics 30:23 Market Power and Concentration: Good or Bad?34:19 Comparative Analysis: US vs Europe41:52 Cheezy Questions and Never Have I Ever!

In this episode, our guest is Alberto Bisin, a Professor of Economics at NYU. We talked about his personal academic journey, the economics culture at the University of Chicago, culture for economic growth, evolution in economics, and more!Host: Ruveyda Gozen (Cardiff Business School and CEP LSE)Producers: Ruveyda Gozen (Cardiff Business School and LSE) and John Van Reenen (LSE) 01:50 Evolution of Economics05:16 Experiences at the University of Chicago13:50 The Role of Culture in Economic Growth21:06 Let's Think of a Hypothetical County?25:45 The Long Divergence between the West and Middle East42:48 Cheezy Questions & Never Have I Ever!

In this episode, our guest is Fiona Murray from MIT. We talked about her academic journey, publication processes, Nobel Prize winners in Economics, gender, security-driven innovation, and more!12:15 Entrepreneurship is about failure. How about you?15:54 Publication Speed in Economics and Other Fields18:22 Nobel Prize Winners in Economics 21:00 Gender, Innovation and Innovation Ecosystems31:17 Market-Driven Innovations vs Security-Driven Innovations