austan goolsbee

This week's guest is Austan Goolsbee, a former economic advisor to President Barack Obama, a frequent contributor to the New York Times, and currently the Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. As the pandemic has surged, Goolsbee’s been keeping a close eye on the major questions confronting our economic future: inflation, supply chain and the future of work. We recorded on the afternoon of Jan. 14, when Chicago and Illinois seemed to be showing a dip in COVID cases, but already, the economic signs for January were pointing downward. Goolsbee says the severity of any economic turndown – like it has during the entire pandemic – will rely on our handling of the virus itself. He discussed whether pandemic changes – like remote work, the great resignation, and a reconsideration of a just-in-time global supply chain – might stick. He also explored whether federal relief is acting like it should, and whether the Build Back Better bill is necessary to cushion the blow from future crises. Goolsbee also talked about what kind of Chicago mayor his neighbor Arne Duncan would make. And Goolsbee explains why he believes cities will recover post-pandemic… if crime can be brought under control.