The macroeconomic kind of economist tends to get the most attention - talking about growth, inflation and whether interest rates should go up or down. But it’s the micro economists working away quietly on smaller parts of the economy who have typically done most to change the world. This week Stephanie Flanders talks to one of them - Harvard University’s Michael Kremer about winning the 2019 Nobel Prize for Economics with two other researchers - and how their work has transformed the way we tackle global poverty. There’s something for macro fans as well with a high level discussion on the future of monetary policy. 

Should central banks be trying to save the planet - and are there tools to fight the next recession which do not disproportionately benefit the rich? These are Just two of the questions up for debate in a panel Stephanie chaired this week featuring Claudio Borio of the Bank for International Settlements, former Bank of England policy makers Sir Charlie Bean and Dame Kate Barker, and Graham Turner, founder of GFC and adviser to the U.K. Labour Party.