logo
episode-header-image
May 2017
42m 24s

288. Are the Rich Really Less Generous T...

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
About this episode

A series of academic studies suggest that the wealthy are, to put it bluntly, selfish jerks. It's an easy narrative to swallow — but is it true? A trio of economists set out to test the theory. All it took was a Dutch postal worker's uniform, some envelopes stuffed with cash, and a slight sense of the absurd.

Up next
Yesterday
How to Make Your Own Luck (Update)
Before she decided to become a poker pro, Maria Konnikova didn’t know how many cards are in a deck. But she did have a Ph.D. in psychology, a brilliant coach, and a burning desire to know whether life is driven more by skill or chance. She found some answers in poker — and she’s ... Show More
58m 7s
Jul 4
639. “This Country Kicks My Ass All the Time”
Cory Booker on the politics of fear, the politics of hope, and how to split the difference. SOURCES:Cory Booker, senior United States Senator from New Jersey. RESOURCES:"'When Are More Americans Going to Speak Up?'" by The New Yorker Radio Hour (2025)."Cory Booker’s Marathon Floo ... Show More
53m 46s
Jun 27
638. Are You Ready for the Elder Swell?
In the U.S., there will soon be more people over 65 than there are under 18 — and it’s not just lifespan that’s improving, it’s “healthspan” too. Unfortunately, the American approach to aging is stuck in the 20th century. In less than an hour, we try to unstick it. (Part three of ... Show More
54m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2020
La pauvreté est-elle un problème pour l’économie ?
Lutter contre la pauvreté, qui risque d’imploser avec la crise du coronavirus, est un choix politique mais également une question de modèle économique. Dans le treizième épisode du podcast 'Les Éclaireurs', Matthieu Belliard prend le temps d’interroger l'économiste Elise Huillery ... Show More
24 m
Jan 2023
Inconsiderate Nepotism Kids
Are your wealthiest friends the ones most likely to refuse to acknowledge the wealth disparity? Perhaps they are the stingiest with their money? In this episode, we delve into the topic of nepotism and privilege and their impact on college life, focusing on the experiences of stu ... Show More
33m 16s
Jun 2023
Why This Economist Wants to Give Every Poor Child $50,000
“Wealth is the paramount indicator of economic prosperity and well-being,” says the economist Darrick Hamilton. He’s right. Policy analysis tends to focus on income, but it is wealth that often determines whether we can send our kids to college, pay for an illness, quit a job, st ... Show More
52m 54s
Apr 2021
Eat The Rich
Invisibilia explores a social experiment with money, focused around a contentious topic: reparations. What happens when you demand white people give up their wealth? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy 
51m 8s
Jun 2021
Employers Are Begging for Workers. Maybe That’s a Good Thing.
There has been a bit of panic lately over employers who say not enough people want to apply for open jobs. Are we facing a labor shortage? Have stimulus checks and expanded unemployment insurance payments created an economy full of people who don’t want to work — and who are hold ... Show More
1h 3m
Aug 2022
Raj Chetty on Economic Mobility
Economist Raj Chetty of Harvard University talks about his work on economic mobility with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. The focus is on Chetty's recent co-authored study in Nature where he finds that poor people in America who are only connected to other poor people do dramatically ... Show More
1h 19m
Jan 2021
More Money Less Problems
Back in March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was just beginning and the shelter-in-place orders brought the economy to a screeching halt, a quirky-but-clever idea to save the economy made its way up to some of the highest levels of government. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib propos ... Show More
28m 13s
Oct 2023
A Few Laws of Getting Rich
Measuring wealth is easy. You just count it up. Measuring some of the downsides of wealth is so much harder and more nuanced. They can be so nuanced and hard to measure that many people won’t even believe they exist. A downside to wealth? How could that possibly be? Let me propos ... Show More
18m 28s
May 2022
Wealthy People vs. Taxes
It happens every year as tax season comes around in the US. Numerous media outlets publish excoriating investigations of wealthy corporations and individuals that, somehow, don't seem to be paying taxes. And the majority of American citizens believe the system is, in one way or a ... Show More
57m 52s
Mar 2023
Why racial inequality is often underestimated
The disparity between how much wealth — on average — people of different racial groups hold has been well-documented through research. Yet according to one study, the size of that gap is frequently underappreciated. We talk to Ivy Oyeandor, a professor at Northwestern University ... Show More
7m 13s