Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
What do measures of uncertainty tell us about the state of the economy and how should firms and households use those measurements to inform decision-making? Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by returning guest Nick Bloom, professor of economics at Stanford University, whose research on the causes and consequences of uncertainty helped build the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index.
In the discussion, they cover the various ways to measure uncertainty including the VIX and text-based methods. Bloom explains how the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index works, why discrepancies can sometimes exist between uncertainty measurements, and how these uncertainty indices can help inform better business decision-making.
Submit your questions to the show here: bit.ly/AllElseEqual
Find All Else Equal on the web: https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/
What do measures of uncertainty tell us about the state of the economy and how should firms and households use those measurements to inform decision-making? Hosts and finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen are joined by returning guest Nick Bloom, professor of economics at Stanford University, whose research on the causes and consequences of uncertainty helped build the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index.
In the discussion, they cover the various ways to measure uncertainty including the VIX and text-based methods. Bloom explains how the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index works, why discrepancies can sometimes exist between uncertainty measurements, and how these uncertainty indices can help inform better business decision-making.
Submit your questions to the show here: bit.ly/AllElseEqual
Find All Else Equal on the web: https://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/allelse/
