Can humans cooperate with one another when facing extremely low survival chances? Do pre-existing social ties increase one's chances of survival in life-and-death situations? Social linkages in extreme circumstances are discussed with Štěpán Jurajda in Talking Economics. Štěpán Jurajda is the Mellon Endowment Professor with Tenure at CERGE-EI, a Full Professor at CERGE, Charles University, and a Senior Researcher at the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. He also serves as Deputy Minister for Science, Research and Innovation of the Czech Republic. His paper Social Networks and Surviving the Holocaust brings new evidence for historical research.

When and why do national institutions change? Can some people living under particular institutions, such as democracy, play a crucial role in changing their institutions back home? Do national leaders matter? Katarína Stehlíková and Sebastian Ottinger look back to European history, and from the perspective of political economy, discuss its relevance for institutional change in today’s China or Russia.

Empires, nation states, and democracies: Perspectives on the war in Ukraine is what our anchor, Katarína Stehlíková, has discussed with our special guest, prof. Gérard Roland, in the latest episode of Talking Economics. Professor Gérard Roland is a member of CERGE-EI’s Executive and Supervisory Committee, an E. Morris Cox Professor of Economics, and Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. His early work includes political economy of communism. He has been one of the world's most renowned and influential scholars in transition economics since 1990. His work also focuses on the impact of culture and political institutions on the prosperity of countries.

The Czech labor market situation has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and in recent months by the war in Ukraine. What are the main characteristics of the Czech labor market now? What changes has the labor market undergone in recent years? What is the position of women in the Czech labor market? In Talking Economics Katarína Stehlíková talks about these issues with Klára Kalíšková.