EconTalk http://www.econtalk.org/ en Copyright 2012 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:30:00 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Fama on Finance Eugene Fama of the University of Chicago talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the evolution of finance, the efficient market hypothesis, the current crisis, the economics of stimulus, and the role of empirical work in finance and economics.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/01/fama_on_finance.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/01/fama_on_finance.html Eugene Fama Finance Financial Crisis of 2008 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:30:00 -0500 David Rose on the Moral Foundations of Economic Behavior David Rose of the University of Missouri, St. Louis and the author of The Moral Foundation of Economic Behavior talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the book and the role morality plays in prosperity. Rose argues that morality plays a crucial role in prosperity and economic development. Knowing that the people you trade with have a principled aversion to exploiting opportunities for cheating in dealing with others allows economic actors to trust one another. That in turn allows for the widespread specialization and interaction through markets with strangers that creates prosperity. In this conversation, Rose explores the nature of the principles that work best to engender trust. The conversation closes with a discussion of the current trend in morality in America and the implications for trust and prosperity.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/01/david_rose_on_t.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/01/david_rose_on_t.html Books David Rose Law and Institutions Philosophy and Methodology Poverty and Development Theory of Markets Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:30:00 -0500 Taleb on Antifragility Nassim Taleb, author of Fooled By Randomness and The Black Swan, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about antifragility, the concept behind Taleb's next book, a work in progress. Taleb talks about how we can cope with our ignorance and uncertainty in a complex world. Topics covered include health, finance, political systems, the Fed, your career, Seneca, shame, heroism, and a few more.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/01/taleb_on_antifr.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/01/taleb_on_antifr.html Books Finance Nassim Taleb Philosophy and Methodology Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:30:00 -0500 Dean Baker on the Crisis Dean Baker of the Center for Economic Policy and Research talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the financial crisis. Baker sees the crisis as part of a broader set of phenomena--rising inequality and declining unionization. Baker is highly critical on both economic and political grounds of the policy attempts to stimulate the economy as well as the governance structure of the Federal Reserve. The conversation closes with a discussion of potential innovations to lower the budgetary cost of health care.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/01/dean_baker_on_t.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/01/dean_baker_on_t.html Dean Baker Financial Crisis of 2008 Government Budgets and Taxation Health Income Inequality Money, Banking, Monetary Policy Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:30:00 -0500 Sumner on Money and the Fed Scott Sumner of Bentley University and the blog The Money Illusion talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the state of monetary policy, the actions of the Federal Reserve over the past two years and the state of the economy. Sumner argues that monetary policy has been too tight and helped create the crisis. He disputes the relevance of the so-called liquidity trap and argues that aggressive monetary policy is both possible and desirable. The conversation closes with a discussion of what we have learned and failed to learn during the crisis.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/01/sumner_on_money.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/01/sumner_on_money.html Business Cycles, Recessions, and the Great Depression Financial Crisis of 2008 Money, Banking, Monetary Policy Scott Sumner Mon, 02 Jan 2012 06:30:00 -0500 Tabarrok on Innovation Alex Tabarrok of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his new book, Launching the Innovation Renaissance. Tabarrok argues that innovation in the United States is being held back by patent law, the legal system, and immigration policies. He then suggests how these might be improved to create a better climate for innovation that would lead to higher productivity and a higher standard of living.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/12/tabarrok_on_inn.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/12/tabarrok_on_inn.html Alex Tabarrok Books Education Information and Technology Law and Institutions Mon, 26 Dec 2011 06:30:00 -0500 Klein on Knowledge and Coordination Dan Klein of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in Klein's new book, Knowledge and Coordination. Klein argues that allegory is a powerful way to think about outcomes of emergent order. He goes deeply into the concept of the invisible hand and creates a novel way to evaluate processes that not under any one's control. Klein then suggests novel ways of evaluating economic outcomes outside of the traditional metrics and techniques. Along the way, Klein emphasizes the role of uncertainty and imperfection in the entrepreneurial process.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/12/klein_on_knowle.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/12/klein_on_knowle.html Books Daniel Klein Entrepreneurship Philosophy and Methodology Theory of Markets Mon, 19 Dec 2011 06:30:00 -0500 Munger on Profits, Entrepreneurship, and Storytelling Mike Munger of Duke University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about profit. What is profit's role in allocating resources? How should we feel about the people who earn profits or who take them in ways that may not be earned? How easy is it to discover profitable opportunities? Munger examines these questions through a series of stories, real and fictional, to illuminate the sometimes puzzling nature of profit.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/12/munger_on_profi.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/12/munger_on_profi.html Entrepreneurship Finance Income Inequality Labor Mike Munger Theory of Markets Mon, 12 Dec 2011 06:30:00 -0500 Cowen on the European Crisis Tyler Cowen of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the European crisis. Cowen argues that Greece is likely to default either in fact or in spirit but that the key question is which nations might follow--whether Italy and Spain can find a road to economic health and honoring past debts. Cowen gives his best guess as to what is likely to happen to the euro and the European Union and the implications for the rest of the world. He explores some less likely scenarios as well. He is pessimistic about Greece and the short-run prospects for preserving the status quo, but he is optimistic in the long-run about the European Union though it may have a different structure down the road.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/12/cowen_on_the_eu.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/12/cowen_on_the_eu.html Finance Financial Crisis of 2008 Money, Banking, Monetary Policy Tyler Cowen Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:30:00 -0500 Simon Johnson on the Financial Crisis Simon Johnson of MIT and the author (with James Kwak) of 13 Bankers talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the origins of the financial crisis and how the next one might be prevented. Invoking the work of George Stigler, Johnson argues that the financial sector has captured the regulatory process and the result is that regulation and government intervention have been steered more by the interests of the financial sector than to the benefit of the general public. Johnson argues for capping the size of banks in order to reduce the danger of systemic risk and the too-big-to-fail excuse for bailing out banks. Johnson also discusses the role of the Fed in subsidizing risk-taking and leverage in the financial sector.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/11/simon_johnson_o.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/11/simon_johnson_o.html Books Finance Financial Crisis of 2008 Money, Banking, Monetary Policy Simon Johnson Mon, 28 Nov 2011 06:30:00 -0500 Taubes on Fat, Sugar and Scientific Discovery Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories, Bad Calories, talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about what we know about the relationship between diet and disease. Taubes argues that for decades, doctors, the medical establishment, and government agencies encouraged Americans to reduce fat in their diet and increase carbohydrates in order to reduce heart disease. Taubes argues that the evidence for the connection between fat in the diet and heart disease was weak yet the consensus in favor of low-fat diets remained strong. Casual evidence (such as low heart disease rates among populations with little fat in their diet) ignores the possibilities that other factors such as low sugar consumption may explain the relationship. Underlying the conversation is a theme that causation can be difficult to establish in complex systems such as the human body and the economy.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/11/taubes_on_fat_s.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/11/taubes_on_fat_s.html Books Gary Taubes Health Philosophy and Methodology The Media Mon, 21 Nov 2011 06:30:00 -0500 Baumeister on Gender Differences and Culture Roy Baumeister of Florida State University and the author of Is There Anything Good About Men talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the differences between men and women in cultural and economic areas. Baumeister argues that men aren't superior to women nor are women superior to men. Rather there are some things men are better at while women excel at a different set of tasks and that these tradeoffs are a product of evolution and cultural pressure. He argues that evolutionary pressure has created different distributions of talent for men and women in a wide variety of areas. He argues that other differences in outcomes are not due to innate ability differences but rather come from different tastes or preferences.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/11/baumeister_on_g.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/11/baumeister_on_g.html Books Family Psychology Roy Baumeister Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:30:00 -0500 Kaplan on the Inequality and the Top 1% Steven Kaplan of the University of Chicago talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the richest Americans and income inequality. Drawing on work with Joshua Rauh, Kaplan talks about the composition of the richest 1% and 1/10 of 1%--what proportions come from the financial sector, CEOs from non-financial corporations, athletes, lawyers and so on. Then he discusses how the incomes of these different groups have changed over time. Kaplan argues that these groups have increased their incomes by similar proportions, suggesting that a failure of corporate governance is not the explanation of rising CEO pay. The discussion closes with a discussion of the financial crisis and the compensation in the financial sector.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/11/kaplan_on_the_i.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/11/kaplan_on_the_i.html Finance Financial Crisis of 2008 Growth Income Inequality Steven Kaplan Mon, 07 Nov 2011 06:30:00 -0500 Avent on Cities, Urban Regulations, and Growth Ryan Avent of the Economist and author of The Gated City talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about The Gated City and how cities have restricted access to land and housing. Avent argues that restricted access has raised housing prices artificially on both the east and west coast of the United States, reducing urban populations and restricting access to labor markets. He argues that this in turn has artificially depressed growth in the United States by keeping workers from their most productive opportunities. The conversation closes with a discussion of possible policy changes that might make cities more accessible to development and growth.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/10/avent_on_cities.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/10/avent_on_cities.html Books Family Growth Public Choice Regulation Ryan Avent Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:30:00 -0500 Ramey on Stimulus and Multipliers Valerie Ramey of the University of California, San Diego talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the effect of government spending on output and employment. Ramey's own work exploits the exogenous nature of wartime spending. She finds a multiplier between .8 and 1.2. (A multiplier of 1 means that GDP goes up by the amount of spending--there is neither stimulus nor crowding out.) She also discusses a survey looking at a wide range of estimates by others and finds that the estimates range from .5 to 2.0. Along the way, she discusses the effects of taxes as well. The conversation concludes with a discussion of the imprecision of multiplier estimates and the contributions of recent Nobel Laureates Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims.

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]]> http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/10/ramey_on_stimul.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/10/ramey_on_stimul.html Business Cycles, Recessions, and the Great Depression Government Budgets and Taxation Nobel Prize Winners Philosophy and Methodology Valerie Ramey Mon, 24 Oct 2011 06:30:30 -0500