Economics In Ten

Season 9 - Episode 2 - Raul Prebisch

<p>How do countries grow and develop most rapidly? Most economists would argue that openness to trade is an absolutely key factor, with specialisation leading to greater living standards for all. What happens though if your specialism is in something that doesn’t earn enough to buy you the imports that you need? In other words are some specialisms superior? Could this lead to an unhealthy dependency on other countries? These challenges to conventional thought were raised by the Argentinian economist Raul Prebisch in the early 20th century. In this second episode of Season 9, your friendly neighbourhood economists Pete and Gav, discuss the life and times of this ‘outsider’ and look at his continued influence today. As always there is a quiz, some musical suggestions and a discussion about the derivation of the word &#39;chimichurri&#39;. Technical support as always comes from our good friend Nic - the Mario Kempes of the team.<br></p>

Now That's What I Call... Behavioural Economics!

<p>Behavioural economics can explain an awful lot about how governments, media and businesses can manipulate your day-to-day choices and habitual thinking to their advantage (and your disadvantage!). This new special by your friendly neighbourhood economists Pete and Gav lifts the lid on common heuristics and biases (aka "rules of thumb" or "mental shortcuts") that influence your thinking and ultimately our world. Whether it’s getting you to spend more than you intend to in the shops or being caught up in a Ponzi scheme (or buying an NFT - remember them?) because someone famous and/or beautiful told you to do so - this is a top ten of behavioural economics that may help you catch yourself in time before you take an unfortunate and potentially expensive plunge. Guided by our insights you won’t get caught out again or at least recognise when you need to slow down your thinking to improve your decision-making. </p><p>Enjoy Pete and Gav living their dreams of being Top of the Pops DJs as they run down their Top Ten! Technical support comes from Nic, our very own Mark Ronson.</p>

Season 9 - Episode 1 - John Stuart Mill

<p>‘On Liberty’ by JS Mill is beloved by libertarians across the world - it championed the freedom of the individual in the face of growing state power. This individualism is at the heart of orthodox economic thought with Mill's ideas arguably acting as a guard rail against the malign actions of ‘the nanny state’ . However, as we will demonstrate,  Mill was a complex thinker whose thinking evolved over time. Mill had an "interesting" childhood with an intellectual hot-housing that a modern day tennis dad would find extreme. Not long out of the nursery he would be constructing Latin poetry, writing commentaries on Greek philosophy and going on long walks in the country where he mused on the thoughts of our old friend David Ricardo. A perhaps inevitable breakdown in early adulthood led to a major change of heart and thought. Mill developed into a wide ranging thinker whose ideas at times can come across as almost socialist, jarring with the more common image of Mill as libertarian champion as beloved by free market think tanks. In this first episode of Season 9, your friendly neighbourhood economists Pete and Gav, discuss the life and times of this stern looking man. As always there is a quiz, some musical suggestions and books galore to hunt down. Technical support as always comes from our good friend Nic.</p>

Santa Plc - A Play About Economics

<p>Imagine a world where Santa was forced to put shareholder value ahead of spreading joy to millions of children across the world. In this new play by your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, this scenario is explored... and along the way modern day business practices are discussed and the economics of Christmas are &quot;mulled&quot; over. Tensions rise... Will Santa embrace the ‘enshittification’ of Christmas or will he find the true meaning of Christmas once more? Listen to the play and see what you think and try to spot the four Christmas cracker jokes within! Thanks always goes to Nic for sprinkling Christmas magic all over it and to Kate for being the narrator. And thanks to the Bella the Cat for the merciless heckling as the play reaches its climax. </p>

Thatcherism Special

<p>In 1925, on the 13th October, a daughter was born to Alfred Roberts and his wife Beatrice Stephenson - she was named Margaret Hilda Roberts. The world would get to know her as Mrs Thatcher or ‘The Iron Lady’ and 100 years later, whether you loved or hated her, she is still being discussed and her influence is evident in the economics and politics of today. In this special episode by Pete and Gav, your friendly neighbourhood economists, you will dive into the economics of ‘Thatcherism’ and discover what made her economic world tick! Not only you will learn about MV=PT and the Laffer Curve but you’ll also be able to hear two limericks about her rise and fall and have a go at the obligatory quiz. Technical support comes from Nic, the Norman Tebbit of the team!!! </p><p><br></p>

Season 8 - Episode 5 - Jayati Ghosh

<p>In standard economic theory monopolies are generally seen as leading to &quot;sub-optimal outcomes&quot; (they are bad!). However in their own discipline one could argue we have seen one particular approach to economics dominate over recent decades. Is this sub-optimal? One economist in particular, Jayati Ghosh, would argue yes, and point to the negative impacts of having just one &quot;voice&quot; dominate theoretical and policy discussions. </p><p>The work of Jayati Ghosh highlights irony and suggests that through this monopolisation, economics finds itself in a situation where few new ideas can emerge that might work more effectively than the current offer, especially in a time of rampant inequality, stagnant growth and global warming. As an Asian, female economist, Ghosh offers a different perspective to many Western economists. She has done some outstanding work focusing on the area of unpaid care work but it doesn’t stop there with numerous and substantial contributions to both macro and microeconomics, particularly in the development sphere. In this fifth episode of season 8 of their award winning podcast, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav explore one of Kate Raworth’s favourite economists - Jayti Ghosh. Not only will you discover a more pluralist approach to the subject but you’ll also find out why, through a rather painful experience, she ended up learning the piano and not the violin, how the James Bond theme relates to the Indian classical raga and a super quiz on all things India. Technical support as always comes from ‘buy-me-a-tortoise’ Nic.</p><p><br></p>

A Short History of Economics in Rhythm and Rhyme

<p>The Rolling Stones once sang ‘You can’t always get what you want but sometimes you get what you need’ and when it comes to a rhyming history of economics, the Rolling Stones knew their stuff!!! In this special from your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, they blast off in a time travelling machine to visit some of the greatest economists of our time. Along the way, they muse on some of the contemporary issues in economics and deliver some rip-roaringly bad accents. Make sure you listen closely as there is a quiz at the end (10 questions of course) to see if you’ve been paying attention. We hope you enjoy it. We decided to leave the recording in its entirety so you can get the feel of what it’s like recording an independent podcast! And for the bantz!! Technical support as always comes from the real brains of the organisation Nic.<br></p>

Season 8 - Episode 4 - Paul Samuelson

<p>Paul Samuelson once said ‘I don’t care who writes a nation’s laws or crafts its advanced treatises if I can write its economics textbooks’ and boy did he write the book! Samuelson understood the power of economics and his best selling textbook called (surprisingly) ‘Economics’ was read by millions across America and influenced a number of the economists and policy makers that shape economic policy today. This was far from being his only claim to fame though and throughout his lifetime he wrote an extraordinarily large number of influential papers across a range of micro and macroeconomic topics (in cricket terms he was very much and all rounder or for baseball fans a &#39;two way player&#39;. His neoclassical synthesis that combined Keynesianism with New Classical theory was a particularly influential advance. He is also seen as the man who brought a far greater mathematical rigour to economics, an approach which has very much outlived him.</p><p>In this fourth episode of Season 8 of their award winning podcast, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, dive into the world of Paul Krugman’s (a fellow Nobel Prize winner) favourite economist. Along the way, you will find out about AMSR, a trivia quiz that features a ‘joke’ question that Samuelson got right and so many ideas, you won’t know what to do with them all. Technical support as always comes from our good friend Nic.</p>

International Trade Special

<p>In the post-war era in particular the orthodox view in economic and political circles has been that &quot;free&quot; trade is crucial in ensuring that economies grow and prosperity is shared across the world. Arguably, with the Trump presidency we are seeing a departure from this accepted convention. We are also seeing some other, perhaps less charged voices sharing a more nuanced picture of the benefits of trade, for example the Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton who has pointed out the almost wilful ignorance many thinkers display with respect to the downsides of international trade. </p><p> In this special episode by Pete and Gav, your friendly neighbourhood economists, you will dive into this dense topic to create your own a guide that can help you see the woods from the trees! If you’re worried that you may have the Marshall-Lerner condition, never fear! They’ll put you straight. In a tizz about the differences between trading blocs, free trade areas and custom unions? Then again, do not fear because all will be revealed. Not only do we cut through the technical language we also have a fun quiz when you can try and work out what the key export is for ten countries. You have a good score to beat, so good luck! Technical support as always comes from Nic, whose comparative advantage is definitely in computer stuff.</p><p>PS We were delighted recently in the Feedspot Top 60 Podcasts About Economics. Thanks dear listeners!</p>

Season 8 - Episode 3 - James Meade

<p>All countries seem to have economic growth as their primary economic objective and the received opinion is that the best way to do this is through international trade. Since the end of the Second World War this trade has been facilitated by trade agreements brokered first by the ad hoc assemblies to promote the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and later via the auspices of the permanently instituted World Trade Organisation (WTO). The man behind the idea of an organisation to encourage trade was Nobel Prize winner James Meade, a real economists’ economist. Throughout his life, he worked on numerous areas of economics and had a personal crusade to prevent the malaise of unemployment, With even a cursory look at his thought you can see how influential he is or might be today's world in a broad range of areas e.g. in his prescient ideas about an Universal Basic Income (UBI) In this third episode of Season 8 of their award winning podcast, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, dive into the world of Angus Deaton’s (a fellow Nobel Prize winner) favourite economist. Along the way, you will get a cheese recommendation, a rather coarse quiz and so many policy ideas, you won’t know what to do with them all. Technical support as always comes from our good friend Nic.</p>

Supply Side Economics Special

<p>How do you achieve the magic formula of low inflation and economic growth? In the 1970s this was beginning to move further and further away from the reach of policy makers using the traditional approach of ‘demand management’, In the post-war era fiscal and monetary policy to manage the vagaries of the economic cycle but this approach was undermined by the curse of "stagflation". The late 1970s and 1980s so the emergence of a "new" approach and policy-making saw a big swing towards the use of what became known as supply-side policies. On both sides of the Atlantic Thatcherism and Reaganomics introduced ‘trickle-down’ economics to the world and a whole suite of new policies to manage (or not manage!) the economy - but what were they trying to do and did they actually work? In this new special by Pete and Gav, your friendly neighbourhood economists, we dive into the world of supply-side economics. As always we discuss 10 questions that we hope will give you a good overview of what supply-side policies are and the key debates surrounding them. Along the way, you will come across a ‘supply’ quiz and find out which economist has actually seen one of our paintings of them! Technical support as always comes from Nic. Enjoy and afterwards, you might think about what kind of graph you might draw on a napkin that would change economics forever! </p>

Season 8 - Episode 2 - Edith Penrose

<p>What makes firms grow? This appears to be an important question, particularly with governments looking for GDP growth to be driven by firms. The normal vehicle for exploring this in Economics would be to use the 'classical' Theory of the Firm but in terms of growth, it doesn’t really have any answers or at least answers that provide any concrete implications for real-world decision-making. It was this question that the late, great Edith Penrose decided to answer and through doing this, created the Resource Based View (RBV) approach to help explain why firms grow (and some of course do not!). In this second episode of Season 8 of their award winning podcast, your friendly neighbourhood economists Pete and Gav, dive into the world of one of Diane Coyle’s favourite economists - Edith Penrose. Discover how Edith Penrose could be described as the Forrest Gump of economics and see how she challenged the economics orthodoxy of her time. Sadly there is no quiz this time but still there is poetry, food recommendations and plenty of bonhomie. Technical support comes from our own RBV Nic.</p>

Cambridge Walk Special

<p>Have you ever wanted to walk in the footsteps of the great economists? Do you want to breathe the same air they breathed? Do you want to be inspired by the ghosts of Economics past? Well now&#39;s your chance. Cambridge is rich with economic history and in this podcast special, recorded on the hoof, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, take you on a 4 mile journey around Cambridge. Starting at Keynes’ family home and ending at Jesus College, you will find out why certain landmarks are important within the world of economics. It should take you 90 minutes to walk and on the journey, you can pay homage to the likes of Robinson, Marshall, Deaton and Malthus. Technical support as always comes from &#39;I think they are usable&#39; Nic. </p>

Season 8 - Episode 1 - Herbert Simon

<p>One of the fundamental principles of orthodox economics the idea that all economic agents &quot;maximise&quot; - consumers aim to maximise utility (econ speak for happiness) and producers profit. Nobel Prize winning economist Herbert Simon challenged this assumption and in doing so coined a new verb, ‘to satisfice’ to show how consumers and producers in the ‘real world’ behave somewhat differently. This is the first episode of Season 8 of our award winning podcast, with the theme of the season being &quot;the economists&#39; economist&#39;. In this episode, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, enter the world of Ha-Joon Chang’s favourite economist - Herbert Simon. In the course of our journey of discovery we will meet a robot named after Herb, suggest the perfect past-time for long train journeys and discover Simon&#39;s surprising and unusual sartorial choices. As always there is a challenging quiz and lashings of bonhomie. Technical support comes from our muse Nic.</p> <p>PS You may hear background vocals from baby Henry during the course of the episode and we would correct the following errata which occurred during the course of enthusiastic discussions:</p> <p>Tom Swift was a character from American teen sci-fi books</p> <p>Mr Miyagi of Karate Kid fame was, in fact, Japanese </p>

Monopoly Special

<p>A feature of our economic world is how dominated many markets are by a single firm. If you want to search for something, you ‘Google’ it, if you want a cab, you reach for Uber and if you want to shop, Amazon is the place many will go. Standard economics would suggest this is a bad thing as competition is good for the market, so how has this happened? How bad are monopolies? And are there any upsides? In this podcast special, your friendly neighbourhood economists (who were slightly under the weather) Pete and Gav, explore these questions and more! It’s absolutely stuffed with economic terminology, expertly explained, with lots of case studies to apply your new knowledge to. Perfect for students but perfect for everyone! As always there is a quiz and plenty of book recommendations. Technical support as always comes from our own monopoly on production Nic! </p>

Season 7 - Episode 5 - Friedrich Engels

<p> Friedrich Engels was probably the most influential sidekick in the history of the world. He bankrolled his &quot;bestie&quot; Marx and without his deep pockets, it is unlikely the world would ever seen the intimidating Marxist tome ‘Das Kapital’. The even more (in)famous ‘The Communist Manifesto’ was the results of genuine collaboration between the two. Engels without question changed the world and yet was seeming happy to do so from the background, playing second fiddle to his beloved Marx. In this episode of their award winning podcast, Pete and Gav, your friendly neighbourhood economists, bring Engels out from the shadows and give him the respect that he deserves, as a thinker, writer and revolutionary. You will discover how influential his book ‘The Conditions of the Working Class in England’ was both now and then, you’ll wonder whether he was was the first ‘effective altruist’ and you’ll also consider how you can be the exploiter of the proletariat, the definitive champagne socialist, whilst at the same time, trying to set the poor free. As always, there is a fun quiz and lots of book recommendations. Technical support comes from ‘Beach Body’ Nic. </p>

Rational - A Play About Economics

<p> What if rational economic man existed? How would they view the current state of the planet? How would they solve ‘the economic problem’? If it was to be solved by extreme methods, how would you respond? In this new play by your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, these issues are tackled in a fun and thought-provoking manner. Will you side with Dr Becker, the doctor who has created ‘Homo Economicus’ or will you side with Adam The Clone? Listen to the play and then have a think about some of the questions that have been put online to discuss. Thanks always goes to Nic for his production wizardry and to Kate for being the narrator. </p>

Season 7 - Episode 4 - Gary Becker

<p>Imagine looking at the world and seeing economics everywhere. Whether it was in family dynamics, discrimination in the workplace, the criminal mind…absolutely anything!!! When first mooted this was an alien idea to many, including many economists but this was the novel approach of the highly influential and award-winning economist Gary Becker. Becker is many economists&#39; favourite economist, at least those economists keenest on market-based, &quot;rational&quot; approaches. Where once economics stayed in its lane, now, post-Becker, Economics goes wherever it chooses, with tools such as cost-benefit analyses applied in all areas of human activity. Nothing is safe from economics thanks to Gary Becker! Whether he deserves our thanks our opprobrium for this is debatable but in this episode of their award winning podcast, Pete and Gav, your friendly neighbourhood economists, explore his life and ideas. So if you are wondering why students should now do an investment appraisal before going to university or why siblings are nice to each other, even when they are horrible to other people, then this podcast is for you! As always there is a quiz, some music and book recommendations and a cocktail you can make to compliment the episode. Technical support comes from ‘Ace of Bass’ Nic.</p>

London Walk Special

<p>Have you ever wanted to walk in the footsteps of the great economists? Do you want to breathe the same air they breathed? Do you want to be inspired by the ghosts of Economics past? Well now&#39;s your chance. Ye olde London Town is rich with economic history and in this podcast special, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, take you on a 3 mile journey around Central London. Starting at the British Library and ending at the LSE, you will find out why certain landmarks are important within the world of economics. It should take you just over an hour to walk and on the journey, you can pay homage to the likes of Marx, Keynes and Fawcett. Technical support as always comes from &#39;The Stitcher&#39; Nic. </p>

Season 7 - Episode 3 - William Stanley Jevons

<p>One could argue that the modern discipline that is Economics is, to a large degree, a branch of applied mathematics. This is a far cry from its early roots found in the work of more philosophical thinkers such as Adam Smith. How did we end up here? One major reason is the &quot;Marginal Revolution&quot; of the nineteenth century. In this episode of their award winning podcast, Pete and Gav, your friendly neighbourhood economists, explore the life and ideas of William Stanley Jevons, one of the proponents of this less than bloody revolution. He was the man who turned Political Economy into Economics and said in his most famous book ‘Theory of Political Economy‘ - ‘Economics, if it is to be a science at all, must be a mathematical science’. As always, there is a quiz for you to enjoy linked to the Jevon&#39;s Number, a poem that distils his life in rhyme and a discussion about whether the weather has any impact on business cycles whatsoever! Technical support as always comes from Nic. </p>

Season 7 - Episode 2 - Robert Lucas Jr

<p>Abraham Lincoln once said “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.” This quote has been wheeled out to the point of cliche but we believe it epitomises the work of Nobel Prize winning economist Robert E Lucas Jr. The (perhaps reluctant?) leader of the New Classical school of economics, he made his name with his deceptively simple analysis of &quot;rational expectations&quot; and was lauded (at least by some) for putting Keynesianism to the sword after its long period of ascendancy in the post-war era. In this second episode of Season Seven your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav explore his life and ideas and explain the various economic phenomena that have Lucas in their name - his wedge, paradox and most famously his &quot;Lucas critique&quot;. Ardent fans will be delighted by our usual quiz, which this time is based around the number 50, as this is the fiftieth episode of our show. You will also be the grateful recipients of a poem and more book recommendations than you can shake a stick at! Technical support as always comes from our homeboy Nic. </p> <p><br></p>

Season 7 - Episode 1 - Hyman P. Minsky

<p> At the height of the financial crisis in 2008, the late Queen Elizabeth II asked economists at the London School of Economics the obvious question &quot;why did nobody notice it?&quot;. Doubtless there was much muttering and shuffling of feet at that point but there was at least one economist who had predicted what would happen (albeit some years earlier), namely Hyman P. Minsky. Before the Credit Crunch Minsky had been largely ignored by mainstream economists but now was his &quot;Minsky Moment&quot;. His slogan that &quot;stability created instability&quot; was now taken up with some enthusiasm; his recommendation that it was essential that governments tightly regulated financial markets perhaps less so. In this first episode of Season Seven, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav explore Minksy’s life and ideas and explain what a ‘Minsky Moment’ is. Along the way you will consider whether you are a fox or a hedgehog, reflect on which parent had more influence on your social or political ideas and take part in a quiz which will establish your knowledge of financial innovations. Technical support as always comes from Nic The Ledge! </p>

Shakespeare Special: The Seven Ages of Man

<p>In Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’, the seven ages of man are described by &quot;melancholy Jacques&quot; the professional misery-guts killing the mood in the Forest of Arden. To celebrate the Bard’s birthday, your friendly neighbourhood economists have produced a Shakespearian special that focuses on some economics associated with each of these seven ages. Pete and Gav will be your guides through each stage of life from &quot;mewling and puking&quot; through to &quot;mere oblivion&quot;, to see what Economics can teach us. Along the way you will learn about the economy of Shakespeare’s England, how Pete was an imperious King Malcolm in &quot;the Scottish Play&quot; and how teenagers undermine conventional economics. As always there is a challenging quiz and a stirring modern makeover of the seven ages verses in one of Gav&#39;s unforgettable poems. Technical support comes from ‘All the world&#39;s a stage’ Nic. </p>

Season 6 - Episode 5 - Leon Walras

<p>Leon Walras was described as ‘the greatest economist’ by Joseph Schumpeter and in his own lifetime he struggled to have his unique voice heard by economists in his native France, let alone those colleagues across the Channel and the Atlantic. So what were the ideas touted by Walras that would force such a claim from Schumpeter? This is what your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav explore in our last episode of our sixth season. You will discover how Walras helped kick-start the ‘Marginal Revolution’ and laid out the groundwork for the theory that has captured the attention of many mathematically-minded economists - General Equilibrium Theory. You will also hear some of the worst French spoken in history, a rant by Pete about the state of economics today and another wonderful poem that describes the life and ideas of Walras in rhyming couplets! What more could you want from a podcast? Technical support comes from &quot;Franglais&quot; Nic. </p>

Season 6 - Episode 4 - Herman Daly

<p>Have you ever found yourself considering the "economic" view of the world with a sense that something vital is missing? This was very much Herman Daly's viewpoint. He wondered why economic models didn’t include where resources came from and where they went afterwards, once used. This surprisingly caused quite a lot of controversy and so did his call for a ‘steady-state’ economy. He also coined the distinctly unfashionable term ‘uneconomic growth’. In this episode, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, take you on a journey to explore the life and ideas of the founding father of Ecological Economics, Herman Daly and ask why his ideas have never been fully accepted by the economics profession. Along the way, you’ll find out about famous people who suffered from polio, why BP and Shell are not helping as much as they could be with regards sustainability and of course, you’ll hear a wonderful poem about our economist. Technical support as always comes from ‘Mr San Francisco’ Nic.</p>

Season 6 - Episode 3 - Irving Fisher

<p>Irving Fisher was once lauded by fellow economist Joseph Schumpeter as the ‘greatest economist America has ever produced’. This is high praise indeed but one could easily argue that the most recent Economic Nobel Prize laureates owe Fisher a considerable debt for their award. The financial crisis of 2008 spurred a renewed interest in Fisher’s work after what could be seen as a lengthy period of neglect. &nbsp;In his own life-time he went from being the first "celebrity economist" to seeing his reputation in tatters after some overly optimistic and in hindsight ill-advised comments on what was to turn out to be the eve of the Great Depression. &nbsp;In this episode, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, take you on a journey or rediscovery to find out more about this fascinating man and his ideas. We suspect you will find yourself agreeing at least in part with the accolade Schumpeter laid at his feet. Along the way, you’ll find out why it’s important to chew your food for your health and wellbeing, who the mysterious ‘Bonesmen’ are and why AI can’t yet match the poetry skills of our economists. Technical support as always comes from ‘Chatbot’ Nic.</p>

Fiscal Policy Special

<p>When it comes to influencing the macroeconomy, governments have two big levers at their disposal - monetary policy and fiscal policy. In this new special by Pete and Gav, your friendly neighbourhood economists, &nbsp;we delve into the second of these, fiscal policy. As always we discuss 10 key questions, which will hopefully give the listener a good overview of what fiscal policy is and provide some insight into some of the key debates surrounding how it is used (and abused). Along the way, you will come across a quiz about fiscal policy including questions about the Chancellor's famous ‘red box’ and other historical minutiae about the UK Treasury. As always you will come away confidently armed with the economic terminology needed to bust through the jargon and engage more fully in economic debate (this is as close as we get to a mission...). &nbsp;We even finish triumphantly with a poem about Fiscal Policy that is even worse than our Monetary Policy one! Technical support as always comes from Nic. Enjoy.</p> <p>PS The well-worn maxim that a "week is a long time in politics" has perhaps never been more appropriate when looking at UK politics so please forgive the references to the short-lived Truss/Kwarteng partnership that now seems like a distant memory...</p> <p>PPS When Gav refers to John Lanchester's book 'Whoops!' he meant to refer to 'How to Speak Money' although both are excellent recommended reads!</p> <p><br></p>

Season 6 - Episode 2 - Corrado Gini

<p>When economists discuss inequality, they often quote the Gini Coefficient, but who was the man behind the maths? In this episode, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav investigate the life and ideas of Corrado Gini. Was he on the side of good or evil? Along the way, you will find out about his often over-looked association with Mussolini and the discredited "science" of eugenics, Pete’s love of Stanley Tucci, our catchy slogan to conserve energy within the home and why Gini would have made a great Bond villain given his somewhat sinister love of Perspex boxes. There is also a quiz and given Gini's Italian background, you’ll be unsurprised to hear that it’s based around pasta! Technical support as always comes from ‘Norovirus’ Nic.&nbsp;</p> <p>Footnote: &nbsp;Gini died in 1965 and was 81 - we know at least one of our listeners is keen on these biographical facts and we forgot this detail...</p>

Monetary Policy Special

<p>When it comes to economic policy making, there are two big levers that a government can pull - monetary policy and fiscal policy. In this new special by your friendly neighbourhood economists Pete and Gav, they delve into the first of these, monetary policy. As always 10 questions are discussed and this will give the listener a good overview of what monetary policy is and some of the controversies surrounding its use. Along the way, you will come across a quiz based on a recent visit to the Bank of England museum and you can even learn about some Greek legends! It even finishes on a poem all about Monetary Policy. Technical support as always comes from Nic. Enjoy.</p> <p>PS In the current turbulent world that is the UK economy it is more relevant than ever to have a good grasp of the basic of economics. To recall the late, great Joan Robinson "The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to avoid being deceived by economists."&nbsp;</p>

Season 6 Episode 1 - A W "Bill" Phillips

<p>An economist that hunted crocodiles? An inventor who constructed prison camp radios and hydraulic models of the economy? An adventurer that could speak five different languages and was arrested for spying? Who is this ‘Indiana Jones of Economics’ as he was once described? We discuss in this episode the remarkable life and times of A.W. Phillips or ‘Bill’ as he was known to his friends. He has one of the most incredible life stories of any of the economists we have covered in our show whilst remaining immensely relevant to modern economic discussion. His formulation of a curve bearing his name still helps form the framework for debates about trade-offs in the macroeconomy. &nbsp;In this podcast from your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, you will discover all about the life of A.W. Phillips and his contribution to economics. There is a quiz as always and a great poem that ends the episode! Technical support as always comes from ‘Del Boy’ Nic, who this time, next year, will be a millionaire!</p>