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PODCAST

Debunking Economics - the podcast

Steve Keen & Phil Dobbie

Economist Steve Keen talks to Phil Dobbie about the failings of the neoclassical economics and how it reflects on society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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All Episodes

32:04

Growth – why it won’t last forever

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/06/08

Western economies are struggling to see growth anywhere near the levels before the global financial crisis. Japan has been struggling with zero growth, or worse, for years. So, what’s the cause of the slowdown and will we ever see high growth ever again? More to the point, why the growth obsession. Are there better ways of measuring the health of an economy? And what’s the downside of being too focused on economic growth? Phil Dobbie puts all these questions to Prof Steve Keen in this edition of the

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32:51

ECB fiddles whilst Rome burns

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/05/30

A meltdown seems to be happening in the Italian economy. Steve Keen tells Phil Dobbie that it’s the failings of the Maastricht Treaty coming home to roost. Does this mean that Italy could be on the verge of pulling out of the Euro, if not the EU completely? Wouldn’t it make their country bankrupt? And what can the ECB do to try and resolve the situation. In this podcast we look through the potential outcomes in crisis evolving in Italy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more

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28:19

Why government debt isn't a problem

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/05/23

Joh Madden sent us a message saying he wants to understand, in simple terms, why the interest payments on public debt are not a problem. He points out how it is used to justify austerity because it intuitively makes sense to waste less money on paying interest. He wants to know why this interest is not a problem, and what if the money which the public owes keeps rising? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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31:53

Will more information drive purer economic outcomes?

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/05/18

Economic theory is based on the blatantly false assumption that perfect competition can be achieved when everyone has access to perfect information. So, if we strive to get closer to that ideal can we assume that the economy will function better? That’s a question Phil Dobbie puts to Prof Steve Keen – and, without wishing to give away the entire answer – it would be correct if we were striving for a perfect view of the future. For that we need a time machine. Till then this basic concept of

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35:45

How Marx was wrong on revolution

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/05/10

Karl Marx got a lot right, but he was wrong about the need to a revolution. In this podcast Prof Steve Keen explains how, if Marx had followed his own theories, he would have realised that there wasn’t a need for a shift to socialism. In this free 36 minute podcast Phil Dobbie talks with Steve about the basis of Marx’s theory, from the Labour Theory of Value through to Use Value and Exchange Value. The conclusion, says Steve, is that “the increasing organic composition of capital (as Marx called it)

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31:37

Monetary versus fiscal policy – which one works best?

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/05/02

Central banks like to control inflation using monetary theory (managing the cost of borrowing) as their way to control inflation and unemployment and avoid recessions. Whereas Keynes argues that government spending is the way to avoid recessions – pump prime the economy and “she’ll be right mate”. In this week’s podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen if monetary policies ever worked – and isn’t there a danger of fiscal policy racking up too much debt? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for

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29:48

Is it time to break up the Internet giants?

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/04/25

With Mark Zuckerberg being probed by the US government recently, and similar hearings being held in the UK, there’s been a lot of discussion lately about whether the Internet giants wield too much power. In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen why we don’t treat them as monopolies, and force their break-up into smaller, competing operators. Steve doesn’t agree. He says the problem is, such a move would force prices up, rather than down. But it’s not just a

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31:52

Challenging the distortionary impacts of land value

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/04/17

Land, is of course, heavily constrained. In this podcast Phil Dobbie asks Professor Steve Keen whether enough value is placed on it and the influence it has on the broader economy. Housing speculation is an obvious example of how land values distort the economy. If it was left to pure market forces what are the damaging impacts on broader society and just how far should the government intervene? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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41:11

Why Russia supports their tough guy

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/04/06

It’s hard to support everything Vladamir Putin does – he probably was involved in the attack in Salisbury. If not, there are lots of other violations of human rights we can point to. But he does have a lot support in Russia. To understand why, you need to understand the recent past, what Russia is trying to achieve and the role of foreign powers in distracting them from their path. Today on the Debunking Economics podcast, a quick history lesson of a country that has struggled through false theories

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26:51

Is a trade deficit a bad thing?

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/04/03

In this podcast series Prof Steve Keen has repeatedly argued the importance of keeping an economy in surplus. But, Alex Howlett, a regular listener and Patreon supporter, asks why this might be. He suggests a tradedeficit is a good thing, because it suggests companies overseas are willing to accept your currency. The more currency you generate, the more you can buy. To a point. Phil Dobbie asks Steve, what’s wrong with Alex’s hypothesis? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more

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39:25

Is there a case for full reserve banking?

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/03/27

One of our podcast listeners, Arjen, asks the question, “Why don't you recommend a full-reserve banking system instead of fractional reserve? There would be much less debt in such a system and a smaller role for the central banks.” Phil Dobbie puts the question to Prof Steve Keen, and struggles to understand why the text book explanation of fractional reserve banking is wrong, wrong, wrong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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28:08

Is energy efficiency a race to the top?

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/03/20

We’ve talked a lot on the Debunking Economics podcast about how energy is the only real driver of an economy, so the performance of an economy is driven by the availability of the resource and how efficiently it is captured. Phil Dobbie asks Professor Steve Keen if that means countries with the most energy resources should be the most effective producers of goods, with a healthy trade surplus. If that’s the case, why doesn’t Saudi Arabia make very much? And could nations embracing renewable energy

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29:14

Will skilling up improve productivity?

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/03/14

Britain’s productivity levels are 17 percent lower than the rest of the G7. A French worker could take Friday off and still beat the output of a British worker. So, does that mean we mean a more educated workforce? Could we improve the productivity of the UK if everyone was just that little bit smarter? Phil Dobbie puts that question to Professor Steve Keen in a discussion that goes full circle – from the need to focus more on vocational topics, to the potential benefits of studying topics that have

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19:28

Banks will be banks – can technology change that?

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/03/04

Many people it seems have turned to cryptocurrencies as a way of side stepping banks – a technology that will challenge their dominance and democratise the supply of money. Others look to fintech as a means of cutting out the established finance sector, putting investors and borrowers together, cutting out the middleman. But are they kidding themselves? In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen whether they’ve ignored some of the key roles banks perform. And

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31:29

Why booms and busts widen the rich poor gap

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/02/24

We know there is growing discontent around the world about the distribution of wealth and, it seems, financial crises can make the problem worse. In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof. Steve Keen why the boom bust nature of capitalism accentuates the wealth divide and what can be done to remedy the problem. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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22:38

Can sovereignty survive?

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/02/12

Just how much control does a country have over its own economy? We’ve seen wage growth stifled by international competition and the decimation of manufacturing in the West. Yet Trump and Brexit voters are pushing an agenda to take control of their economies – will they win? Phil Dobbie asks Steve Keen what actually has to happen if we are to have control of our economic destiny – and our regulations - at a time of increasing international trade and the continued growth of major corporations. Hosted

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29:49

Will supply cut house prices?

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/02/07

We often hear the argument that house prices have risen so much because there’s a lack of supply. Politicians argue that if more land was released to developers more homes would be built and the affordability issue would be fixed. Prof Steve Keen, meanwhile, has argued that it is the willingness of banks to offer massive mortgages that has pushed prices to high. In this podcast Phil Dobbie asks whether supply is still an important factor in the equation. They also discuss how geography and land-use

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20:06

Rebuilding Economic Theory The Old Way

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/01/31

The Oxford Review of Economic Policy devoted its entire latest edition to rebuilding macroeconomic theory. That sounds like an acknowledgement that the theories that have guided the profession for decades might be flawed. Perhaps, you might think, it will explain why the global financial crisis happened, why growth has been so slow to pick up and why wages have stagnated. But, as Prof Steve Keen explains to Phil Dobbie, the papers do little other than tweak the edges of conventional theory. It’s far

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37:36

Government Debt and All That

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/01/24

Boris Johnson has, once again, argued that money saved in fees to the EU can be used to fund better healthcare in Britain. His argument assumes the government is run like a household budget, ignoring the ability to create money. Yet we are familiar with the idea of money creation, with central banks injecting millions, or billions in the US, into the economy through bond purchases. Phil Dobbie explores the disconnect between quantitative easing and government austerity programs. He asks Prof Steve

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21:57

Can you expect full employment when migration is so...

Debunking Economics - the podcast ·

2018/01/19

Migration is often blamed for unemployment. The fear that there are too many migrants stealing jobs has almost certainly helped with the rise of UKIP and the election of President Trump. But is there any value in this far right rhetoric, or is conventional economy theory right for once – that migrants create demand that facilitates more jobs and adds to the economy. And are we getting so lost in the migration and employment debate that we’re missing a far bigger concern – the number of people on the

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