Is There Increasing Returns to Scale?

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

In the book, you stress that american growth rates have been declining. But if there are increasing returns to scale at the national level, shouldn't growth rates be going up? You might think, well, there's increasing returns within a city, but not within a country. The u s as a whole, the population has become more dispersed. So doesn't that mean actually, there aren't increasing returns to scale? Oh, i sa ye. Some of the deep structures of economic growth do have to do with our basic ability to exploit natural resources....

Matt Yglesias joined Tyler for a wide-ranging conversation on his vision for a bigger, less politically polarized America outlined in his new book One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger.

They discussed why it’s easier to grow Tokyo than New York City, the governance issues of increasing urban populations, what Tyler got right about pro-immigration arguments, how to respond to declining fertility rates, why he’d be happy to see more people going to church (even though he’s not religious), why liberals and conservatives should take marriage incentive programs more seriously, what larger families would mean for feminism, why people should read Robert Nozick, whether the YIMBY movement will be weakened by COVID-19, how New York City will bounce back, why he’s long on Minneapolis, how to address constitutional ruptures, how to attract more competent people to state and local governments, what he’s learned growing up in a family full of economists, his mother’s wisdom about visual design and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.

Recorded August 21st, 2020 Other ways to connect

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram
Follow Tyler on Twitter
Follow Matt on Twitter
Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu
Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.