Two thousand eight economists, for the most part, did not understand the importance of the shadow banking system. The lesson from the financial crisis is one about the fragility of extensive interconnection. We paid attention to optimise efficiency with massive reliance on specialization and these kind of complicated supply chains. But the the growth, the proliferation of connection means that our system is more fragile than we realize....
Paul Romer makes his second appearance to discuss the failings of economics, how his mass testing plan for COVID-19 would work, what aspects of epidemiology concern him, how the FDA is slowing a better response, his ideas for reopening schools and Major League Baseball, where he agrees with Weyl’s test plan, why charter cities need a new name, what went wrong with Honduras, the development trajectory for sub-Saharan Africa, how he’d reform the World Bank, the underrated benefits of a culture of science, his heartening takeaway about human nature from his experience at Burning Man, and more.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.
Recorded May 13th, 2020 Other ways to connect