"Econ 102" with Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg

Patrick Collison & Noah Smith: How Can the US Stay Ahead Technologically?

142 snips

Feb 7, 2025

Join Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe, a leader in online payment processing, as he and Noah Smith dive into American technological dominance. They discuss how the U.S. maintains its edge over global competitors through its diverse financing system and unified market, bolstered by immigration. The conversation takes a turn to Gen Z's mental health challenges and the role of humanoid robots in reshaping industries. Key policy recommendations emerge, advocating for innovative approaches to ensure continued economic and social progress.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

US Technological Leadership

The U.S. maintains technological leadership, as evidenced by stable relative global GDP per capita since 1990.
This suggests potential success in development economics, but limited catch-up growth.

INSIGHT

FDI's Importance

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is crucial for industrialization, facilitating technology transfer and institutional development.
Countries like Poland and Malaysia demonstrate FDI's effectiveness in driving economic growth.

INSIGHT

Post-2008 Productivity

Post-2008, labor productivity fell in most OECD countries except the US.
This US-specific trend requires explanation, considering factors beyond resource advantages like oil.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

This week, Noah Smith and Stripe CEO Patrick Collison recorded a live conversation on Substack covering topics such as American technological leadership, global competition, industrial policy, foreign direct investment, post-financial crisis productivity trends, US financial system advantages, progressive policies, the middle class, tariffs, immigration, technological advancements like humanoid robots, Gen Z’s well-being, and key policy recommendations for economic and social progress. This conversation first aired in Noah's substack Noahpinion, so be sure to subscribe if you aren't already.

🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse.

Highlights from the Episode: (for more head to https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/patrick-collison-interview-at-least)

The U.S. has maintained its technological edge relative to most developed nations, particularly pulling ahead of Europe, Japan, and South Korea.
A key U.S. advantage is its diverse financing system - about 80% of U.S. commercial lending is non-bank lending, compared to only 20% in the UK.
The U.S. benefits from a large, unified domestic market, further strengthened by continued immigration, which attracts investment and fosters clustering effects, especially in sectors like software.
There are concerns about Gen Z's reported lower life satisfaction and mental health challenges.
Replacing NEPA with administrative review (similar to Japan's system).

SPONSORS:

NetSuite

More than 41,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: https://netsuite.com/102

Notion

📝Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at https://notion.com/upstreampod

Found

Found provides small business owners tools to track expenses, calculate taxes, manage cashflow, send invoices and more. Open a Found account for free at https://found.com/econ102.

AdQuick

The easiest way to book out-of-home ads (like billboards, vehicle wraps, and airport displays) the same way you would order an Uber. Ready to get your brand the attention it deserves? Visit https://adquick.com/ today to start reaching your customers in the real world.

SEND US YOUR Q's FOR NOAH TO ANSWER ON AIR: Econ102@Turpentine.co

FOLLOW ON X:

@patrickc

@noahpinion

@eriktorenberg

@turpentinemedia

RECOMMENDED IN THIS EPISODE:

Noahpinion: https://www.noahpinion.blog/

Patrick Collison interview + at least five interesting things: https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/patrick-collison-interview-at-least

Stripe: https://stripe.com/