Debunking Economics - the podcast

The speed of growth in an economy and the rate of inflation is driven by how much money is in circulation and how quickly its changing hands. Steve Keen says we need to add the change in debt to Milton Friedman’s formula. As he discusses with Phil Dobbie, that would explain why the velocity of money has decreased since the eighties, even though the supply has been up and down, along with economic growth and inflation. So how important is the velocity of money and why is it frequently ignored? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sweden is quickly moving towards a cashless economy. According to their central bank cash payments are now less than 2 percent of GDP and less than 15 percent of retail transactions. Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen whether we could eventually go cashless? He’s very sceptical. His fear is that the people who would control the monetary system probably wouldn’t understand how money works. And what if the IT systems fail? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They’re having the best of times. They’re having the worst of times. The US economy seems to be going gangbusters whilst Europe’s growth has stalled and, possibly, is starting to wane. So why the disparity between the two? Prof Steve Keen says it is al to do with the contrasting economic policies – the expansionary approach of President Trump versus the austerity measures of Europe. Phil Dobbie asks whether this means the growth will continue, or could it all come crashing down for the US? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ask a conventional economist about household debt and they’ll say it’s not an issue. The money you spend on repayments won’t be spent on shopping, but whoever gets that money will spend it and keep it circulating. Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen whether, in that case, debt matters. Listen in to hear Steve’s explanation on why it does matter, and why high mortgage debt slows down the economy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Debunking Economics podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 information.

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.

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 economics will forever be flawed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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) has no implications for the rate of surplus, has no implications for the rate of profit”. So, no need for a revolution after all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 more information.