Debunking Economics - the podcast

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 influences prices, who meets the external costs of housing and our appetite for bigger, better houses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 from a fundamental rethink, and some of the basic errors of economics – such as the assumption that the economy will always return to equilibrium – remain unchallenged. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Keen, if a central bank creates money, why not simply inject it into the government’s coffers? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 planet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The collapse of Carillion is down to poor management but, as Phil Dobbie discusses with Prof Steve Keen, it’s also down to a company that took risks because it was raking in so much money from the public sector. In this discussion they look at where you draw the line between government insourcing and outsourcing. The problem is, says Steve, governments have lost the expertise to know what to outsource and when. It’s the blind buying from the greedy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We rely on GDP to measure the wealth of a country and it’s rate of growth, but is it the most meaningful measure? Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen whether it’s an accurate measure of happiness, for example. And Steve suggests its an incomplete measure if it doesn’t consider the return on the energy invested to provide growth. So how should we really go about measuring the health of an economy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Austrian School of Economics has been around since the 1870s, when Carl Menger wrote the Principles of Economics. They were a response to the conventional economic thought that prevails today. Phil Dobbie asks Professor Steve Keen whether there are elements of the Austrian school that we should take seriously – surely anyone who challenges traditional economics is worth listening to. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Trump is convinced that the high corporate tax rate in the US is damaging the prospects for domestic business and encouraging companies to hold their profits offshore. So will his plan to reduce the tax rate create the results he expects? Phil Dobbie talks to Professor Steve Keen about the role of tax in general, the influence of corporate tax and whether we can afford to get rid of it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We often hear arguments that releasing land to foreign ownership is “selling the farm”. Similarly, foreign owned companies repatriate their profits rather than keeping profits within the local economy. Are these valid arguments? In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast Phil Dobbie works through the pros and cons of foreign ownership with Professor Steve Keen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Steve Keen has often spoken of the need for a debt jubilee. If households can write off their ever expanding, mortgage driven, debt, then we reduce the risk of asset bubbles and consumer spending drying up leading to recession or depression. But, Phil Dobbie asks, how would it work in practice? Has it been tried anywhere and what are the possible side effects? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.