The Rhodes Center Podcast with Mark Blyth

There are uncertainties in our economy that go beyond measurable risk. Simply put: there are some things we can not know. So how do economic actors form expectations and decide how to act despite this existential uncertainty? On this episode Mark explores this question with Jens Beckert and Richard Bronk, editors of the new book ‘Uncertain Future: Imaginaries, Narratives, and Calculation in the Economy.' They look at the challenges that arise from this uncertainty, and explore how, in many ways, the future really belongs to those with the market, political, or rhetorical power to make their models or stories count. You can see the talk Jens and Richard gave at the Rhodes Center here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FseT_EU-EbI&feature=youtu.be] You can purchase 'Uncertain Futures' here: [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/uncertain-futures-9780198820802?cc=us&lang=en&] You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ehWghIxpKEEZ8LKGd6d_4HUcNLVxP2DC/view?usp=sharing]

We live in a time of crises — economic turmoil, workplace disempowerment, unresponsive government, environmental degradation, social disintegration, and international rivalry. Paul Adler's book, 'The 99 Percent Economy: How Democratic Socialism Can Overcome the Crises of Capitalism,’ argues that these crises are destined to deepen unless we radically transform our economy. On this episode, Mark and Paul talk about how a democratic-socialist alternative to our current economy could help us weather these crises, and the challenges to building such a system. You can purchase Paul Adler’s book here: [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-99-percent-economy-9780190931889?cc=us&lang=en&] You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fEsrMmPYDWhrOKo0xi2GKinZ-ZgNjN0h/view?usp=sharing]

On this episode, Mark Blyth talks with Kimberly Clausing, author of ‘Open: A Progressive Case for Free Trade, Immigration, and Global Capital’ [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674919334]. At a time when free trade is getting a bad rap from every direction, Clausing makes a case for why open borders and free trade are crucial to building a 21st-century economy that works for everyone. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dcaBdZtGmSdaPPVnVzXVZrfrUYDyfOZ3/view?usp=sharing]

On this episode, something a little different. Aidan Regan is an assistant professor at the School of Politics/International Relations at University College Dublin UCD, and has a podcast we think you’ll like. We think you’ll especially like this episode, since he recorded it while at a conference hosted by the Rhodes Center. His guest? Mark Blyth. He and Mark talk about how Mark first got interested in political economy, the perception versus reality of Europe’s economic challenges, and why some bad economic ideas are just too good to give up. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fislkd-yjs4W4z2M_uHqlQVdQXhTF8Ug/view?usp=sharing]

Why do rich countries flirt with fiscal disaster? Zsófia Barta, author of In The Red: The Politics of Public Debt Accumulation in Developed Countries [https://www.press.umich.edu/9726915/in_the_red], challenges a long-held consensus by arguing that the problem of sustained, large-scale debt accumulation is an adjustment issue rather than a governance failure. On this episode Mark talks with Zsófia Barta about how understanding why some countries accumulate substantial amounts of debt for decades hinges on understanding the conditions required to successfully enact painful adjustment measures. You can see Zsófia Barta's full presentation from her April 15th visit to the Rhodes Center here: [https://youtu.be/G5lxTxuIUAw] You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XXn1QbirtDd50D2OTutCZ3HCYZn4p4Vp/view?usp=sharing]

The era of globalization saw China emerge as the world's manufacturing titan. However, the 'made in China' model—with its reliance on cheap labor and thin profits—has begun to wane. On this episode of the Rhodes Center Podcast, Mark Blyth talks with Ling Chen, author of 'Manipulating Globalization: The Influence of Bureaucrats on Business in China' [https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=25928] about the nuances within the 'China model,' how it's changed since it was first identified, and how it will continue to in the future. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QplPBLelVUXCyQA-A5gJmgCnI8pz4GjG/view?usp=sharing]

The Rhodes Center podcast is brought to you by The Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance at Brown University. The show is hosted by Mark Blyth and Brendan Greeley. On this episode: the man behind the Rhodes Center, the indomitable William Rhodes. Brown class of '57, international banker, international public servant, and author of 'Banker to the World: Leadership Lessons from the Front Lines of Global Finance' [https://www.mhprofessional.com/9780071704250-usa-banker-to-the-world-leadership-lessons-from-the-front-lines-of-global-finance-group]. He recently joined Mark and Brendan to discuss some of today's most pressing economic issues. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iEU7Z4DIWp2QBcJN_HuOMaKQOBsp8wtL/view?usp=sharing]

Discussion with Mark Blyth, Political Economist at Brown's Watson Institute. Associated Watson Institute lecture: [https://youtu.be/MS1eF1F4YDQ] Marco Buti has been Director-General for Economic and Financial Affairs at the European Commission since December 2008, after a 6-month period as acting Director-General. After studies at the Universities of Florence and Oxford, Mr Buti joined the European Commission in 1987. He held various posts as an economist in DG ECFIN and the Commissioner's cabinet (private office) before taking up a post as an economic adviser to the Commission President in 2002-03. In 2003 he returned to DG ECFIN as Director for the Directorate for economies of the Member States, and in September 2006 was appointed Deputy Director-General. Mr Buti has been a visiting professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, the University of Florence and the European University Institute, and has published extensively on Economic and Monetary Union, macroeconomic policies, welfare state reforms, and European unemployment. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r7R8MjUTmEId5Q5OV2Y2hgwZy_Zu1Yja/view?usp=sharing]

Watch accompanying talk at the Watson Institute at Brown University: [https://youtu.be/R-Dxrs7dj0w] Central bankers have emerged from the financial crisis as the third great pillar of unelected power alongside the judiciary and the military. They pull the regulatory and financial levers of our economic well-being, yet unlike democratically elected leaders, their power does not come directly from the people. Unelected Power [https://press.princeton.edu/titles/11240.html] lays out the principles needed to ensure that central bankers, technocrats, regulators, and other agents of the administrative state remain stewards of the common good and do not become overmighty citizens. Paul Tucker [https://ces.fas.harvard.edu/people/001970-paul-tucker] draws on a wealth of personal experience from his many years in domestic and international policymaking to tackle the big issues raised by unelected power, and enriches his discussion with examples from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and the European Union. Blending economics, political theory, and public law, Tucker explores the necessary conditions for delegated but politically insulated power to be legitimate in the eyes of constitutional democracy and the rule of law. He explains why the solution must fit with how real-world government is structured, and why technocrats and their political overseers need incentives to make the system work as intended. Tucker explains how the regulatory state need not be a fourth branch of government free to steer by its own lights, and how central bankers can emulate the best of judicial self-restraint and become models of dispersed power. Like it or not, unelected power has become a hallmark of modern government. This critically important book shows how to harness it to the people's purposes. Sir Paul Tucker is chair of the Systemic Risk Council. He is a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, and the author of Unelected Power, published in 2018 by Princeton University Press. Previously, he was Deputy Governor at the Bank of England, sitting on its monetary policy, financial stability, and prudential policy committees. Internationally, he was a member of the G20 Financial Stability Board, leading its work on too big to fail; a director of the Bank for International Settlements, and chair of its Committee for Payment and Settlement Systems. His other activities include being a director at Swiss Re, a senior fellow at the Harvard Center for European Studies, a Visiting Fellow of Nuffield College Oxford, and a Governor of the Ditchley Foundation. You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/17pQ8eWNLgLgqqowwVhrXCuIRmLal9JQd/view?usp=sharing]

“Where does the backlash against globalization come from? Where is it headed? And what would a better globalization look like?” Dani Rodrik [https://drodrik.scholar.harvard.edu] is an economist whose research covers globalization, economic growth and development, and political economy. He is the Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He was previously the Albert O. Hirschman Professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (2013-2015). Professor Rodrik is currently President-Elect of the International Economic Association [http://www.iea-world.org]. His newest book is Straight Talk on Trade: Ideas for a Sane World Economy (2017)[https://drodrik.scholar.harvard.edu/straight-talk-trade]. Watch Watson Institute talk with Dani Rodrik, Mark Blyth, and Brendan Greeley: [https://youtu.be/bsy349k3zds] You can read a transcript of this episode here: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fVi-zfLv-zns_kfj1HOU8e9OnqsTYvhJ/view?usp=sharing]