The Curious Task

Alex speaks with Liya Palagashvili about the state - and the meaning - of the gig economy and how history can show the not-so-novel nature of modern labour. References 1. Liya’s articles, The Mercatus Center Link: https://www.mercatus.org/scholars/liya-palagashvili?utm_source=ad_link&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=scholar_branding&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgJa6BhCOARIsAMiL7V_UHKSWyzs0ydt2lCaeIHXRbhZXVi_aQuJgZo1Wo_T-Ijxa6Esw8DEaAg-REALw_wcB  2. Liya’s Substack Link: https://liyapalagashvili.substack.com/  3. “Employee vs. Independent Worker” by Liya Palagashvili and Paola Suarez Link: https://www.mercatus.org/research/working-papers/employee-vs-independent-worker  4. “Survey of Household Economics and Decision Making” by the Federal Reserve Link: https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed.htm

Alex speaks with Jay Goldberg about Canada's Bill C-11 and the implications of the government's attempt to change what Canadians see on the internet. References 1. “Bill C-11: An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts” by the Government of Canada Link: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/pl/charter-charte/c11_2.html  2. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Website Link: https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/home-accueil.htm  3. “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Handmaids-Tale-Margaret-Atwood/dp/038549081X  4. “Gotta Love Trump” Documentary  Link: https://www.amazon.com/Gotta-Love-Trump-Gene-Ho/dp/B0B6LMLHM1

As the university school year begins to wrap up, we're bringing back a classic episode of the Curious Task! Alex Aragona speaks with Bryan Caplan about the value of a formal education, and compares the alleged benefits against the reality. References from The Curious Task Special Episode 15 with Bryan Caplan You can purchase Bryan Caplan’s New York Times best-seller, The Myth of the Rational Voter from Amazon Canada at this link. His other publications include Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids (book), The Case Against Education (the book upon which this episode was based), and Open Borders (graphic novel).  This is an outline of Bryan’s upcoming work on Poverty: Who to Blame. You can refer to a breakdown of Bryan’s study of the Economic Models of Education, where he operationalizes his definition of “human capital purism” here. Bryan builds off of Michael Spence’s work on signaling. One of Michael’s publications, Signaling in Retrospect and the Informational Structure of Markets, can be accessed with an active JSTOR account. Bryan briefly uses the term Catch-22 that was coined by Joseph Heller’s novel of the same name, which can be purchased through Amazon Canada. There is a reference to the Indian caste system when Bryan was comparing the inclinations of degree-bearers to marry those who have a degree at a similar level. A thorough study of the sociopolitics of identity and status under the Indian caste system may be read here.  While discussing how to discipline thinking about the intelligent life in the universe, Bryan references the Drake Equation whose analysis by Leonor Sierra (University of Rochester) can be reviewed on NASA’s website. The Corporate Finance Institute published a rundown on the meaning of “austerity,” which can be read here. You can watch The Pianist, which Bryan references while forecasting relevancies in employer consideration, on Amazon Prime.

Alex speaks with Neil Boyd about the effects of drug decriminalization and legalization in Canada and around the world, and how regulation and criminalization can have positive or negative impacts on users of various substances and the communities around them. References 1. “Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, 1996” by the Justice Laws Website Link: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-38.8/  2. “Cannabis Act, 2018” by Justice Laws Website  Link: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-24.5/

Alex speaks with Vincent Geloso about income mobility, distinguishing it from income inequality and the effects of markets and government regulations on each.  References 1. Vincent’s Articles Link: https://vincentgeloso.com/publications/  2. Vincent’s previous episode “Should We Care About Inequality?” on The Curious Task podcast Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-28-vincent-geloso-%e2%80%94-should-we-care-about-inequality/  3. “Growth is Good for the Poor” by David Dollar and Aart Kraay  Link: https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/pt/419351468782165950/pdf/multi0page.pdf  4. “Who are the champions? Inequality, economic freedom and the Olympics” by Vadim Kufenko and Vincent Geloso Link: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-institutional-economics/article/who-are-the-champions-inequality-economic-freedom-and-the-olympics/BEEA6B8F9473A7B8652A08E54E00C365  5. “Intergenerational Income Mobility and Economic Freedom” by Justin T. Callais and Vincent Geloso Link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3939909 6. “Growing Public: Social Spending and Economic Growth since the Eighteenth Century” by Peter H. Lindert Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Growing-Public-Spending-Economic-Eighteenth/dp/0521529166 7. “Economic Freedom Improves Income Mobility: Evidence from Canadian Provinces, 1982-2018” by Vincent Geloso and James Dean Link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3875551 

Alex speaks with David D'Amato about the modern concept of intellectual property and how such a thing could exist at all in a free society.  References: Copying is not theft cartoon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeTybKL1pM4 

Alex speaks with Jeremy Horpedahl about the unusual political alliance between Baptists and Bootleggers - both figuratively and literally - and what these ties can tell us about public choice economics.   Sources Referenced: Horpedahl, Jeremy. "Bootleggers and Baptists Revisited: A Reply to Critics." Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 62, no. 2, Oct. 2019, pp. 557-576. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26546700. Regulation (Cato Institute Journal) Spring 2021 issue "Not So Unlikely Coalitions" article by Thomas W. Hazlett in the Regulation (Cato Institute Journal) Spring 2021 issue.  

Alex speaks with Scott Beyer about the insights he's gleaned from travelling the world in search of the most market-friendly urban centers and what other countries can teach us about central planning, solutions to homelessness, and more.  References 1. The Market Urbanist Website Link: https://www.marketurbanist.com/  2. Scott’s previous episode “What Is Market Urbanism?” on The Curious Task podcast Link: https://thecurioustask.podbean.com/e/ep-33-scott-beyer-%e2%80%94-what-is-market-urbanism/  3. “Scott Beyer’s Market Urbanism World Trip” by Market Urbanist Link: https://www.marketurbanist.com/scott-beyer-market-urbanism-world-trip  4. “Startup Cities Tour” by Market Urbanist Link: https://www.marketurbanist.com/startup-city  5. “Barrios Tropicales: The Making of Green Neighborhoods” by Scott Beyer Link: https://catalyst.independent.org/2023/02/20/barrios-tropicales/

Alex speaks with Brandon Turner about the nature of conservatism and whether or not it constitutes an ideology, the rate of change within conservative thought, and the relationship between conservatism and liberalism. References 1. “Conservatism, Ideology, Skepticism” by Brandon Turner Link: https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1048&context=jcli  2. “The Conservative Sensibility” by George F. Will  Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Conservative-Sensibility-George-F-Will/dp/0316480932  3. “Conservatism: A Rediscovery” by Yoram Hazony  Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Conservative-Rediscovery-Yoram-Hazony/dp/1684511097

Alex speaks with Rachel Lomasky about hot-button issues surrounding machine learning and artificial intelligence and the limitations and definitions of each, especially when it comes to ethical decision-making.  References 1. Rachel’s Articles, Law&Liberty  Link: https://lawliberty.org/author/rachel-lomasky/  2. “Artificial Intelligence (AI) vs. Machine Learning” by Columbia Engineering Link: https://ai.engineering.columbia.edu/ai-vs-machine-learning/  3. “Transcending Technopessimism” by Rachel Lomasky  Link: https://lawliberty.org/transcending-technopessimism/