In this podcast series Prof Steve Keen has repeatedly argued the importance of keeping an economy in surplus. But, Alex Howlett, a regular listener and Patreon supporter, asks why this might be. He suggests a trade deficit is a good thing, because it suggests companies overseas are willing to accept your currency. The more currency you generate, the more you can buy. To a point. Phil Dobbie asks Steve, what’s wrong with Alex’s hypothesis? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...
Apr 03, 2018•27 min•Season 1Ep. 94
One of our podcast listeners, Arjen, asks the question, “Why don't you recommend a full-reserve banking system instead of fractional reserve? There would be much less debt in such a system and a smaller role for the central banks.” Phil Dobbie puts the question to Prof Steve Keen, and struggles to understand why the text book explanation of fractional reserve banking is wrong, wrong, wrong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 27, 2018•39 min•Season 1Ep. 93
We’ve talked a lot on the Debunking Economics podcast about how energy is the only real driver of an economy, so the performance of an economy is driven by the availability of the resource and how efficiently it is captured. Phil Dobbie asks Professor Steve Keen if that means countries with the most energy resources should be the most effective producers of goods, with a healthy trade surplus. If that’s the case, why doesn’t Saudi Arabia make very much? And could nations embracing renewable ener...
Mar 20, 2018•28 min•Season 1Ep. 92
Britain’s productivity levels are 17 percent lower than the rest of the G7. A French worker could take Friday off and still beat the output of a British worker. So, does that mean we mean a more educated workforce? Could we improve the productivity of the UK if everyone was just that little bit smarter? Phil Dobbie puts that question to Professor Steve Keen in a discussion that goes full circle – from the need to focus more on vocational topics, to the potential benefits of studying topics that ...
Mar 14, 2018•29 min•Season 1Ep. 91
Many people it seems have turned to cryptocurrencies as a way of side stepping banks – a technology that will challenge their dominance and democratise the supply of money. Others look to fintech as a means of cutting out the established finance sector, putting investors and borrowers together, cutting out the middleman. But are they kidding themselves? In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen whether they’ve ignored some of the key roles banks perform....
Mar 04, 2018•19 min•Season 1Ep. 90
We know there is growing discontent around the world about the distribution of wealth and, it seems, financial crises can make the problem worse. In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof. Steve Keen why the boom bust nature of capitalism accentuates the wealth divide and what can be done to remedy the problem. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 24, 2018•31 min•Season 1Ep. 89
Just how much control does a country have over its own economy? We’ve seen wage growth stifled by international competition and the decimation of manufacturing in the West. Yet Trump and Brexit voters are pushing an agenda to take control of their economies – will they win? Phil Dobbie asks Steve Keen what actually has to happen if we are to have control of our economic destiny – and our regulations - at a time of increasing international trade and the continued growth of major corporations. Hos...
Feb 12, 2018•23 min•Season 1Ep. 88
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-...
Feb 07, 2018•30 min•Season 1Ep. 87
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...
Jan 31, 2018•20 min•Season 1Ep. 86
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 Ste...
Jan 24, 2018•38 min•Season 1Ep. 85
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...
Jan 19, 2018•22 min•Season 1Ep. 84
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 mor...
Jan 16, 2018•23 min•Season 1Ep. 83
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....
Jan 10, 2018•26 min•Season 1Ep. 82
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.
Jan 03, 2018•35 min•Season 1Ep. 81
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....
Dec 18, 2017•25 min•Season 1Ep. 80
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.
Dec 12, 2017•33 min•Season 1Ep. 79
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.
Dec 04, 2017•32 min•Season 1Ep. 78
The UK government announced an industrial strategy this week to tackle the problem of weak productivity growth. Yet, as Prof Steve Keen discusses with Phil Dobbie, the issue isn’t one of investment, as much as who the beneficiaries are from money spent on equipment aimed at improving productivity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 28, 2017•30 min•Season 1Ep. 77
The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer has a plan to make housing in the UK more affordable. Sadly, it won’t work. His idea of cutting stamp duty for first home buyers on the first £300,000 of their half a million pound homes, will only make matters worse. So, what’s the real answer? As Professor Steve Keen explains to Phil Dobbie, it’s not to increase supply. Why not? And what should Philip Hammond have put in his budget if he really wanted to make a difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...
Nov 23, 2017•31 min•Season 1Ep. 76
In her book ‘Capitalism’s Toxic Assumption’ Eve Poole suggests competition can other be more destructive rather than a positive contributor to the economy. In this edition of The Debunking Economics Podcast Phil Dobbie talks to Prof. Steve Keen about scenarios where competition is more of a hinderance than a help. Can the competition regulator sometimes get in the way of initiatives that would be for the public good? Is there a mindset change required on how companies operate and work together? ...
Nov 20, 2017•30 min•Season 1Ep. 75
Ever considered that the reason nobody has come up with an answer to how the EU border with Northern Ireland will work, is because there isn’t one. And that’s really bad news for the Republic of Ireland. In this podcast Phil Dobbie suggests that's the case. The choices of a frictionless border or North Ireland remaining within the EU are both unworkable. So what will happen if there’s a hard border? Phil discusses the issue with Prof Steve Keen, an ardent Brexiteer, who believes Britain’s exit w...
Nov 13, 2017•28 min•Season 1Ep. 74
Currencies fluctuate so much that there’s a lot of money being made betting on their movements. But isn’t that bad for an economy, creating uncertainty in prices for exports and imports? David, a Debunking Economics podcast listener, asks what is the critical factor for ensuring a stable currency. Phil Dobbie puts the question to Professor Steve Keen, but also has the answer first off – he must be learning for these podcasts! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 10, 2017•23 min•Season 1Ep. 73
There are two drivers for capitalism – the desire to consume and the desire to accumulate. Whilst the first is as strong as ever, the rising price of assets is making it harder to accumulate. So does this influence how effective capitalism is – will we work as hard if we know we can’t afford to accumulate? Or if they can afford to accumulate do they do it at the cost of consuming? Phil Dobbie talks to Prof Steve Keen about how consumer behaviour is changing and the impact in the broader economy....
Nov 06, 2017•15 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Has the Bank of England lost the plot? They have lifted interest rates as though the economy was booming. Yet, just two weeks ago the Financial Conduct Authority reported that many would struggle to pay £50 more each month on our mortgage, and real wages haven’t budged for over a decade. In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast Phil Dobbie asks Professor Steve Keen what the central bank thinks it’s doing! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 02, 2017•18 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Dynamic, stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models are used by monetary policy analysts the world over. But, in this edition of the Debunking Economists podcasts, Prof. Steve Keen suggests to Phil Dobbie that the model is neither dynamic nor general that fail to recognise shocks and crises like the financial crisis or the great depression. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 31, 2017•54 min•Season 1Ep. 70
It seems common sense that we should keep a handle on the amount of money in circulation. Central banks, curiously, think they do. But, as Professor Steve Keen explains to Phil Dobbie in this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast there are lots of ways money is created. Unfortunately, all our not recognised by conventional economists, and until we realise where money is coming from we have no hope of controlling the supply of it, or ensuring its growth is applied in an equitable way. Hosted...
Oct 24, 2017•35 min•Season 1Ep. 69
Can centralised monetary policy work in federated states? The grand plan for the EU was to create a United States of Europe – a phrase coined by Sir Winston Churchill directly after the Second World War. In today’s podcast Phil Dobbie talks to Prof. Steve Keen about how central bank’s monetary policies might muddy Churchill’s vision. Is it possible to run a single policy across multiple countries – or federated states like in the US and Australia? Should monetary policy be centralised, even if i...
Oct 19, 2017•25 min•Season 1Ep. 68
At their party conference last week the Tories were united on one thing – a Corbyn government would lead to Venezuelan style socialism. Free market thinking is the right and proper way to prosper. In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast we look at how socialism has become a swear word and there’s no acknowledgement of the middle ground from either side of politics. As Phil Dobbie discusses with Professor Steve Keen, both extremes fail. But where is the middle ground of politics? Hoste...
Oct 10, 2017•38 min•Season 1Ep. 67
Earlier this year President Trump was complaining that China was guilty of currency manipulation. Cheap prices were giving the Chinese a competitive advantage, evidenced by a trade balance between the two nations that, last year, was $347 billion in favour of China. So what’s the best way of dealing with the strength of the Chinese economy. Prof Steve Keen suggests that the President was right at the onset – reindustrialise and wait for China’s main advantage, cheap labour, to diminish in import...
Oct 03, 2017•27 min•Season 1Ep. 66
UK inflation is now at 2.9% - the highest it’s been in five years – and well above the 2% target that the Bank of England has set for itself. It means we can expect an interest rate rise in the very near future. In the US the Federal Reserve is also looking to raise interest rates even though inflation has subsided lately. In this edition of The Debunking Economics podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen if inflation is on the way back, how should central banks react and can we still have econo...
Sep 26, 2017•30 min•Season 1Ep. 65
