In the UK we’ve privatised the railways, coach companies, the banks, power, airports, Royal Mail, water, BNT, car companies – there’s not much left to sell. But how are these privatised companies working out for us? Phil Dobbie talks to Prof Steve Keen about the arguments for and against privatisation. Obviously, too much in state hands is also problematic – so where is the happy compromise? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 14, 2018•34 min•Season 1Ep. 124
Multinationals have an uncanny ability to avoid tax. In this edition, Phil Dobbie and Steve Keen talk about how big corporates use transfer pricing to pay the least tax possible, and attempts to try and get them to pay the right amount. But where should the tax be applied – where products are made or where they are consumed. At the moment, it’s often somewhere in central America. Perhaps moves like the governments Digital Services Tax are a step in the right direction – or should we look at how ...
Nov 09, 2018•33 min•Season 1Ep. 123
President Trump looks set to step up the tariff battle against China as he embarks on the fruitless task of eradicating their $380 billion trade deficit. With no peace talks on the horizon its very likely his administration will impose a 25% tariff on all Chinese imports. Meanwhile, we’ve seen the US dollar reach multi-year highs, the Renminbi falling to new lows and the Chinese stock exchange shedding foreign investors by the bucket load. So, can China survive this battle? Hosted on Acast. See ...
Oct 31, 2018•35 min•Season 1Ep. 122
John McDonnell has proposed that all companies over a certain size would be required to transfer equity into an inclusive ownership fund, which would issue shares to people working for that company. So, is this a good idea? Will it make companies more effective, or is it an example of extreme socialism. Steve Keen says its as socialist as Germany. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 28, 2018•27 min•Season 1Ep. 121
A few weeks back Jean Claude Juncker suggested that the Euro should be established as a reserve currency to challenge the reliance on the US dollar. In this podcast, Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen if there is a realistic chance of that ever happening, and why did the US dollar become the reserve currency in the first place? Given that Steve is not a supporter of the Euro, because its existence distorts the ability of sovereign states within the EU to control their own economies, is there a bet...
Oct 20, 2018•31 min•Season 1Ep. 120
Today William D Nordhaus and Paul Romer were announced as joint winners of the Noble Prize for Economic Science. Yes, science! Neither would qualify for the profession's newest award, to be launched next year, simultaneous to the Noble award ceremony. In this podcast Professor Steve Keen talks to Phil Dobbie about the launch of the ‘Nobble Prize for Economics’ for those with barking mad assumptions that have (or will) pervert the course of economics for some time. Steve suggests Ben Bernanke wou...
Oct 10, 2018•33 min•Season 1Ep. 119
It’s often argued, by politicians and business owners, that higher wages cut into company profits, which is bad for the economy. Yet, lower wages cuts spending, and that’s worse for the economy. In this podcast Phil Dobbie asks how much more productive the economy would be if we saw a smaller difference between low wage earners and the filthy rich. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 05, 2018•34 min•Season 1Ep. 118
One of the reasons people voted for Brexit was to “take control of our borders”. Around the world, western leaders are echoing a similar message. It seems migrants are viewed more as a drain on resources than a boost to the economic output of a country. At the other end of the spectrum, there are some who argue that the world should have complete labour mobility and, if people could live where they wanted, then world GDP would double. Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen where this the optimum point...
Sep 18, 2018•26 min•Season 1Ep. 117
A new law in New Zealand prevents foreign buyers from acquiring homes in there. It’s a response to rising house prices which, the government claims, is being driven by New Zealanders being outbid by people from overseas. Home ownership in New Zealand is now at its lowest level since 1951. So, will the plan work? Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 17, 2018•35 min•Season 1Ep. 116
The spread of yield between short and long term US Treasuries is narrowing. It could even invert, meaning the yield is higher on short term Treasuries than long dated ones. This is precisely what happened prior to every US recession – so does that mean another is on the way. A listener to the podcast wrote asking why yield curve inversion is such a reliable indicator of recession, if indeed it is? Phil Dobbie gives a quick explanation of what yield curves are, and Prof Steve Keen gives his reaso...
Sep 11, 2018•30 min•Season 1Ep. 115
Robinson Crusoe lives on a desert island with Man Friday. There’s no need for money. But then Woman Saturday comes along, selling goods that both men want to acquire, and they devise the concept of money, which she quickly grabs the lions share of. Next, they discover a large village on the other side of the island. How does that change the value of their three-person economy when they introduce an island-wide currency? Then, when they find a neighbouring island with a very productive economy, w...
Aug 30, 2018•34 min•Season 1Ep. 114
He is running the only country in the G7 to see economic growth accelerate right now. His followers support him however much mud is slung his way. World leaders seem to be know towing to his demands for better trade deals, even though some would argue it smacks of protectionism. So, is Donald Trump doing a good job for America. In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast Professor Steve Keen describes the US as a Mad Max economy – he tells Phil Dobbie the benefits will be short lived. Lis...
Aug 23, 2018•31 min•Season 1Ep. 113
Governments have been using the terms ‘fiscal conservatism’ and ‘austerity’ to bring down government spending. Often it’s meant transferring government commitments (like on education) to private or individual spending (like student loans). Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen if this a sensible way to encourage growth. If we accept that more spending by government increases the availability of money for people to spend, where do you draw the line? Isn’t there a risk that the government does too much...
Aug 12, 2018•41 min•Season 1Ep. 112
There was a time when universities embraced a diversity of thought – something that’s critical in a discipline as embryonic as economics. With so many neo-classic economists caught by surprise with the 2008 financial crisis, many would welcome alternatives to the models that served them so badly. Yet, in this podcast, Prof Steve Keen suggests to Phil Dobbie that the crisis seems to have made the university sector even more adamant to stick to mainstream theory and push aside anybody suggesting t...
Aug 01, 2018•34 min•Season 1Ep. 111
In this podcast Prof Steve Keen and Phil Dobbie revisit the velocity of money, with a focus on how increasing credit is a major determinant in why the speed of money transfers has been slowing markedly since the eighties. But, it’s not just that. As Steve observes, its part of a complex system. Far more complex than Friedman’s MV=PY equation. We also include comments from listeners who listened to the first podcast on this topic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jul 26, 2018•28 min•Season 1Ep. 110
There’s the theory that the supply of money is a major contributor to the rate of inflation. Prof Steve Keen says the central banks have spent the last ten years unsuccessfully trying to demonstrate as much. The need for money to be issued to cover government debt has often been levelled as a cause of inflation and a reason for the austerity measures that have been so prevalent in the last decade. Nobody wants to end up like Zimbabwe, right? In this podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen what’...
Jul 20, 2018•36 min•Season 1Ep. 109
We’re seeing an increase in the rate of ice loss in Antartica – another sign that global warming is worsening, whilst the world’s leader do little to mitigate the problem. In fact, one of those leaders has said it’s all a hoax. But if we had a unified impetus to do something about it could we device economic systems to change our behaviour and resolve the problem? That’s a question Phil Dobbie puts to a jaded Prof Steve Keen who believes we must undergo the shock before we take the problem serio...
Jul 11, 2018•31 min•Season 1Ep. 108
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? Ho...
Jul 06, 2018•30 min•Season 1Ep. 107
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....
Jun 29, 2018•25 min•Season 1Ep. 106
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? Hoste...
Jun 19, 2018•31 min•Season 1Ep. 105
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....
Jun 13, 2018•26 min•Season 1Ep. 104
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...
Jun 08, 2018•32 min•Season 1Ep. 103
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...
May 30, 2018•33 min•Season 1Ep. 102
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.
May 23, 2018•28 min•Season 1Ep. 101
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 econ...
May 18, 2018•32 min•Season 1Ep. 100
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...
May 10, 2018•36 min•Season 1Ep. 99
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...
May 02, 2018•32 min•Season 1Ep. 98
With Mark Zuckerberg being probed by the US government recently, and similar hearings being held in the UK, there’s been a lot of discussion lately about whether the Internet giants wield too much power. In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen why we don’t treat them as monopolies, and force their break-up into smaller, competing operators. Steve doesn’t agree. He says the problem is, such a move would force prices up, rather than down. But it’s not ju...
Apr 25, 2018•30 min•Season 1Ep. 97
Land, is of course, heavily constrained. In this podcast Phil Dobbie asks Professor Steve Keen whether enough value is placed on it and the influence it has on the broader economy. Housing speculation is an obvious example of how land values distort the economy. If it was left to pure market forces what are the damaging impacts on broader society and just how far should the government intervene? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 17, 2018•32 min•Season 1Ep. 96
It’s hard to support everything Vladamir Putin does – he probably was involved in the attack in Salisbury. If not, there are lots of other violations of human rights we can point to. But he does have a lot support in Russia. To understand why, you need to understand the recent past, what Russia is trying to achieve and the role of foreign powers in distracting them from their path. Today on the Debunking Economics podcast, a quick history lesson of a country that has struggled through false theo...
Apr 06, 2018•41 min•Season 1Ep. 95
