The EU is struggling right now. The Bundesbank has downgraded its 21019 GDP forecast from 1.6% down to 0.6%. The Italian government is being threatened for breaching the EU’s spending rules. Yellow vests protestors have been out on the streets of Paris for 31 weeks now, fighting against inequality. This week the European Central Bank meets to determine how to boost the bloc’s economic growth. But, Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen, isn’t it time for a fundamental rethink of how the EU is structur...
Jun 17, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 154
Steve Bannister, from the University of Utah, is special guest on this week’s Debunking Economics podcast. He talks to Phil Dobbie about his approach to climate change modelling, based on GDP growth, energy use and carbon emissions. Steve Keen talks about the weakness of other modelling, including Nordhaus’ DICE model. Steve Bannisters model predicts things will even out eventually, but will we be alive to see it? Nope. The answer seems to be, there’s a need for a new source of energy. Clearly, ...
Jun 09, 2019•48 min•Season 1Ep. 153
The trade war between the US and China is having massive ramifications on the world economy, but neither side seems to be in a hurry to back down. On today’s Debunking Economics Podcast Phil Dobbie asks Steve Keen, who is going to win? The US is a big export market for China, but they have the rest of the developing world to tap in to. But there are also signs that the approach is bringing US businesses back home. But, in the longer term, is there a danger that the US approach will make itself i...
Jun 04, 2019•33 min•Season 1Ep. 152
The emergence of the gig economy is one downside of the internet, although you could argue that it gives access to jobs that might otherwise be there. But what about collaboration? Phil Dobbie suggests that sharing things has to be a positive for the planet – why should two farmers have tractors, when they could share just one. What about using an empty room for visitors, rather than it lying unused. That sounds fine, until Steve Keen brings up the Jevons Paradox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/...
May 27, 2019•32 min•Season 1Ep. 151
Scott Morrison, or ScoMo as he is colloquially known, is staying on as Australian Prime minister for the next four years, or until his party oust him, which is becoming a bit of a tradition. But to many, the election result was a bit of a surprise and an immense disappointment. Phil Dobbie talks to Prof Steve Keen, who offers a therapy session for progressive voters. The message is clear – you didn’t want to win this time. Perhaps everyone, from both sides of politics, should be happy with this ...
May 19, 2019•37 min•Season 1Ep. 150
Oil prices are pushing back up to the US$80/barrel mark. If they stay above that level could it drive energy producers to more realistically pursue renewable sources with more vigour. In other words, as Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen, could we be reaching the point at which market pricing sees us moving to a more environmental future, without the need for any other intervention? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 12, 2019•37 min•Season 1Ep. 149
It’s a simple question. Why do some countries, rich is resources, still end up poor? Can we blame it all on dictatorships, corruption and war, or did those regimes occur because of poverty? Why is so much of Africa in the depths of poverty? Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen how we can fix the issue. Should we be spending more on building up the capital to establish successful economies, beyond the current focus on disaster relief. And is that possible in the current political climate? Hosted on A...
May 07, 2019•30 min•Season 1Ep. 148
Is a debt jubilee really the best way of ridding the world of near stagnant growth? Would a reset revitalise the economies of the world? And how do we stop ourselves getting into this situation again? Is the wealth divide part of this and could we fix that with a universal basic income? Phil Dobbie talks to Prof Steve Keen about a possible roadmap for the future and asks whether it’s more a reward for those who don’t like to work? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 01, 2019•39 min•Season 1Ep. 147
There’s an argument that outsourcing to cheaper countries overseas creates job losses and disadvantages the local economy. That’s part of the argument Donald Trump is using to negotiate a new trade deal with China. What does Prof Steve Keen think? Phil Dobbie asks him, ‘if that’s the problem, why are we seeing such low levels of unemployment right now?’ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 24, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 146
Steve Keen believes the Australian economy is about to tank. If there's a Labor government in charge they will be blamed for the mismanagement of the economy. Better that label is stuck on the Liberals, he says. But, Phil Dobbie suggests we should always vote for who we believe will deliver the best outcome for the country. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 15, 2019•35 min•Season 1Ep. 145
House prices are crashing down in Australia, with forecasts for Sydney that they’ll have fallen by 20% from their peak by the end of this year, with the possibility that they will fall much further beyond that. So how did it get this bad and will this “correction” mean houses will become affordable again, or is more government involvement needed? Pieter Verhoeven, a Debunking Economics listener, asked, “rent control, a good idea?” Phil Dobbie puts the question to Steve Keen. Plus, Carl Gianaraki...
Apr 11, 2019•33 min•Season 1Ep. 144
In a recent podcast Phil Dobbie suggested that Australia suffers for its relatively small population size, which restricted competition and meant people were paying higher prices. Peter Y, a listener, wrote in saying Phil needs to get out of his rut on thinking about competition – Steve Keen needs to explain to him how competition really works. He does, in this edition of the podcast, but Steve still agrees a lack of competition does mean Australians are still suffering from a lack of competitio...
Apr 04, 2019•41 min•Season 1Ep. 143
Interest rates have been low in most parts of the world for some time now – in many places they are actually negative. So, what do central banks do next time there’s a global economic downturn which, as we discussed last time, isn’t very far away now. Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen whether interest rates are now so low, with little opportunity for them to grow, that they are no longer a useful instrument for central banks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 18, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 142
It seems like we’re due another recession. If you include the dot-com bust then we’ve had significant downturns every 78-9 years since the 1970s. So, even though it feels like we haven’t recovered from the last one, we appear to be hurtling to another one soon. Phil Dobbie talks to Prof Steve Keen about what will be the trigger this time, how far it will spread and what, if anything, can Central Banks do to prevent it? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 11, 2019•37 min•Season 1Ep. 141
Modern Monetary Theory supports the idea that governments, rather than creating debt, can create as much money as they see fit to invest in the economy and create jobs. Thar works just fine in a closed economy, where the debt is all in your own currency. But, Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen, whether the idea falls apart once you introduce the pesky idea of a global economy with international trade and foreign currencies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 04, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 140
The Austrian School of Economics has been around since the 1870s but was given a new lease of life in the 1970s by Frederich Hayek. In this week’s podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen about some of the fundamental principles of the Austrian school, including the theory of marginal utility, opportunity cost and the often-touted principle that humans always act with purpose. They are also big proponents of less government intervention. Steve accepts some of the principles of the Austrian Schoo...
Feb 25, 2019•34 min•Season 1Ep. 139
Nobel prize winning economist William Nordhaus has modelled how climate change will impact the economy. Steve reckons its part of the reason we don't take climate change seriously. It vastly underestimates the impact. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 18, 2019•25 min•Season 1Ep. 138
Milton Friedman influenced a generation of politicians, turning them from Keynesian economics to a more free-market way of doing things. Margaret Thatcher described him an intellectual freedom fighter. In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast Steve Keen debunks the Friedman approach to capitalism and Phil Dobbie suggests one politician who has abandoned the approach, because he has increased tariffs, something Milton would be very opposed to. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for ...
Feb 11, 2019•37 min•Season 1Ep. 137
The world’s population is growing – and we seem to be feeling it a bit in almost every part of the world – some more than most. But could the population in some countries, like Australia for example, actually be too small … would the economy work better if there were more people in it. Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen if a small population hinders competition and economic efficiency? Notwithstanding the broader argument that the planet’s population cannot keep on growing at the same rate forever...
Feb 04, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 136
Did your mum and dad teach you to save money rather than borrow? It was better to have cash than be in debt. Yet the whole approach to money has turned on its head. We don’t save as much as we used to. In fact, we borrow to invest. It’s a generational change. In this week’s podcast Phil Dobbie asks Steve Keen whether it’s something we should worry about. And is it any surprise we don’t save, when we’re slugged with bank fees and offered a very low interest rate? More to the point, why would we s...
Jan 29, 2019•38 min•Season 1Ep. 135
Are we trying to apply theory developed for production-based economies, on economies driven by knowledge? It’s worse than that, Steve Keen tells Phil Dobbie. The theories around production were wrong in the first place, because of flawed assumptions on marginal productivity. It just gets messier when you’re dealing with digital products and a knowledge-based economy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 21, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 134
The European economy seems to have found itself in sharp reverse, possibly heading into a continent-wide recession. Italy is already there, Greece has witnessed thousands leaving the country to find jobs, and the yellow vest protests show happy unhappy the French are. Then there’s Brexit, of course. In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast, Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen how much we can blame the Euro for the perilous state of the European economy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...
Jan 14, 2019•34 min•Season 1Ep. 133
There’s a theory, in many conventional government and economic circles, that lowering capital gains tax will increase investment. By taxing capital gains at less than income tax it encourages risk taking and entrepreneurship, which spurs economic growth. Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen whether that argument have any credibility or is it nothing more than a tax dodge? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 07, 2019•26 min•Season 1Ep. 132
Back in the forties Dutch economist Petrus Johannes Verdoorn argued that people became more productive when the economy was booming. Conversely, austerity hinders productivity. In this edition of the Debunking Economics Podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen if there is any evidence to support Verdoorn’s assertion. They discuss the role of demand, fiscal stimulus and mechanisation in economic growth. And yes, growth does boost productivity. Listen to discover why. Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...
Dec 31, 2018•35 min•Season 1Ep. 131
Theresa May has been busy setting rules on UK migration after Brexit. Freedom of movement was, of course, one of the contentious issues that led to Brexit in the first place. In this week’s Debunking Economics Podcast Phil Dobbie talks to Prof Steve Keen about the pros and cons of migration, where you draw the line and policies to manage it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 24, 2018•25 min•Season 1Ep. 130
Fintech companies are all chomping at the bit to take market share away from banks. Right now they’re making inroads on services like currency transfers, but will they ever extend to offering full service banking, including lending. Unlikely, says Steve Keen, because banks use money creation to make profits. But, Phil Dobbie asks, if cryptocurrencies can be created from nothing, what's to stop other non-banks from developing new global currencies that negate the need for us to rely on traditiona...
Dec 18, 2018•39 min•Season 1Ep. 129
Banks were bailed out during the financial crisis in 2008. In the US the Treasury bought billions in mortgage backed securities. In the UK half a trillion pounds was allocated to a bank rescue package. The government took a 58 percent stake in RBS and remains a significant shareholder to this day. The industry that paid fat cat salaries through dodgy loans was saved by taxpayers. So, as long as they know they are ‘too big to fail’, what’s to stop banks continuing to adopt risky practises in the ...
Dec 18, 2018•26 min•Season 1Ep. 128
House prices have started to fall in Australia. In Sydney they’ve fallen 10 percent in a year – Steve Keen isn’t alone in predicting they’ll fall as much again, at least. He tells Phil Dobbie that we’re already seeing the consequences of the fall, with Australian GDP falling. But will it lead to a recession. Could the consequences really be called a crisis, or will the economy absorb the shock? And, beyond Australia, which other countries are carrying unsustainable levels of household debt? Host...
Dec 05, 2018•51 min•Season 1Ep. 127
One for our listeners, Pieter Verhoeven, suggested we look at steady state economics and the post-growth economy. Can society continue to prosper without the need, or ability, for economic growth. Since the late sixties the Club of Rome has been arguing that we will need to curb growth or deplete the world’s resources. How would we adapt. Phil points to changes made to use resources more effectively – but does that mean we just consume more as a result? What needs to change if we are to accept t...
Nov 29, 2018•27 min•Season 1Ep. 126
According to NASA ninety-seven percent of climate scientists believe that climate change is the result of human activities. Only one US President doesn’t agree, denying that climate change even exists. But a group of central bankers met recently to decide whether they had a role to play in fixing the mess we’re making of the planet. In today’s Debunking Economics podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen whether central banks have contributed to the problem, and how far they’d have to shift their...
Nov 23, 2018•35 min•Season 1Ep. 125
