Economic Rockstar

Connecting Brilliant Minds in Economics and Finance

104: Russ Roberts on How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life and the Theory of Moral Sentiments

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104: Russ Roberts on How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life and the Theory of Moral Sentiments

Russ Roberts is Associate Editor, founder and host of the popular and much loved podcast EconTalk, russ-roberts-economic-rockstarand founding advisory board member of the Library of Economics and Liberty.

Russ is the John and Jean De Nault Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

His two rap videos on the ideas of John Maynard Keynes and F.A. Hayek, created with filmmaker John Papola, have had more than eight million views on YouTube.

Russ’ latest book How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness takes the lessons from Adam Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments and applies them to modern life.

Russ is also the author of three economic novels teaching economic lessons and ideas through fiction. The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity, The Invisible Heart: An Economic Romance and The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism.

Russ blogs at CafeHayek.com and archives his work at russroberts.info.

A three-time teacher of the year, Russ has taught at George Mason University, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Rochester, Stanford University, and the University of California.

He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Economists:

In this episode, Russ discusses and mentions: Adam Smith, F. A. Hayek, David Hume, Vernon Smith, Milton Friedman and Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

Economics:

In this episode, Russ discusses and mentions: Austrian economics, classical economics, spontaneous order, pricing, supply, demand, surge pricing, unintended consequences, price controls, taxes and subsidies.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • about Adam Smith and how the application of Smith’s philosophical and economic thinking can change your life.
  • what the market forces are and the positive and negative examples of the spontaneous order.
  • the invisible hand and prices.
  • what surging prices are.
  • what Smith describes as the impartial spectator and the power of our conscience.
  • Adam Smith’s advice on how to be happy.
  • two ways to get people to pay attention to you and what Smith believed is the most ethical way.
  • what Smith believed was the cultural norm to accept behaviors.

Two Ways to Get People to Pay Attention to You:

Be rich, famous and powerful. It works. But don’t be fooled. You have a natural tendency to pursue money, fame and power because it will get you attention, respect and love. But that’s the wrong way to get there.

The right way to get there is through wisdom and virtue. Understand the world and treat people well. If you do that, you’re also going to be loved, respected and praised. But you won’t be doing the things along the way that people do when they want to become rich, powerful and famous that are not so good for you that cold lead to regret, shame and misbehavior. The temptation to do the unethical thing to pursue fame, power and money is always there.

Writing Tips:

  • Write everyday.
  • The trick to being a good writer is being a good editor.

Where to Find Russ Roberts:

Recommended Books:

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103: Brian Mills on the Labor Market in Baseball, the Umpire Strikes Back and R

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103: Brian Mills on the Labor Market in Baseball, the Umpire Strikes Back and R

Brian Mills is an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida within the Department of Tourism, brian-mills-economic-rockstarRecreation, and Sport Management specializing in Managerial Sports Economics.

Professor Mills is also Associate Research Faculty within the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute (EFTI).

Brian’s research interests encompass topics such as the sports labor market, industrial organization and sports league policy, public policy and economic development related to sport, and advanced analytics in the sports business. He is especially interested in applying economic lessons and quantitative analysis to problems that sport managers face in their everyday decision making.

Dr. Mills has also worked on consulting projects for professional sports teams and municipalities both in the U.S. and Canada.

Before arriving at Florida, Brian received his PhD and MA in Sport Management from the University of Michigan.  During that time, he also completed MA degrees in Statistics and in Applied Economics.  Brian earned his BA in Psychology in 2006 from St. Mary’s College of Maryland where he played NCAA Division III baseball.

Brian’s work and research interests can be found at brianmmills.com and at princeofslides.blogspot

Brian is now offering a new course called Exploring Pitch Data with R over at www.datacamp.com.

Check it out. You’ll have lots of fun learning basic data manipulation, summarization, and visualization in R using Statcast data.

Economics:

In this episode, Brian discusses and mentions: sports economics, labor market, externalities, incentives, wages, allocation of time, R, population, GDP and incomes.

Economists:

In this episode, Brian discusses and mentions: Rodney Fort, Stefan Szymanski, Lawrence Kahn and Bill Gerrard.

Links:

Brian Mills’ Writing Tips:

  1. Always be reading and writing.
  2. Give or receive feedback and re-write.
  3. Develop a habit of note-taking.
  4. Turn your idea into a good story.

Resources:

Artilces:

Scoring in Baseball Is Down. Blame the Umpires: A Study Found That Umpires Have Expanded Their Strike Zone in Recent Years in The Wall Street Journal

Books:

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102: Matías Vernengo on John Maynard Keynes and the Evolution of Keynesian Economic Thinking

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102: Matías Vernengo on John Maynard Keynes and the Evolution of Keynesian Economic Thinking

Matías Vernengo is Professor of Economics at Bucknell University, Pennsylvania, USA.matias-vernengo-economic-rockstar

Dr. Vernengo is co-author of ‘Conta de Juros Grande & Favela’ and has also edited four books including ‘Banking, Monetary Policy and the Political Economy of Financial Regulation – Essays in the Tradition of Jane D’Arista’.

He has published over fifty academic and popular articles, and contributes to the blogs Naked Keynesianism and Triple Crisis. He is also the co-editor of the Review of Keynesian Economics (ROKE).

Matías’ methodological view emphasizes the importance of the history of ideas for the development of economic theory, and is based on the surplus approach of the classical political economy authors and Marx and the heterodox followers of Keynes.

Dr. Vernengo has written on the effects of external liberalization in Latin America and alternatives to the Washington Consensus, on the international role of the dollar, on current monetary and fiscal policy, on macroeconomic policy during the 1930s and on the history of economic ideas.

Economics:

In this episode, Matías discusses and mentions: Keynesian economics, neo-Keynesianism, Animal Spirits, monetarists, uncertainty, rational expectations, wages, GDP< consumption, multiplier, 

Economists:

In this episode, Matías discusses and mentions: John Maynard Keynes, Joan Robinson, Karl Marx, Ricardo, Frank Knight, Joseph Schumpeter, Milton Friedman, Robert Lucas, Alvin Hansen, Robert Solow, James Tobin, Paul Samuelson, George Akerlof, Robert Shiller, Larry Summers, Alan Blinder, Ben Bernanke, Christina Romer and Janet Yellen.

Professor Matías Vernengo’s Writing Tips:

  1. Think of your audience and write for them.
  2. Present at conferences and get great feedback. It also gets your work out there.
  3. Plan carefully. Write your paper so that it is a good fit to each journal that you’re sending it to.

Where to Find Matías:

Essay:

The Economic Consequences of Mr. Churchill by J. M. Keynes

Books:

 

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101: Chris Coyne on the Opportunity Cost to War, Exporting Democracy and the Nirvana Fallacy

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101: Chris Coyne on the Opportunity Cost of War, Exporting Democracy and the Nirvana Fallacy

Christopher Coyne is an Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University and the AssociateChris Coyne Economic Rockstar Director of the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center.

He also serves as Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Economics.

Professor Coyne serves as the Co-Editor of The Review of Austrian Economics, the Co-Editor of The Independent Review, the Co-Editor of Advances in Austrian Economics, and the Book Review Editor of Public Choice.

Chris has authored numerous academic articles, book chapters, and policy studies and his research interests include political economy and military intervention.

Professor Coyne is the author or co-author of numerous books including Future: Economic Peril or Prosperity? and After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy.

He is also the co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Austrian Economics and The Handbook on the Political Economy of War.

In 2016 Chris was selected as a recipient of George Mason University’s University Teaching Excellence Award.

His work can be found at www.ccoyne.com

Economics:

In this episode, Chris discusses and mentions: economics of war, the Nirvana Fallacy, incentives, knowledge constraints, unintended consequences, the Capitalist-Peace hypothesis, dependency effects, public goods, praxeology, prohibition and society.

Economists:

In this episode, Chris discusses and mentions: Ludwig von Mises, F. A. Hayek, Robert Higgs, Mike Munger, Peter Leeson, Rachel Coyne, James Buchanan, Gordon Tullock, Claude-Frédéric Bastiat and Henry Hazlitt.

Professor Coyne’s Daily Routine:

  • Everyday is the same. I wake up every morning between 5 and 6 am and work out in the garage for 1 to 2 hours. Then I eat breakfast and get to work.
  • I work in chunks – anywhere from 1 to 3 hours and I take little breaks in between.
  • When I find myself losing focus, I do little things like getting a cup of coffee or do a chore around the house or going outside for a few minutes. It resets my mind.
  • I’ll work from 8 or 9 am to lunch. I get lunch, maybe work a little more and then I shift more into administrative mode. It requires a different brain power than reading and writing.

Links:

Recommended Books:

Human Action by Mises: “That is an excellent book in terms of a systematic treatise on economics.” – Chris Coyne.

Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government by Robert Higgs: “It’s a wonderful treatment of how government grows through the onset of crises. He’s focused mainly on the United States. He talks about the evolution of the US government and he highlights these punctuated points of crises where government grew. Of course World War 2 and the Great Depression being among the main ones that he highlights. It’s excellent both for the history but also for the framework he lays out – called the ‘Ratchet Effect’ (how the government ratchets up in size. It’s a wonderful book that I highly recommend.” – Chris Coyne.

Papers Mentioned in the Episode:

Where to Find Professor Coyne:

Books:

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100: Emily Skarbek on the Economics of Natural Disasters and the Samaritan’s Dilemma

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100: Emily Skarbek on  the Economics of Natural Disasters and the Samaritan’s Dilemma

Dr. Emily Skarbek is a Lecturer in Political Economy at King’s College London.Emily Skarbek Economic Rockstar

Emily’s research examines the role of voluntary associations in solving complex public goods problems after natural disasters.

Her empirical approach is three-pronged, drawing on archives, historical sources, and field-work following large-scale natural disasters.

In addition, Emily has a passion for the history of economic thought, which she believes can play a key role in advancing contemporary debates. She is particularly interested in the epistemic arguments of Friedrich Hayek.

In 2014, Emily was awarded the annual Gordon Tullock prize for best article published in Public Choice by a junior scholar. She is also a contributing author to several books including After Katrina: The Political Economy of Disaster and Community Rebound and Hayek and the Modern World.

Dr. Skarbek received her PhD in Economics from George Mason University and was previously an Assistant Professor at San Jose State University and a Fellow at the Center for History of Political Economy at Duke University.

Emily blogs at EconLog, one of the world’s leading economics blogs. For more on Dr. Skarbek, visit her website www.emilyskarbek.com or follow her on twitter @EmilySkarbek.

Economics:

In this episode, Emily discusses and mentions: natural disasters, political incentives and the Samaritan’s Dilemma.

Economists:

In this episode, Emily discusses and mentions: David Skarbek, Elinor Ostrom, Emily Chamlee-Wright, Virgil Storr, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, Alfred Marshall, John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, William Easterly, Claudia Williamson, James Buchanan, Daniel Kahneman, Peter Leeson and Diane Coyle.

Dr. Emily Skarbek’s Tips on Writing:

  1. Write about what you are passionate about.
  2. Ask interesting questions.
  3. Get feedback and be open to the harshest critics or actively seek criticism.

Festival:

Papers:

Where to Find Emily Skarbek:

Website: www.emilyskarbek.com

Twitter: @EmilySkarbek

Books:

  • Individualsim and Economic Order by F. A. Hayek

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099: Rodney Fort on Sport Economics, Big Data in Baseball and the Value of Hosting an Olympic Games

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099: Rodney Fort on Sport Economics, Big Data in Baseball and the Value of Hosting an Olympic Games

Rodney Fort is Professor of Sport Management at the University of Michigan after spending 23 years in an economics Rodney Fort Economic Rockstardepartment at various universities.

Professor Fort teaches Sports Economics and Research Methods for Sport Management and research interests include sport economics, regulation and microeconomics.

Rodney is a recognized authority on sports economics and business, both in the U.S. and internationally. 

He has written 7 books including the best seller Sports Economics, 63 refereed journal articles, and 56 other publications that cover sports topics as diverse as cross-subsidies in U.S. sports leagues to comparative analysis of North American and world sports leagues.

Rodney also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Sports Economics, the International Journal of Sport Finance, and Managerial and Decision Economics.  He also currently serves as a vice-president of the International Association of Sports Economists.

Rodney’s work includes being a sports economics consultant, writes for numerous blogs including his own rodsportseconomics and holds the most complete data on the economics and business of U.S. pro sports leagues in existence at Sports Business Data Pages.

Resources:

Links:

Where to Find Professor Fort

Books

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098: Kirk Du Plessis on Options Trading and Creating on Online Teaching and Trading Platform

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098: Kirk Du Plessis on Options Trading and Creating on Online Teaching and Trading Platform

Kirk Du Plessis is a full-time options trader, real estate investor, stay-at-home Dad and personal trading coach.Kirk Du Plessis Economic Rockstar

His background and experience includes time on Wall Street as an investment banker, a senior stock analyst and a senior loan officer.

Kirk is the Founder and Fund Manager at Option Alpha, an online education and training platform for options traders with students from 42 different countries around the world.

You can grab his completely FREE 12-Part Video Training Course which will help you discover how to trade options for consistent monthly income over at optionalpha.com.

Kirk was recently featured in Barron’s Magazine as a contributor to their Annual Broker’s Review.

Kirk’s podcast, The Option Alpha Podcast, features great tips, advice and explanations on all things options trading.

In this Episode, Kirk mentions and discusses:

options, options trading,derivatives, calls, puts, bull call spreads, straddles, stock market, efficient market hypothesis, technical analysis, wasting asset, time decay, turtle traders, delta, survivorship bias, discipline, arbitrage, black swan and leverage.

Podcasts:

Links:

 

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097: Peita Diamantidis on Being a Finance Action Hero and Gamifying How You Manage Your Finances

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097: Peita Diamantidis on Being a Finance Action Hero and Gamifying How You Manage Your Finances

Peita

Peita Diamantidis is an Author, Financial Adviser and Financial Literacy Advocate.

She combines maths and finance with a passion for communicating leading her on a mission to empower the public to take charge of their finances.

Her easy to understand financial explanations ensure her clients have the tools and information they need to make key financial decisions.

With a background in Actuarial Studies and economics, Peita delivers a deep understanding of the fundamentals of money and finance through the companies that she co-founded: Zaptitude, DeltaPlan Financial Services and Caboodle Financial Services.

With a quirky sense of humour and a deep and abiding love of movies, Peita is in the unique position of being able to use humour and storytelling to communicate the best way to approach an individual’s finances.

Peita is author of Finance Action Hero.

Companies Co-Founded by Peita:

Where to Find Peita:

Books:

 

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096: Cameron Murray on the Robinson Crusoe Economy and Blogging toward your PhD

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Episode 096Dr Cameron K. Murray  is an economist with a passion for improving society. Cameron writes under the Cameron Murray Economic Rockstarpseudonym Rumplestatskin. 

Cameron has a broad range of interests and a diverse background in property development, environmental economics research and economic regulation. 

In his writings, Cameron aims to bring reliable insights from the academic and technical literature into the mainstream economic debate.

Cameron thinks that economics could be much better than it is, which is why he often write about very fine technical points of economic theory, and the nature of the profession.

Dr Murray specialises in property markets, environmental economics and corruption.

Cameron maintains an internationally renowned personal blog called Fresh Economic Thinking and also writes for MacroBusiness, IDEA economics and Evonomics.

He recently completed a PhD at the University of Queensland on the economics of corruption.

Economics: 

In this episode, Cameron mentions: comparative advantage, property rights and trade.

Economists:

In this episode, Cameron mentions: Steve Keen, Ronald Coase, William Baumal, Alan Blinder and Stanley Jevons.

Links:

Where to Find Cameron:

Books:

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095: Scott Burns on Mobile Money Banking in Africa and the Success of M-Pesa

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095: Scott Burns on Mobile Money Banking in Africa and the Success of M-Pesa

Scott Burns is a Mercatus PhD Dissertation Fellow in the Economics PhD Program at George Mason Scott Burns Economic RockstarUniversity.

Scott earned his BS in Economics from Louisiana State University where he was part of the Speech and Debate Club and the Phi Eta Sigma Honors Society.

His current publications include The War on Drugs in Afghanistan: Another Failed Experiment in Interdiction and Old (Chicago) school, new century: the link between Knight and Simons’ Chicago plan to Buchanan’s constitutional money.

Scott’s PhD dissertation topic has to do with one of the most exciting yet under-appreciated miracles of the market going on in the world today, the “mobile money revolution” in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Scott writes for the blog Alt-M, which is a blog run by free banking scholars on the theme ‘Ideas for an Alternative Monetary Future’.

Scott, along with fellow Econ PhD student at GMU, David Lucas, started a band inspired by Adam Smith called ‘The Butcher and the Baker’.

Economics:

In this episode, Scott mentions: banking, monopolies, natural monopoly, market failure, savings, investment, development economics, finance, GDP, laissez-faire, mobile money, unintended consequences, bitcoins and hyper-inflation.

Economists:

In this episode, Scott mentions: Adam Smith, Ludwig von Mises, F. A. Hayek, Joseph Schumpeter, Scott Sumner, David Beckworth, Lawrence H. White and George A. Selgin,

Links:

Papers:

Articles:

Books:

 

Companies Mentioned in this Episode:

  • Uber, Airbnb, Amazon and Safaricom.

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