Economic Rockstar

Connecting Brilliant Minds in Economics and Finance

123: Vernon Smith on Life During the Great Depression and World War II, Overcoming Adversity and Life as an Economist

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123: Vernon Smith on Life During the Great Depression and World War II, Overcoming Adversity and Life as an Economist

Professor, George L. Argyros Endowed Chair in Finance and Economics, Professor of Economics and Law

Dr. Vernon L. Smith was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2002 for his groundbreaking work in experimental economics.

He has joint appointments with the Argyros School of Business & Economics and the Fowler School of Law, and is part of a team that will create and run the new Economic Science Institute at Chapman.

Dr. Smith has authored or co-authored more than 300 articles and books on capital theory, finance, natural resource economics and experimental economics.

He serves or has served on numerous board of editors including the American Economic Review, The Cato Journal, Journal of Economic 

Behavior and Organization and the Journal of Economic Methodology.

Dr. Smith is a distinguished fellow of the American Economic Association, an Andersen Consulting Professor of the Year, and the 1995 Adam Smith Award recipient conferred by the Association for Private Enterprise Education.

Dr. Smith completed his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at the California Institute of Technology, his master’s degree in economics at the University of Kansas, and his Ph.D. in economics at Harvard University.

In this episode, you will find out:

  • What life was like growing up in Wichita, Kansas during the Great Depression.
  • How Professor Smith was schooled during his early formative years by an immigrant German teacher.
  • The roles of his parents in influencing Vernon’s beliefs, morals and hard working ethics.
  • Vernon’s role during World War II as an employee of Boeing.
  • A story of overcoming adversity and being exposed to innovation and entrepreneurial activity.
  • How electrification during the Roosevelt Administration in the 1930s ended the use of the Coleman Lamp for famers but how Coleman Lamps pivoted to deal with this structural shift.
  • How Vernon found his way in studying economics and his influencers at that time.
  • We find out about Vernon’s discovery of a competitive equilibrium in an oral outcry auction without participants requiring complete or even prior knowledge resulting in his award of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
  • His invitation to unveil a statue of Adam Smith in Edinburgh
  • Who he would like to meet if he could time travel
  • Books he’d recommend and much more.

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    119: Best of 2016 Part 1

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    119: Best of 2016 Part 1

    During the year I had the absolute honor to converse with some of the brightest minds in economics. They shared their thinking, research and teaching methods with me and I personally learned a lot from them. I hope that you benefited from these conversations too.

    It was difficult to choose who to include, or more accurately who to leave out. I decided on a number of common themes for this ‘Best of 2016’ episode. So I hope you enjoy these sound bites and if you’re new to the show, I hope that this episode will give you a taste of the content in the catalogue of episodes that lie await for you on the Economic Rockstar podcast. Enjoy!

    The following are the episodes that I have chosen to include this year:

    068: Daron Acemoglu Inequality, Philanthropy, Inclusive Institutions and Creative Destruction.

    108 Steve Horwitz on the Micro Foundations of Macroeconomics and What Caused the Great Recession.

    088 Denise Cummins Reciprocity and Fairness.

    069 Diane Coyle GDP, the Happiness Index, the Human Development Index, The Soulful Science and How Very Human a Science Good Economics is by Being Concerned About Improving the Well-Being of People.

    104 Russ Roberts Definition of Economics, Adam Smith and Happiness.

    082 Peter Boettke Hayek and Keynes.

    085 Michael Roberts Capitalism, Marxism, Protecting Resources and Ecology.

    081 Julie Nelson Ecology and Gender.

    114 Deirdre McCloskey The change that brought about the equality of liberalism and her gender transformation.

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    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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    082: Peter Boettke on Smith and Keynes and Why We Should Be ‘Living Economics’

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    082: Peter Boettke on Smith and Keynes and Why We Should Be ‘Living Economics’

    Peter Boettke is Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University, the BB&TPeter Boettke Economic Rockstar Professor for the Study of Capitalism, and the Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

    Peter is now the co-author, along with David Prychitko, of the classic principles of economics texts of Paul Heyne’s The Economic Way of Thinking.

    Professor Boettke’s most recent book, Living Economics, provides a resource for how teachers and students can engage in many fascinating questions in economics and illuminates the core principles that should guide our thinking.

    Peter’s efforts in the classroom have earned him a number of distinctions including the Golden Dozen Award for Excellence in Teaching from the College of Arts and Sciences at New York University and the George Mason University Alumni Association’s 2009 Faculty Member of the Year award.

    Peter’s research has primarily been in the area of comparative political and economic systems and the consequences with regard to material progress and political freedom.

    Economics:

    In this episode, Peter mentions: Classical economics, Austrian economics, Keynesian economics, credit transmission, institutions, the invisible hand, mainline economics, mainstream economics, private property, public choice, rent-seeking, opportunity cost, scarcity, exchange, markets, negative externalities, laissez-faire, Coase theorem, Pigouvian tax, reciprocity, inflation, stagflation and Malthus’ theory of The General Glut.

    Economists:

    In this episode, Peter mentions: Adam Smith, F. A. Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Milton Friedman, Paul Samuelson, John Maynard Keynes,Frédéric Bastiat, David Hume, Vernon Smith, Thomas Robert Malthus, J. K. Galbraith, Paul Heyne, Hyman Minsky, Thorstein Veblen, Steve Keen, Ben Bernanke, Arthur Pigou, Gordon Tullock, James Buchanan, Robert Coase, Elinor Ostrom, Vincent Ostrom and Major Douglas.

    Papers:

    Books:

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