Economic Rockstar

Connecting Brilliant Minds in Economics and Finance

092: Graham Brownlow on Rent Seeking, Cliometrics and the Economics of the DeLorean

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092: Graham Brownlow on Rent Seeking, Cliometrics and the Economics of the DeLorean

Dr. Graham Brownlow (PhD, QUB) is a Lecturer in Economics at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.Graham Brownlow Economic Rockstar

Dr. Brownlow’s research focuses primarily on economic history and institutions, evolutionary economics, Irish economic and business performance and violence. He also has an interest in methodology in economic and business history.

Graham edits the journal Irish Economic and Social History.

I’m very eclectic and pragmatic – Dr. Graham Brownlow

Economics:

In this episode, Graham mentions: rent seeking, cliometrics, inefficiency, corruption, institutions, subsidies, Brexit, monopolies, sharing economy, fast money, game theory, bargaining, public choice, regional economics and economic history. 

Economists:

In this episode, Graham mentions: Peter Boettke, Peter Leeson, Gary Becker, William Baumal, Douglass North, Robert Hamilton, Eli Hecksher, Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes, Joseph Schumpeter, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, George Duncan, Tim Harford, Steven Landsburg and G. L. S. Shackle.

Using Analytic Narratives in Economic Research

Looking to balance the details of fact and yet keep the rigour of an economic model – Graham Brownlow

  1. Identify the problem or puzzle.
  2. Immerse yourself in the topic or resources.
  3. Move to more formal aspects.
  4. Don’t start with the model and then use it to explain your findings.
  5. You actually first look at the historical issue under investigation and then apply it to the model.

Links:

Research by Dr. Graham Brownlow:

  • A complete list of Graham’s research can be found here.

Economics of the DeLorean Economic Rockstar

Where to Find Graham:

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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078: Arnold Kling on the Hidden Story of How Markets Work, the Mortgage Crisis and How We Pay for Health Care

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078: Arnold Kling on the Hidden Story of How Markets Work, the Mortgage Crisis and How We Pay for Health Care

Arnold Kling is a Mercatus Center–affiliated senior scholar at George Mason University and a member of the arnold kling economic rockstarFinancial Markets Working Group.

Arnold specializes in housing-finance policy, financial institutions, macroeconomics, and the inside workings of America’s federal financial institutions. He also is an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute in Washington, DC.

Arnold has testified before Congress on the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

He has authored five books, including Crisis of Abundance: Rethinking How We Pay for Health Care and Invisible Wealth: The Hidden Story of How Markets Work.

Arnold has published articles in the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Atlantic, and Forbes, among others, and he blogs at arnoldkling.com/blog/.

Previously, Arnold served as a senior economist at Freddie Mac and a staff economist on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

He started Homefair, one of the first commercial websites on the Internet.

Arnold Kling received his PhD in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“If you want to live a good lifestyle, you can find hobbies and interests that don’t cost very much. So it’s not hard to enjoy life. But if you want to make yourself miserable, watch politics.” – Arnold Kling

Economics:

In this episode, Arnold mentions and discusses: information rules, economic information, marginal cost of information, advertising, versioning, bundling, Austrian economics, risk measurement, capital, tax, mortgage-backed securities, loans, bubbles, crashes, excess leverage, marked-to-market, economics of health care, labor, capital, land, institutions.

Economists:

In this episode, Arnold mentions and discusses: Hal Varian, Carl Shapiro, Brad deLong, Tyler Cowen, Paul Krugman, Paul Volker, Douglass North, Robin Hanson, Bryan Caplan, James Buchanan, Adam Smith, F. A. Hayek and Robert Solow.

In this episode you will learn:

  • about Moore’s Law and what it means for the economy.
  • why economists are being lured into the world of start-ups and tech companies.
  • about the power of freemium and why companies need to build up trust to create a loyal customer base.
  • the difference between versioning and bundling.
  • what the future holds for the accessing information online.
  • about Arnold’s company online Homefair and how it was one of the first internet companies.
  • what really went on behind closed doors at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that resulted in their demise.
  • why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were bailed out.
  • how changing the culture at Freddie Mac caused its collapse.
  • about the state of health care in America today.
  • how Americans are to pay for the higher costs of health care.
  • about the fibre-bubble in the 1990s.
  • why we are richer today than a couple of hundred years ago.
  • why ideas are the foundation to economic growth and prosperity.
  • why nations like Cuba and North Korea are poor (bad institutions).
  • about the work being done at George Mason University.

Where to Find Arnold Kling:

Books:

Links: 

  • 23andMe: www.23andme.com
    • View reports on over 100 health conditions and traits
    • Find out about your inherited risk factors and how you might respond to certain medications
    • Discover your lineage and find DNA relatives

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