Economic Rockstar

Connecting Brilliant Minds in Economics and Finance

081: Julie Nelson on the Importance of Ecology in Economics and the Misconception of Gender Roles in the Economy

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081: Julie Nelson on the Importance of Ecology in Economics and the Misconception of Gender Roles in the Economy

Julie Nelson is Professor of Economics at University of Massachusetts Boston and Senior Research Fellow at Global Development and Environment Institute, Tufts University, also in the USA.Julie Nelson Economic Rockstar

Julie’s research areas include feminist economics, ecological economics, the philosophy and methodology of economics, ethics and economics, the teaching of economics, and the empirical study of individual and household behavior.

Professor Nelson has also served as a Research Economist at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and a Visiting Associate Professor at Harvard University amongst others.

Julie is the author of Economics for Humans and author, co-author, or co-editor of several other books including Beyond Economic Man: Feminist Theory and Economics.

She has also authored numerous articles in journals ranging from Econometrica, the American Economic Review, and the Journal of Political Economy, to Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Feminist Economics, and Ecological Economics.

Professor Nelson earned a B.A. degree in Economics from St. Olaf College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.

Julie, along with Mark Maier, runs the website introducingeconomics.org

Economics:

In this episode, Julie mentions: statistical inference, bias, production function, land, labor, capital, resource maintenance, feminist economics, care, GDP, Pigouvian tax, carbon, welfare gains, negative externality and Kyoto Agreement.

Economists:

In this episode, Julie mentions: John Stuart Mill, Gary Becker and Amartya Sen.

Quotes by Julie in Episode 81:

“Math gives you internal consistency. It does not give you objectivity and reliability.” – Julie Nelson

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“Most economic textbooks tell you there are three basic economic activities… production, distribution and consumption. We added one at the beginning and what we called ‘resource maintenance’. That is, how are you ever going to produce anything if you don’t have the resources and if you haven’t taken care of them and sustained them in a way that they’ll be productive in the future” – Julie Nelson

“No one would be so silly to try to address an economic problem without looking at its social, ethical, physical and political dimensions. But later economists didn’t remember those cautions of Mills and just ran with the math aspect of it.” – Julie Nelson

“There’s still a long way to go to think of gender in an intelligent and equitable way.” – Julie Nelson

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Takeaway:

“Be careful about what you believe that economists are telling you.” – Julie Nelson

“Wherever we are in our life whether we’re at work in a business or at home or bringing our whole selves with us. We don’t just bring parts of ourselves. So if you want to be an ethical person anywhere, we need to do that when we’re at work.” – Julie Nelson

Books:

Links:

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074: Peter Leeson on The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates

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074: Peter Leeson on The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates

Peter T. Leeson is Duncan Black Professor of Economics and Law at George Mason University.Peter Leeson

He is also a Senior Fellow at the F.A. Hayek Program for the Advanced Study of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics as well as the North American Editor of Public Choice.

Formerly, Peter was Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, Visiting Fellow in Political Economy and Government at Harvard University, and F.A. Hayek Fellow at the London School of Economics.

Peter is author of The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates and Anarchy Unbound: Why Self-Governance Works Better Than You Think.

Peter can be found at PeterLeeson.com.

Economists:

In this episode, Peter mentions and discusses: Ludwig von Miss, F. A. Hayek, Gary Becker, Karl Menger, Steven Levitt, Robin Hanson, Karl Marx, Adam Smith and Peter Boettke.

Economics:

In this episode, Peter mentions and discusses: price theory, human behaviour, Austrian Economics, Chicago School of Economics, economics of self-governance, rational thinking, profit maximisation, incentives, social insurance, externalities, unemployment, governance, self-governance, public goods and rational choice theory.

Pirates were economic actors but they were criminals. Criminal behaviour, as some had suggested, is not very amenable to the economic way of thinking.But Gary Becker pioneered research demonstrating that that wasn’t so.

In this episode you will learn:

  • about the similarities and differences between Austrian Economics and Becker’s thinking in the Chicago School of Economics.
  • why Peter decided to study the economics of pirates.
  • about the scientific approach to economic thinking.
  • how limitations to data restrict analytical research and how historical economic thinking can be used as a form of empirical analysis.
  • how using the economic narrative is just as effective as the mathematical regressions to explain theoretical concepts.
  • the similarities between The Invisible Hand and The Invisible Hook.
  • how pirates were rational thinkers and social revolutionaries.
  • how a hierarchy was established on a pirate ship using the Pirate Code.
  • how the Pirate Code created a social order that was economically beneficial to the crew.
  • about the constitutional democracy that pirates established onboard their ship and the misperceptions we had of an autocratic captain.
  • about some rules, codes of conduct and dispute resolution mechanisms that existed on a pirate ship.
  • how pirates were incentivised to engage in battle with a social fund (moral hazard) that was a predecessor to today’s social insurance policy.
  • how the pirate code minimised or eliminated the impact of a negative externality on a crew member or the whole crew.
  • how Peter’s book dedication, in the form of a marriage proposal, worked out.
  • when did piracy at sea begin and when did the romanticised period of piracy, as we know it, occur.
  • how are the pirates of the early 18th Century, such as Captain Blackbeard, so different to the pirates of today, such as the Somali pirates.
  • how sailors found solace and refuge as buccaneers and pirates after wars, such as the War of the Spanish Succession.
  • why unemployed sailors became buccaneers and pirates.
  • the risk-reward ratio of becoming a pirate.
  • whether pirates actually buried their treasure.
  • how an enterprising society was established at the land bases of pirates.
  • what pirates spent their spoils and treasures on.
  • the signalling effect of the Jolly Roger flag and why pirates used it as they approached a merchant ship.
  • how an ‘honor among thieves’ and collusive agreements between pirate groups allowed them to avoid attacking each other.
  • how coast guards, who were legally allowed to plunder merchant ships, often used the Jolly Roger flag as a signal to deceive their subjects into thinking they were pirates for the purpose of avoiding a bloody battle.
  • why coast guards used the Jolly Roger flag to cash in on the reputation of pirates.
  • if self-governance is effective and more successful that government.
  • whether the free-rider problem would exist in a self-governed economy regarding public goods.

Links:

Papers:

Books:

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033: Abdullah Al-Bahrani on the Economy of Oman and How Racial Discrimination Empowered Him to Succeed in Life and in Economics.

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033: Abdullah Al-Bahrani on the Economy of Oman and How Racial Discrimination Empowered Him to Succeed in Life and in Economics.

Dr. Abdullah Al Bahrani is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Northern Kentucky University,Abdullah al Bahrani where he serves as the Principles of Economics Coordinator.

Abdullah’s research interests are in the fields of Industrial Organization and Education of Economics. Currently, his primary focus is on innovative approaches to teaching Economics. In Industrial Organization, his research examines market structure and competition in the banking and real estate industries.

Prior to joining academia, Dr. Al Bahrani worked in the mortgage industry from 2003-2006. He has also served as outside economic consult to the Ministry of Education, Sultanate of Oman and new business ventures entering Oman.

Abdullah received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Kentucky in 2010, where he received an award for Best Economics Graduate Teaching Assistant.

His Master degree in Economic Theory was awarded by American University in Washington D.C. in 2003 and he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Economics from the University of Louisville in 2002.

Influencers:

My parents are big advocates of education and they instil the value of education and the value of curiosity – Abdullah Al-Bahrani

Personal Habits:

Abdullah has a 5am start and gets to the gym most mornings. It is at the gym where Abdullah creates his to-do list, becomes super-organized and listens to Economic Rockstar!

On dealing with racial discrimination:

You roll up your sleeves and you keep on trying – Abdullah Al-Bahrani

Abdullah’s Philosophy and Affirmations:

Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently

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Failing in a business does not need to mean that you failed as a person – Abdullah Al-Bahrani

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Whatever you do, allow your personality to shine – Abdullah Al-Bahrani

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The thing that I appreciate is people that push the boundaries that create new paths – to me that’s what growth is – Abdullah Al-Bahrani

My philosophy is to embrace technology – Abdullah Al-Bahrani

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Find Out:

  • why Abdullah decided to do a Phd in Economics in 2006 and left the mortgage industry just before it imploded.
  • about Abdullah’s economic consultancy work with the Sultanate of Oman.
  • about Abdullah’s connection when reviewing labor market studies in Oman (Hint: She is the Director General of the National Centre of Career Guidance and is as maternal to Abdullah as Oman as a country is to him).
  • how Oman are creating an entrepreneurial spirit to drive is economy in the future.
  • why Oman is faced with difficulties in transitioning to an entrepreneurial economy.
  • how Omani culture is preventing it’s people to take on risk and why incentives do not work.
  • about Abdullah’s suggestion that to create an entrepreneurial spirit in Oman, the labor market must first be liberalised.
  • how ‘Omanization’ has made it costly for foreign firms to set up subsidiaries in Oman.
  • why Omani’s are not hired by foreign firms setting up in Oman.
  • why discrimination exists in the Omani labor market and why US and UK ex-pats would be a preferred employee.
  • how data limitations for Oman make it difficult to conduct an empirical analysis of the labor market.
  • how labor market regulations in Oman is making it costly for firms to hire Omani’s.
  • about some economic indicators for Oman.
  • about Oman’s free trade agreements, the Gulf Corporation Council and the potential Oman offers.
  • about Oman’s tourism initiative to create Oman as an eco-friendly destination.
  • how Abdullah is integrating social media into the classroom, making education a more interactive and conducive learning environment for students.
  • about Abdullah’s clever way of using a students’ mobile phone in explaining the concept of a negative externality.
  • how to create a sense of community in a classroom.
  • why Abdullah received an Easter basket of goodies from a student’s mother.
  • why Abdullah is ‘helping his students to ‘clean’ their social media footprint.
  • how Abdullah encourages his students to connect with him on whatever platform they choose to use.
  • how using ESPN 30 for 30 to teach economics and to keep the economics student engaged.
  • how to teach economics with no math and no graphs.
  • about the research Abdullah is doing on racial discrimination in the labor market.
  • how Abdullah is identifying how racial discrimination is evident in online markets where, unlike traditional markets,  the color of your skin is not a factor.
  • if your last name prevent you from getting a loan, employment or from being priced out of a market.
  • how dropping a letter from your name can get you a job if you’re being racially discriminated against.
  • how Abdullah was racially discriminated against in both the labor market and when selling mortgage loans in the USA.
  • how Abdullah dealt with racial discrimination and how it gave him his Phd dissertation question.
  • how online price comparison websites may actually be anti-competitive.
  • how online stores are eating into the consumer surplus.

Economists:

In this interview, Abdullah mentions:

Darshak Patel, Kim Holder, Gary Becker, Steven Levitt, Stephen Dubnar, Frank Scott, Chris Bollinger and Gail Hoyt, Brandon Sheridan and Roland Fryer.

Economics:

In this interview, Abdullah mentions and discusses:

Labor market, incentives, entrepreneurship, small and medium sized enterprise, venture capital, unintended consequences, business cycle, unemployment, GDP per capita, trade agreements, indigenous industries, multinational companies, Gulf Corporation Council, tourism, factor endowments, negative externality, comparative advantage, search cost, marginal cost, competition and consumer surplus.

Papers:

Books:

Resources:

Where to find Abdullah:

 

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006: Andrew Heaton on Using Comedy to Explain Economic Concepts

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006: Andrew Heaton on Using Comedy to Explain Economic Concepts

Andrew Heaton

Andrew Heaton is a comedian, writer and political satirist. He is the presenter of the witty and entertaining economics podcast, EconPop and has a Masters degree in International Politics. Andrew has been featured in a Bollywood movie, plays a lead role in the sitcom Cap South and has been voted best new comedian of 2013 in New York. Andrew hails from Oklahoma, is an Officer to a Prince and plays the Ukelele to enhance the mood of his friends’ amorous endeavors.

Economic Themes:

In this interview, Andrew mentions and discusses: wheat quotas, comparative advantage, protectionism, relative and actual growth, free markets and limited government, Austrian Theory of Monetary Creation, supply and demand, signalling, subjective value, negative externalities, tariffs and import duty, protectionism, corporation tax, scarce resources, population, abundance of resources, the Great Depression, US deficit, unintended consequences, behavioral economics and risk aversion.

Economists and Economic Schools:

In this interview, Andrew mentions: the Chicago School, the Austrian School, Libertarianism, Adam Smith, Milton Friedman, Freidrich Hayek, John Maynard Keynes, Murray Rothbard, Frédéric Bastiat, Thomas Malthus, Gene Epstein, Steven Horwitz,

Andrew’s Influencers:

Gene Epstein and Milton Friedman.

Podcasts:

EconPop is hosted by Andrew, who is joined by economist Steven Horwitz and professor of literature Paul Cantor.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • how Andrew became interested in economics while studying abroad in Scotland.
  • what parallels Andrew draws between politics, economics and comedy.
  • what economists and school of thought Andrew draws inspiration from to carve out his own views.
  • where and from whom Andrew gets his inspiration for his anecdotal writings on economics concepts.
  • how economic concepts is in abundance in life and can be found in the many movies we may have watched.
  • what qualities Andrew believes makes a successful person.
  • about Andrew being an Officer to Prince Leonard of Hutt River.
  • what comparative advantage is and how Andrew explains it in an unusual but light-hearted way.
  • why Andrew believes we will never run out of resources and why we should not worry about scarcity.

Advice:

‘If you’re gonna have a lot of activities that you are doing, you need to be mentally organised and very good at prioritising.’

‘To supercharge your day, when you are getting to your tasks, do the one you hate most first… the rest of your day is a cinch.’

‘With books, the trick is you just write a thousand words a night… your subconscious mind works on it and when you sit down the following night it’s a little bit easier.  You have a full novel in two and half months.’

Personal Habits:

  • Andrew works extremely hard to get things done. He has blended comedy with economics to allow this dismal science to become enjoyable or entertaining.
  • Andrew believes that having the right mentor is hugely beneficial and such a relationship allows him to learn and focus on reaching small milestones. This has worked out favorably well for Andrew in the field of economics where he developed a strong set of opinions on some theoretical aspects of economics. By expanding his knowledge-base through economics books and the many discussions with his mentor, Gene Epstein, Andrew has opened new doors and created new opportunities that otherwise may not have been attainable. His love of economics, particularly the Austrian and Chicago Schools and libertarianism, has given Andrew a lot of material to work on for his comedic performances onstage, online and in books.
  • Andrew writes quite frequently and believes that constant writing will have a payoff in terms of the publication of a book.
  • Andrew plays the ukelele but, unfortunately, it wasn’t ‘tuned’ correctly for him to give us a treat on this podcast. So, as an homage to Andrew, I changed the outro music theme of Economic Rockstar to one that uses a ukelele. I hope you enjoy it!

Takeaway:

On Economics and Comedy:

Economics is a dismal science, so if you can make it funny it sweetens it – Andrew Heaton

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On Humor and Economic Differences:

‘When you start arguing with somebody your adrenaline level shoots up.  Just on a biochemical level, you become much less able to hear what they are saying because you are taking a defensive posture.  Conversely, when you’re laughing, you produce endorphins.  And, if I can make you laugh, for a moment you are willing to listen to me – just for a moment.’

On Human Innovation Outpacing Declining Resources:

“We didn’t end the Stone Age because we ran out of stones”. – Andrew Heaton

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Recommended Books:

Favorite Internet Resources:

Where To Find Andrew Heaton:

Contact Andrew and start a campaign if you would like him to create a ‘Mighty Heaton’ doll!

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