Economic Rockstar

Connecting Brilliant Minds in Economics and Finance

118: Zachary Feinstein on Systemic Risk and Economics in Star Wars and Harry Potter

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118: Zachary Feinstein on Systemic Risk and Economics in Star Wars and Harry Potter

Zachary Feinstein is Professor joined the Preston M. Green Department of Electrical & Systems Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis in 2014.

While earning a doctorate at Princeton University, Zachary supervised the senior thesis-writing group and assisted in teaching several courses.

Previously, he conducted research at Hunan University in China and was an intern at Millennium Partners LP and Lehman Brothers Inc., both in New York City.

Professor Feinstein works in the broad fields of operations research and financial engineering and he heads The Operations Research and Financial Engineering Laboratory Washington University.

His research focus has been on the applications of set-optimization to financial risk measurement, with projects studying and defining dynamic risk measures in markets with transaction costs and measures of systemic risk.

You can find Professor Feinstein’s work on Star Wars and more at www.fictionomics.com.

On Systemic Crises and Contagion:

“This is something that comes up very regularly in modern economic history. And really it’s something that we talk about it for a year after the crisis and then we forget to think that this is a problem. So by bringing it up in Star Wars and by bringing it up in Harry Potter we can keep this in the public consciousness.” Professor Zachary Feinstein.

Economics:

In this episode, Zachary discusses and mentions: systemic risk, contagion, world GDP, Gross World Product, Gross Galactic Product (GGP), interstellar travel, economic stagnation, financial deregulation, resources, scarcity, bailout, bank failures, TARP, moral hazard and the Glass-Steagall Act.

In this Episode, you will Learn:

  • about the petition to White House to build the Death Star.
  • how the Death Star would cost $193 quintillion to build and World GDP is $70 trillion.
  • about how Professor Feinstein used the Manhattan Project to build the first Atomic Bomb as a proxy to calculate the cost of the second Death Star.
  • why people would go back to authoritarian rule like The First Order (economic depression).
  • how economic growth is linked to population growth.
  • what happens in a systemic crisis if it’s generated by currency exchanges.
  • the Economic System in the Star Wars Galaxy.
  • the systemic risk imposed by the Gringotts Bank in the Harry Potter series.
  • and much much more.

Movies/TV Series Mentioned in this Episode:

Writing Tips:

Just write it down. Get something on page and then afterward you can mark it up in red as much as you want. Don’t worry about getting the right sentence down, just get something on the page and then move it all around. Mark it up. Completely delete it if you want. But once it’s on the page, it’s much easier to move forward than worrying about the perfect sentence to start – Professor Zachary Feinstein.

Academic Papers:

Links:

Books:

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087: Asgeir B. Torfason on the Economy of Iceland and Explaining Negative Cashflows in Banks

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087: Asgeir B. Torfason on the Economy of Iceland and Explaining Negative Cashflows in Banks

Asgeir B. Torfason is Assistant Professor in the School of Business at the University of Iceland where he teaches asgeir torfasonFinance, Accounting and Financial Statement Analysis. Asgeir is also Postdoc Research Fellow, as well as an Assistant Professor at Gothenburg Research Institute.

Asgeir defended his PhD at Gothenburg University in May 2014 with dissertation: Cash Flow Accounting in Banks – A study of practice.

His research combines bank management, finance theory, monetary economics and accounting studies.

Previous research has focused on asset values and long-term investment in real estate, a field where Asgeir has extensive practical experience, covering the Nordics as VP for a REIT listed on NYSE.

Prior to that he worked in university management after getting an MBA from Norwegian Business School in Oslo, and studied earlier Philosophy and Economics in Iceland.

Economics:

In this episode, Asgeir mentions: Iceland’s economy, IT bubble, Tulip Mania, banks, capital controls, devaluation, tourism, resources, trade, cashflows, assets, liabilities, revenue, equity, income statements, bankruptcy, lending, negative cashflows, money multiplier, reserve requirement, central banks, quantitative easing, swap lines and housing bubbles.

Economists:

In this episode, Asgeir mentions: Joseph Schumpeter, John Maynard Keynes, Hyman Minsky, Perry G Mehrling, 

Links:

Papers:

Books:

Where to Find Asgeir:

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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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