Economist Steve Keen talks to Phil Dobbie about the failings of the neoclassical economics and how it reflects on society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
…
continue reading
Each week Phil Dobbie and Roger Hearing get to grips with one issue that impacts our lives. It could be economic, social, technological or geopolitical. Whatever the subject, they'll talk to the experts who can give help explain what's really going on. And Phil and Roger back it up with their own research and opinions. It's half an hour to get across one of the key issues of the time, and they promise, it'll never be boring. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
…
continue reading
Balls Radio is like talk radio, but for thinking people. Now a short regular occurrence, Phil Dobbie offers his opinions on what's happening, in the UK and overseas: politics, social policy, economics, science, religion. Yes, it's another, slightly overweight middle-aged white man telling the world how it should be. But there's nothing alt-right about Balls Radio. And we try and have fun along the way.
…
continue reading
Happy days are here again for the Democrats, as their new candidates gear up for the US presidential election. But does the razzmatazz conceal a weakness on the ticket that will be exposed once Harris and Walz have to face hostile interviewers? Dr Thomas Gift, Associate Professor of Political Science at UCL and founding director of the Centre on US…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Could stubborn central banks drive us to debt deflation?
35:26
35:26
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
35:26
The last time interest rates were this high they came down rather fast. This time central bankers are determined to manage a slow unwind and deliver a return to growth without wreaking havoc on the economy. Will they be successful? This week Steve Keen argues the high interest rates are inflicting damage without treating the problem. Inflation is b…
…
continue reading
Riots and disorder on a scale Britain hadn’t seen in a decade, but then the streets re-taken by anti-racist crowds - what to make of what happened after the Southport stabbings? Keir Starmer said the white men throwing rocks and setting fire to hotels were “far right”. Was he correct? And what does “far right” mean? Is it a coherent political force…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
It’s not complicated! Doyne Farmer on a Better Economics for a Better World
54:02
54:02
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
54:02
Complex systems don’t have to be complicated to provided deep insights into the real world. That’s the view of Doyne Farmer, special guest on this week’s podcast. It’s an approach he shares to economics with Steve Keen. Steve develops systems from the top-down, whereas Doyne’s work focuses on agent-driven bottom-up modelling. But they arrive at sim…
…
continue reading
As students get ready to see if their A levels match up to their offers, how sure can they be the universities will still be there to award their eventual degrees? Higher education is in something of a financial crisis - not enough money from fees, not enough foreign students to make up the shortfall, and the best academics heading abroad for highe…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Debt, savings and investments – how they really work
37:21
37:21
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
37:21
It’s curious isn’t it how we talk about household savings, rather than net debt. Many people do have money squirreled away in savings accounts, for a rainy day. That rainy day comes when hey lose a job and need that cash to pay their mortgage. So we are saving to help pay off an existing debt at a later date. How cockeyed it that? A lot of that mon…
…
continue reading
Paris, after a damp start, is sprinting through the games - but at what cost? Closed bars and cafes behind security barriers, fewer visitors in the run-up to the Olympics, and a massive bill for all the building-work and administration. The money from the tickets and broadcast rights goes to the International Olympic Committee, so will the city ben…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Including energy in economic models. It doesn’t have to be that difficult.
37:37
37:37
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
37:37
So, if economics is all about the allocation of scarce resources, isn’t energy the most scarce resource? And yet its not really included in any economic models. We look at labour and capital as the drivers of growth, but energy is just a contributor to those factors, not a key factor in itself. Yet without energy humans wouldn’t survive and machine…
…
continue reading
The US presidential election has been upended by the replacement of one candidate, and the attempted assassination of the other. Can Karmala Harris unite the Democrats and compete effectively with Donald Trump? Has a near-death experience changed The Donald, or just made more of his supporters sure he is God’s chosen leader? And why did Joe Biden w…
…
continue reading
We are obsessed with the need to own things, not least, our homes. But for younger people that is increasingly becoming a pipedream, unless they are lucky enough to gain a healthy inheritance. Even then it’s going to come later in life. In the meantime, we save like crazy, and even when we do get a house, we spend decades paying it off though a hef…
…
continue reading
As the new Labour government pushes to get the UK economy growing, is it time we became a big manufacturer once again? For decades the driver of the economy has been services, but is that too difficult to sustain? Should we go back to making stuff - this time microprocessors, software, AI programs? Ali Bigdeli, Professor of Industrial Service Innov…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Too big for their boots? Are bigger companies slowing the economy.
37:02
37:02
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
37:02
The global share market has always been dominated by the US, now we’re seeing a number share of very large tech companies claiming a larger slice of that pie. Even though they are trading with price to earnings ratios well beyond the historic average, these companies won’t fail. They dominate the market, with billions of customers, low production c…
…
continue reading
We all need a holiday right now, somewhere drier and hotter than Britain. But do our favourite resorts want US? Protesters fire water pistols at visitors in Barcelona, thousands turn out in Tenerife to tell holidaymakers to go home. Tourists, they say, force up prices, clog the streets and destroy the very thing they have come for - beauty, tranqui…
…
continue reading
Labour has romped to victory in the UK and they need to get cracking on all their election promises. One of those is the creation of Great British Energy. Keir Starmer points to the number of foreign interests owning energy generation in the UK. But, as Phil highlights this week, foreign companies are also heavily invested in energy distribution an…
…
continue reading
What's the point in voting? The answer, if you're not in a seat where there's a chance your candidate will come first or second, is not much. The first-past-the-post system means many, or even most of us, are effectively disenfranchised at each general election. So is there a better, fairer way to run our polling? A proportional system, perhaps? Or…
…
continue reading
In the UK the proportion of the population aged over 65 has grown from 16 percent in 2000 to over 19% today. It’s a similar story throughout the western world as the population ages. That’s seen as an enormous liability for governments who will have to pay out pensions to their old folk. Hence the drive to get people to put money into private schem…
…
continue reading
Just a week to go before a voting day that’s likely to lead to a radical change in the UK’s political landscape. But what have we learnt about the parties and the personalities that will dominate the new politics, after a parliamentary clean-out of the old team? Will Labour have to cut back even its modest ambitions in the face of economic reality?…
…
continue reading
Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay recently launched the Greens Manifesto in the run up to the UK election. Phil and Steve discuss it on this week’s podcast and conclude the one thing that seems to have slipped down the priority list, is all the green stuff. They talk about fixing broken Britain, like every party, and correcting wealth inequality. They…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Not Ready For Government - Should We Train Politicians?
37:21
37:21
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
37:21
With Labour almost certain to take the reins of power on July 5th, almost none of the incoming ministers have ever run anything bigger than a church fete. Right away they will have to take over billion-pound budgets and huge departments. Is it ridiculous to put gifted but untrained amateurs in charge of the world’s sixth-largest economy? Sir Geoff …
…
continue reading
The UK election debate changed tune when Nigel Farage agreed to stand for Reform, promising to cut migration and rid the UK of all the problems these nasty foreigners are responsible for. Elsewhere the recent European Union elections saw a sharp shift to the right, again driven by concerns over migration. If Donald Trump wins again in the US at the…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Getting Through - Connecting with voters in 2024
38:42
38:42
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
38:42
TV debates, TikTok stunts, falling off a paddleboard - does any of it influence how people vote? What works in an election campaign? Does ANYONE read a manifesto? How can politicians connect effectively with the public? Or has everyone already made up their minds? Dr Matt Walsh, head of the School of Journalism, Media and Culture at the University …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Two parties obsessed with government debt
36:01
36:01
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
36:01
Imagine if Keir Starmer, the UK Labour leader, had said, let’s not get too obsessed with government debt. If we go down that road we won‘t be able to provide the public services we need, our infrastructure will crumble further and we’ll simply see the country’s productivity erode further by the day. Unfortunately, he didn’t say that. Instead, he ha…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
There’s No Money Left - What The New Chancellor Might Find
39:10
39:10
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
39:10
Promises galore - more doctors’ surgeries, pension triple-lock plus, free social care, a boost in the size of the army - but how much of any of this can we afford, whoever gets into Number 10 on July 5th? The huge public debt, lack of investment and productivity, and politicians refusal to countenance tax increases all point to sums that don’t add …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Rising margins, higher inflation, lower wages. No wonder you feel worse off.
43:04
43:04
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
43:04
There’s been a debate brewing post-pandemic about how much inflation has been elevated by companies increasing their margins. The evidence of that is the increased profits, not just in the tech sector, which has helped increase the share prices of these companies, evidenced by record levels across the US share market indices. This week Steve Keen s…
…
continue reading
Are leaders ever held to account for starting wars or killing civilians. The International Criminal Court has already issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, and one is in prospect for Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. Is it right to try to prosecute the leader of a democracy with a functional justice system of its own? Does a court…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Productivity – the election winner that Rishi Sunak failed on
42:34
42:34
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
42:34
The UK is heading to the polls on July 4th and the Conservative Party is heading for annihilation. Yet, when it comes to espousing sensible ideas from textbooks, Rishi Sunak had the making of a good Prime Minister. For example, tackling productivity by building the necessary infrastructure, investing in education and building cities and regions whe…
…
continue reading
The new Russian offensive towards Kharkiv suggests Moscow has seized the initiative in the two-year conflict. With not enough ammunition or soldiers, can Kyiv hold the line? Is the support from the EU, NATO and the US going to last — especially if Donald Trump returns to the White House in January? But also can Vladimir Putin’s war economy in Russi…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Trump's plan. Same old same old, only more so.
29:57
29:57
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
29:57
Steve is on hols this week, so Phil takes a look back at a couple of Debunking Economics podcasts from just before Donald Trump took office. In many ways he stuck to his promises. He tried to cut immigration, he introduced protectionism with hefty tariffs on China and he cut taxes. Now he’s promising more of the same, although Biden might have beat…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Social Media For Young People - Moral Menace Or Moral Panic?
41:33
41:33
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
41:33
With almost everyone under 30 on TikTok or Instagram, and claims of rampant bullying, sexploitation and pornography - is there any way to protect young people from the harmful effects? The social media giants wring their hands but do nothing. Governments launch inquiries and claim they’re doing something, but the awful stories keep piling up. Could…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Should the wealthy get away with less tax?
40:43
40:43
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:43
Should we tax wealth more? The UK’s Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reevs wouldn’t be drawn o the question at an FT forum recently. She said the UK is already a high taxing country. But around the world the wealthy are getting wealthier. Is that a bad thing? Some would say that if they are making money creating growth for the economy, then why would you w…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Small Boats Leading To Small Votes? - UK Politics In 2024
38:04
38:04
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
38:04
As the smoke clears from the low-turnout council elections, what have we learnt about the prospects for the upcoming general election? Are the Tories heading for oblivion, or (as Rishi believes) a hung parliament? Is Labour damaged by the Gaza war, or by its own overcautious attitude? Can Reform be anything other than a box to put a cross in for di…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
UK Labour’s Half-Baked Nationalisation Plans
44:12
44:12
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
44:12
UK Labour leader Keir Starmer has said if he wins the next general election, within 5 years he will have re-nationalised Britain’s railways. Phil asks Steve whether it naturally follows that this will lead to an improvement in services and lower fares? Steve reckons you any need to look at government run services elsewhere in Europe to answer that …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Migration - What's Driving The Small Boat Journey?
39:07
39:07
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
39:07
Why do they do it - people willing to crowd into small boats, put their lives at risk and pay thousands of pounds to cross the Channel? There's no sign threats of deportation to Rwanda will make any difference to their efforts to reach the UK. Phil and Roger have been speaking to someone who's researched the motivations of those making that risky c…
…
continue reading