Economics Podcasts

Economics Podcasts

Podcasts can be a really effective way for econ students to learn. You can listen to podcasts practically anytime. You can listen while you're exercising, on a plane trip or on the bus to school in the morning. Below you will find links to podcasts on economics that you might find useful in trying to understand some of the ideas we study in economics. Hopefully, you'll find them interesting too!

Business Cycle

• The Austrian View/Hayek: 64 minutes

  • Questions: How does the Austrian School explain booms and busts?

  • Description: Peter Boettke, of George Mason University, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the Austrian perspective on business cycles, monetary policy and the current state of the economy.

• Regime Uncertainty: 67 minutes

  • Questions: What caused the Great Depression to continue for so long?

  • Description: Robert Higgs, of the Independent Institute, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the effect of World War II on the American economy. Using survey results, financial data, and the pattern of investment in the 1930s, Higgs argues that New Deal policies created a climate of uncertainty that prolonged the Great Depression. Using consumption data, he argues that prosperity did not return during wartime, but rather after the war when government intervention in the economy subsided.

  • Related Article: Regulatory Uncertainty

• Keynesian Economics: 65 minutes

  • Questions: What is the Keynesian explanation of the business cycle?

  • Description: Steve Fazzari, of Washington University in St. Louis, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about Keynesian economics. Fazzari talks about the paradox of thrift, makes the case for a government stimulus plan, and weighs the empirical evidence for a Keynesian worldview.

• Growth, Poverty and Business Cycles: 48 minutes

  • Questions: What causes the business cycle?

  • Description: Bob Lucas, Nobel Laureate and professor of economics at the University of Chicago talks about wealth and poverty, what affects living standards around the world and over time, the causes of business cycles and the role of the money in our economy.

• Keynes vs. Chicago School: 60 minutes

  • Question: To what extent is the work of Keynes still relevant?

  • Description: Greg Mankiw of Harvard University and Greg Mankiw's Blog talks about the state of modern macroeconomics and Keynes vs. the Chicago School. He defends his proposal to raise gasoline taxes and discusses the politics of tax policy.

• Bubbles: 60 minutes

  • Questions: What causes bubbles and what caused the economic downturn in 2008?

  • Description: Robert Shiller of Yale University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the current housing mess and related financial market problems. Shiller argues that the decade-long run up in housing prices was a bubble where speculative fervor outweighed any economic fundamentals. He also discusses the genesis of the Case-Shiller housing price index and his idea for how it might be used to reduce risk in the mortgage market.

Invisible Hand

• Wikipedia: 41 minutes

  • Questions: Which is better, centralized systems with formal rules or decentralized ones without them? What are the benefits and drawbacks of crowdsourcing?

  • Description: Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the birth and growth of Wikipedia. He talks about the role of Hayek's insights into the design of Wikipedia, how Wikipedia deals with controversy, the reliability of Wikipedia relative to traditional reference sources and the future possibilities for projects that rely on voluntary contributions of time and creativity. (From EconTalk)

Rational Behavior

• Monkey Economics: 10 minutes

  • Questions: Do we make choices rationally? Are we hard wired to consume?

  • Description: Laurie Santos, Yale Psychologist, discusses some insights that she has gained through her work with monkeys about human rationality and consumption behavior.