"We have seen that the institutions associated with capitalism have the potential to make people better off, through opportunities for both specialization and the introduction of new technologies, and that the permanent technological revolution coincided with the emergence of capitalism. But can we conclude that capitalism caused the upward kink in the hockey stick?" (Core Econ, Chapter 1).
In today's class we will explore this question.
You should have read the following sections in Chapter 1 ("The Capitalist Revolution") of Core Econ: 1.9 Capitalism, causation and history’s hockey stick.
Write a blog post about the sections you read for homework, relating the ideas in the reading to the country you have chosen to study.
Share a question that you would like to discuss as part of our Socratic Discussion today.
Participate in a Socratic Discussion. This rubric will be used to evaluate your blog post and discussion.
Read the following sections in Chapter 1 ("The Capitalist Revolution") of Core Econ:
Interview: Because we cannot change the past, even if it were practical to conduct experiments on entire populations, we rely on natural experiments. In this interview, Jared Diamond, a biologist, and James Robinson, a professor of government, explain.
Podcast: In this podcast, Joshua Angrist of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the craft of econometrics--how to use economic thinking and statistical methods to make sense of data and uncover causation. Angrist argues that improvements in research design along with various econometric techniques have improved the credibility of measurement in a complex world. Roberts pushes back and the conversation concludes with a discussion of how to assess the reliability of findings in controversial public policy areas.
Podcast: In this podcast,Nobel Laureate James Heckman of the University of Chicago talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the state of econometrics and the challenges of measurement in assessing economic theories and public policy. Heckman gives us his take on natural experiments, selection bias, randomized control trials and the reliability of sophisticated statistical analysis. The conversation closes with Heckman reminiscing about his intellectual influences throughout his career.
Podcast: In this podcast, Chuck Klosterman, author of But What If We're Wrong, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the possibility that things we hold to be undeniably true may turn out to be totally false in the future. This wide-ranging conversation covers music and literary reputations, fundamentals of science, and issues of self-deception and illusion.
Podcast: In this podcast, Adam Ozimek of Moody's Analytics and blogger at Forbes talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about why economists change their minds or don't. Ozimek argues that economists make erratic but steady progress using econometrics and other forms of evidence to understand the impact of public policies such as the minimum wage or government stimulus. Roberts pushes back and discusses the role of ideology, the complexity of where our views come from and the potential for confirmation bias.
Podcast: In this podcast, Noah Smith of Stony Brook University and writer at Bloomberg View talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about whether economics is a science in some sense of that word. How reliable are experiments in economics? What about the statistical analysis that underlies much of the empirical work in modern economics? Additional topics include the reliability of the empirical analysis of the minimum wage, the state of macroeconomics, and the role of prejudice or prior beliefs in the interpretation of data and evidence.