Economics Explored

A conversation on whether COVID can be compared to wartime, which considers the different scales and scopes of the shocks, and what it all means for prospects for economic recovery. Economics Explored host Gene Tunny, an Australian professional economist and former Treasury official, speaks with businessman Tim Hughes, also based in Brisbane, Australia.Gene and Tim conclude that a comparison of COVID to wartime isn’t valid. One reason is that World War II required a complete reorganisation of the economy to maximise production for the war effort, while COVID has involved restrictions that have reduced economic activity. Links relevant to the conversation include:Comparing COVID-19 to past world war efforts is premature — and presumptuousUS Council on Foreign Relations Backgrounder on The National Debt DilemmaBrookings on What’s the Fed doing in response to the COVID-19 crisis? What more could it do?Australia’s Boldest Experiment (excellent book on Australia’s wartime economy)Robert Gordon’s The Rise and Fall of American Growth (outstanding book by a leading US economist containing a great discussion of America’s wartime economy)Aussies over-confident after being over-compensated by Gov’t for COVID-recessionMint security lapse amazes judge (story about theft from the Australian Mint in early-to-mid 2000s)Finally, the word Gene got stuck on at 6:55, irredentist, means, “a person advocating the restoration to their country of any territory formerly belonging to it”, according to Oxford Languages.If you'd like to ask a question for Gene to answer in a future episode or if you'd like to make a comment or suggestion, please get in touch via the website. Thanks for listening.  

It’s been a challenging year 2020, but one positive development is that regulators in the US and Australia have started challenging the Big Tech companies Google and Facebook over alleged misuses of market power. Economics Explored host Gene Tunny provides an update and discusses the important economic concepts and policy issues.Links relevant to the conversation include:Joseph Stiglitz on Regulating Big TechDon't Be Evil: The case against big tech by Rana ForooharAustralian Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code) Bill 2020Economics Explored EP58: Tech Giants challenged by the Media and GovernmentsEconomics Explored EP22: Antitrust with Danielle Wood from the Grattan InstituteEconomics Explored EP21: Surveillance Capitalism with Darren Brady NelsonEconomics Explored EP16: Big Economic issues for the 2020s

Economics Explored host Gene Tunny chats about money and cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin, with Brisbane-based businessman Tim Hughes. They consider whether Bitcoin can replace traditional money in this new age of political unrest and this new paradigm of Modern Monetary Theory. Relevant links include:Naval Ravikant on Happiness, Reducing Anxiety, Crypto Stablecoins, and Crypto StrategyJohn Quiggin's 2018 post on Bitcoin's belated bustMoney: The True Story of a Made Up ThingMoney Mischief by Milton Friedman

A conversation regarding the emerging field of Behavioural Finance and its lessons for households, investors, and governments. Economics Explored host Gene Tunny speaks with Dr Tracey West, a Lecturer in the Griffith Business School. Links relevant to the conversation include:Tracey's Griffith University Experts pageTracey's LinkedIn profileTracey's academic publications via Google ScholarStorm Financial clients slam $140k fine after 3,000 investors left destitute 

Economics Explored host Gene Tunny speaks with Adam Smith Institute Director Dr Eamonn Butler about the values and lessons of Adam Smith (the great Scottish philosopher and founder of economics), the depiction of Margaret Thatcher in Netflix's season 4 of The Crown, and price controls. Here's a link to the book on price controls Dr Butler co-authored:Forty Centuries of Wage and Price Controls: How Not to Fight Inflation

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the World Economic Forum to call for a Great Reset of the global economy. What is the Great Reset and should we be concerned? In this episode, Economics Explored host Gene Tunny discusses the Great Reset with Darren Brady Nelson, Chief Economist of LibertyWorks and a research fellow at the Heartland Institute.Links related to the conversation include:COVID-19: The Great ResetWhat is Davos?Forty Centuries of Wage and Price ControlsThe Great Reset is 'crazy, kooky stuff' which aims for 'no private property by 2030'

Multi-billion-dollar Megaprojects like Boston’s Big Dig and Brisbane’s Cross River Rail are more at risk of cost blowouts and failing to generate the benefits they expect than smaller infrastructure projects. Marion Terrill, Transport & Cities Program Director at the Grattan Institute, explains why in a conversation with Economics Explored host Gene Tunny. Marion has recently co-authored a Grattan Institute report The rise of megaprojects: counting the costs.Issues of discussion include:Why megaproject costs blow out (5:20)Optimism bias (12:00)What Nassim Nicholas Taleb wrote about megaprojects in Antifragile (17:15)How we can improve infrastructure project selection and management (22:50)

Nicholas Johnson and Dr Brendan Markey-Towler discuss the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the economy, focusing on AI, blockchain, and the internet. They explore AI disrupting sectors, blockchain reshaping governance, and the need for adaptable skills in the evolving economy.

Economics Explored host Gene Tunny discusses the evidence on the impact of changes in minimum wages on the employment of low-skilled workers.Links relevant to the conversation include:David Neumark on the Employment effects of minimum wagesAustralian Productivity Commission Workplace Relations Inquiry ReportGlenn Loury and David Neumark video podcast discussion of minimum wagePaul Krugman opinion piece Liberals and WagesCard and Krueger's famous 1994 minimum wage study

Economics Explored host Gene Tunny discusses the natural rate of unemployment and the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment, the NAIRU. He considers whether they're the same thing, why they are important, and what affects them. Links relevant to the episode include:Milton Friedman's 1967-68 AEA Presidential Address on the role of monetary policyKansas City Fed paper on a new estimate of the natural rate of unemploymentRBA paper on Estimating the NAIRU and the Unemployment GapBrookings post on What is u*?Carl E. Walsh on The Natural Rate, NAIRU, and Monetary Policy