Unlearning Economics

Dr Cameron Murray is the author of The Great Housing Hijack: The hoaxes and myths keeping prices high for renters and buyers in Australia. Cam is an urban economist who specialises in housing and he has, for a long time, been pushing against the idea that a more free market approach to housing will solve the crises of high rents, homelessness, and housing bubbles. In this, he has also drawn from his experience as a landlord and working in commercial real estate. He makes a conscious effort to understand how housing is built beyond econ101 fairy tales and has some really interesting takes for that reason.You can find the book here: https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Cameron-K.-Murray-Great-Housing-Hijack-9781761470851Cameron has a new YouTube channel too: https://www.youtube.com/@fresheconomicthinkingHe also writes at https://www.fresheconomicthinking.com/Originally recorded on 22nd August, 2024.

Conner Howell is a graduate student in economics at the University of Missouri - Kansas City. He does research on securitization and shadow banking through a Post-Keynesian lens. I learned a lot about this important and mysterious sector, and how it can inform our approach to economics. We also touched on some broader issues surrounding money and capitalism!Conner's Bluesky/Subtack account is here: https://bsky.app/profile/connernhowell.substack.com

Dr Ingrid Kvangraven is a senior lecturer in International Development at King's College London. Ingrid specialises in dependency theory, a branch of scholarship that emphases that poorer countries are kept dependent on richer countries. This can happen through a variety of means: trade relations, finance, military. Dependency theory fell out of fashion in mainstream academia but is experiencing something of a renaissance. I discuss its ongoing relevance with Ingrid and crucially how it can help us to understand modern narratives about global development.Originally recorded on 9th July 2024.

Josh Mason is an Associate Professor of Economics at John Jay College, City University of New York, as well as a Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute. I already spoke to Josh about more abstract and general topics in economics, including Marxism and its relation to the framework he subscribes to:https://open.spotify.com/episode/5LiNPSr5b80XSzKCdrXGEG?si=6c020a375d194bbcThis time, we spoke about new and exciting approaches to policy issues including inflation, climate, and housing, which are being pioneered by people like Josh. For pre-reading, check out Josh's paper on climate policy from a Keynesian perspective:https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/sites/default/files/contentgroups/economics/cliamte_policy_from_a_keynesian_perspective_may_2022.pdf...and his paper on supply chain constraints with ArjunJayadev:https://jwmason.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Rethinking-Supply-Constraints-1-23-23.pdfOriginally recorded on October 3rd, 2023.

Dr Rosie Collington is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Organization at the University of Copenhagen. She is the co-author, along with Marianna Mazzucatto, of The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies. This is a scathing but balanced dive into how the consulting industry rips us off. It also makes a more fundamental point about the role it plays in an era when governments are increasingly hollowed out. We had a really wide-ranging chat about the book and some of the broader questions it raises, including what we do now.Originally recorded on 18th June 2024.

Jo Michell is a Professor of Economics at the University of West England, Bristol, and a friend of mine. We previously chatted about Keynesianism on the podcast, see here if you want a refresher:https://open.spotify.com/episode/70HlACXJTARA6bf7599vDM?si=8fb79491d4e24263Last year Jo, Natassia Nasciemento, Rob Calvert Jump, and James Meadway wrote a report on austerity in the UK so I was keen to chat to him again on an issue that is close to my heart. You can see the report here:https://progressiveeconomyforum.com/publications/the-macroeconomics-of-austerity/I'm releasing this now (25th June 2024) because it is relevant to the UK elections (4th July), where neither of the major parties have disavowed austerity and balanced budgets despite its dreadful failings. It was originally recorded on September 5th, 2023.

Dr Deema Awad and Dr Miriam Tresh are both Associate Professors at the Psychological and Behavioural Science Department at LSE, where I used to work and with which I am still affiliated. For a few years, Deema and Miriam have been working on a campaign to decolonise the department. We chat about what this means: including a broader range of thinkers, teachers, experimental participants, and students? Changing teaching and research practices? Rethinking the university model entirely?This was a very fun and collegial chat on a controversial topic. Enjoy!Originally recorded on June 11, 2024.

Michael Muthukrishna is an Associate Professor of Economics Psychology at the London School of Economics and therefore a colleague of mine. His book A Theory of Everyone: Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We’re Going does what it says on the tin: presents a theory of humanity which weaves between psychology, biology, sociology and economics. It's a big task to bring this all but the book is extremely readable and packed with insights. I had a really interesting conversation with Michael, you can find out more/order the book here:https://www.michael.muthukrishna.com/book/Originally recorded on February 6th, 2024.