logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2024
54m 2s

It’s not complicated! Doyne Farmer on a ...

Steve Keen & Phil Dobbie
About this episode
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 similar conclusions. Phil Dobbie talks to them both about how we could arrive at a more accurate understanding of the economy and financial systems, which could result in better regulatory and planning behaviour by central banks and governments. Doyne also describes how he started down the road of complex modelling, using science to beat the casino tables in Vegas. Or more, get a copy of Doyne’s new book: Making Sense of Chaos– A Better Economics for a Better World.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
May 20
Hedging an Uncertain Future
This week Phil challenges Steve on how the futures market handles terminal risk, pointing out that oil prices slope downward over time simply because traders blindly assume the Strait of Hormuz will reopen. Steve agrees and tears into the financial sector, explaining that modern ... Show More
38m 14s
May 13
Conditioned to borrow, not save
This week Phil and Steve dismantle the structural shift of the global economy toward a permanent state of debt dependence. Following a critique of Steve’s recent debate on the Piers Morgan show and a revisit to last week’s discussion on th link between energy and productivity, th ... Show More
45m 43s
May 6
Improving Productivity
In this episode of Debunking Economics, Steve Keen dismantles the mainstream economic obsession with "Total Factor Productivity" (TFP), labeling it a mythical construct that ignores the laws of physics. He argues that economists historically "fudged" data to credit an abstract id ... Show More
32m 35s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2025
Doyne Farmer on making sense of chaos for a better world
Doyne Farmer is something of a rebel. Back in the seventies, when he was a student, he walked into a casino in Las Vegas, sat down at a roulette table and beat the house. To anyone watching the wheel spin and the ball clatter to its final resting place, his choice of number would ... Show More
28m 32s
Sep 2025
The Life Scientific: Doyne Farmer
Doyne Farmer is something of a rebel. Back in the seventies, when he was a student, he walked into a casino in Las Vegas, sat down at a roulette table and beat the house. To anyone watching the wheel spin and the ball clatter to its final resting place, his choice of number would ... Show More
26m 28s
Jan 2024
Tyler Cowen — Hayek, Keynes, & Smith on AI, animal spirits, anarchy, & growth
<p>It was a great pleasure speaking with Tyler Cowen for the 3rd time.</p><p>We discussed <em>GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?</em>, especially in the context of how the insights of Hayek, Keynes, Smith, and other great economists help us ma ... Show More
1h 42m
Nov 2021
A Conversation with Greg Mankiw: Financial Crisis, Recessions and Communicating Economics
Professor Greg Mankiw is one of the most influential economists today: a New Keynesian, advisor to Presidents, and a good friend of Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers. In this episode, the three of them discuss what we can learn from financial crises, why globalisation has lost ... Show More
28m 51s
Jul 2020
Introducing: Think Like An Economist
Think Like an Economist and you’ll see the world more clearly, empowering you to make better decisions at work, at home, and in your community. Leading economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers will take you on a joyous romp through their field as they introduce you to the b ... Show More
1m 58s
Aug 2021
Think Like An Economist gets back to business
Economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers are back to help you think like an economist. This season is our mini-MBA, and we'll unpack even more economic tools, with a focus on showing you how to make wise business decisions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information ... Show More
2m 16s
Nov 2024
What can economics learn from sport?
The great theories of economics seem to have great explanatory power, but the actual world is often far too complicated and messy to fully test them out. Professor Ignacio Palacios-Huerta, an economist at the London School of Economics has an answer – sport. In the contained sett ... Show More
8m 57s
Dec 2021
Useful Economics in Everyday Life
We're all actors in the economy, with different habits, dilemmas and choices. And economics is about everyday decisions in our daily lives as much as it is about government policy. As economics professors, Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers have honed the ways to show how econom ... Show More
18m 33s
Sep 2024
237. Peter St. Onge
<p>Economist Peter St Onge joins to give us his perspective on a wide range of economic issues, from gold and bitcoin to fertility to government financing.<br/><br/>Enjoyed this episode? Join Saifedean&apos;s online learning platform to take part in weekly podcast seminars, acces ... Show More
2h 12m