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
Yesterday
Blowing the budget?
Financial markets don’t like it when governments announce plans to spend more money. That’s why there’s concern over Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, which will add, by some accounts, $4 trillion to the US budget deficit over the next decade. Steve Keen says it’s not a problem. ... Show More
44m 14s
Jul 2
Ditching the dollar
There’s been a lot of talk lately about de-dollarisation. In other words, global investors are parking less of their money in US dollars (in the form of US treasuries/bonds). What was once considered a safe choice, is now seen as having more risk, and that’s being accentuated rig ... Show More
41m 56s
Jun 25
Is manufacturing fetishism a problem?
There was an article in The Economist last week, shared widely in press around the globe, about the apparent fixation with manufacturing. Aussie economist Saul Eslake calls it Manufacturing Fetishism, with government support focused more on that sector than anything else. Preside ... Show More
40m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2024
Chaos and Complexity Economics (with J. Doyne Farmer)
Physicist J. Doyne Farmer wants a new kind of economics that takes account of what we've learned from chaos theory and that builds more accurate models of how humans actually behave. Listen as he makes the case for complexity economics with EconTalk's Russ Roberts. Farmer argues ... Show More
1h 5m
Jan 2024
Tyler Cowen - Hayek, Keynes, & Smith on AI, Animal Spirits, Anarchy, & Growth
It was a great pleasure speaking with Tyler Cowen for the 3rd time.We discussed GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?, especially in the context of how the insights of Hayek, Keynes, Smith, and other great economists help us make sense of AI, gro ... Show More
1h 42m
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
Sep 2024
237. Peter St. Onge
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. Enjoyed this episode? Join Saifedean's online learning platform to take part in weekly podcast seminars, access Saifedean’ ... Show More
2h 11m
Jun 2023
Doughnut Economics (with Andrew Fanning)
On its website, the Doughnut Economics Action Lab describes Doughnut Economics as “a compass for human prosperity in the 21st century.” Its proponents prioritize economic solutions that meet both the basic needs of all people—food, housing, equity, democratic inclusion—and the ec ... Show More
36m 24s
Jan 2024
Matthew O. Jackson, "The Human Network: How Your Social Position Determines Your Power, Beliefs, and Behaviors" (Vintage, 2019)
Social networks existed and shaped our lives long before Silicon Valley startups made them virtual. For over two decades economist Matthew O. Jackson, a professor at Stanford University, has studied how the shape of networks and our positions within them can affect us. In this in ... Show More
1h 6m
Jan 2024
Matthew O. Jackson, "The Human Network: How Your Social Position Determines Your Power, Beliefs, and Behaviors" (Vintage, 2019)
Social networks existed and shaped our lives long before Silicon Valley startups made them virtual. For over two decades economist Matthew O. Jackson, a professor at Stanford University, has studied how the shape of networks and our positions within them can affect us. In this in ... Show More
1h 6m
Aug 2024
The Economics Show with Soumaya Keynes: What’s wrong with economics?
This week, we’re bringing you something from our fellow FT podcast, The Economics Show with Soumaya Keynes.  Sir Angus Deaton won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2015. So when he says he is rethinking many of his assumptions about the field, it matters. Today on the show, Soumaya ... Show More
34m 42s
Feb 2025
AI won't plateau — if we give it time to think | Noam Brown
To get smarter, traditional AI models rely on exponential increases in the scale of data and computing power. Noam Brown, a leading research scientist at OpenAI, presents a potentially transformative shift in this paradigm. He reveals his work on OpenAI's new o1 model, which focu ... Show More
13m 28s
Oct 2024
244. Econ Bro: Nigeria's Austrian Economist
Econ Bro is a Nigerian economist who is teaching Nigerians economics in the Austrian school tradition. He joins us to discuss his Austrian perspective on Nigerian economics, inflation, and the relationship between inflation and ritual sacrifice! Enjoyed this episode? Join Saifede ... Show More
1h 26m