logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2024
1h 5m

Chaos and Complexity Economics (with J. ...

RUSS ROBERTS
About this episode

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 that complexity economics makes better predictions than standard economic theory and does a better job dealing with the biggest problems in today's society.

Up next
Jul 7
What Is Capitalism? (with Mike Munger)
What is capitalism, really? Drawing on Adam Smith, Douglass North, and his own experience as a teacher and economist, economist Michael Munger of Duke University discusses three stages of economic development with EconTalk's Russ Roberts: voluntary exchange, markets, and capitali ... Show More
1h 19m
Jun 30
The Deceptive Power of Maps (with Paulina Rowinska)
How can the state of Colorado have nearly 700 sides? Why is a country's coastline as long as you want it to be? And how is it that your UPS driver has more routes to choose from than there are stars in the universe? Listen as mathematician Paulina Rowinska talks with EconTalk's R ... Show More
1h 9m
Jun 23
How to Be a Super Ager (with Eric Topol)
What if we could delay--or even prevent--Alzheimer's, cancer, and heart disease? What if much of what you know about aging is wrong? Listen as cardiologist and author Eric Topol of the Scripps Research Institute talks about his new book Super Agers with EconTalk's Russ Roberts. T ... Show More
1h 1m
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2024
It’s not complicated! Doyne Farmer on a Better Economics for a Better World
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 wo ... Show More
54m 2s
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
Nov 2024
The economics of irresponsibility
The classical economic assumption, from the days of Adam Smith, is that we all have free will and this freedom ensures the best possible outcomes for the economy, provided those decisions are based on greed and self-interest. This week’s episode opens with a student questioning M ... Show More
38m 46s
Jan 2018
Should we listen to the Austrian School?
The Austrian School of Economics has been around since the 1870s, when Carl Menger wrote the Principles of Economics. They were a response to the conventional economic thought that prevails today. Phil Dobbie asks Professor Steve Keen whether there are elements of the Austrian sc ... Show More
34m 32s
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
The cycles of the economy
What causes an economy to fall from a peak? Many economists will argue it’s exogenous shocks but, as Phil and Steve discuss, there’s not too many of those around. Maybe COVID was one, but even that came about because our economic system has drawn us closer to wildlife habitats. O ... Show More
36m 31s
Jan 2025
The cash only economy where economics works
This week Phil introduces Steve Keen to the fictional island of Cornucopia. It’s a simple place, where the only trade takes place with gold coins. Banks are not allowed to give loans, and the money supply remains constant, unless the Chancellor decides to mint new ones. In such c ... Show More
30m 15s
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
Jul 2024
#27 - Sean Carroll - The Enigma of Complexity
Is complexity the new frontier of physics? How should we approach metaphysical uncertainty? What makes a great Physicist? These are just some of the questions covered in this Win-Win episode with the incredible Sean Carroll. Sean is a theoretical physicist and philosopher who spe ... Show More
1h 58m
Jul 2024
EXTRA: People Aren’t Dumb. The World Is Hard. (Update)
You wouldn’t think you could win a Nobel Prize for showing that humans tend to make irrational decisions. But that’s what Richard Thaler has done. In an interview from 2018, the founder of behavioral economics describes his unlikely route to success; his reputation for being lazy ... Show More
53m 13s