logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2025
20m 45s

Denmark Should Not be Rich

Economics Explained
About this episode
How does tiny, cold Denmark defy the odds to become one of the richest nations? Despite sky-high taxes and a lack of oil wealth, it boasts free education, universal healthcare, and global giants like Novo Nordisk. Unpack the Nordic model, flexicurity, and explore why high taxes haven’t crushed growth. Is Denmark’s dream sustainable? Watch to find out! Lea ... Show More
Up next
Dec 22
Did China Just Drop The Ball On Global Dominance?
China’s position as the world’s factory is shifting. Growth is slowing to approximately 4-5%, wages are rising, the workforce is shrinking due to an aging population, the property crisis is weighing on GDP, and Western tariffs are restricting exports. For decades, China produced ... Show More
16m 15s
Dec 2
A Short Story About Why You Cannot Buy A House
Home ownership is now unattainable in every major city worldwide. For the first time, none of the 95 cities tracked by Demographia are considered affordable. In cities such as Hong Kong (14.4 times income), Sydney (13.8 times), Vancouver, London, and San Francisco, housing prices ... Show More
12m 51s
Nov 17
The $400 Trillion Problem No One Wants to Talk About
The world’s pension promise is unraveling. In the 1950s, sixteen workers supported each retiree; today, that number has shrunk to just 2.7. This dramatic shift is straining pay-as-you-go pension systems to the breaking point. By 2050, one in six people will be over 65, yet politi ... Show More
17m 5s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
The Danish Empire - without Greenland?
<p>Denmark, as Danes like to tell you, is a little country. But it used to be a much bigger country, a bit of an empire. Norway was once part of Denmark. Iceland was once part of Denmark. The southern half of Sweden and a bit of northern Germany used to be part of Denmark. What i ... Show More
7m 54s
Aug 2025
August, The first day of school, and how children learn to be Danish: The Danish Year Part 8
Denmark is a very good place to be a child, and to have children, yet the birthrate is dropping as it is in so many other countries. Some preschools have shut down due to lack of kids. Just this year Denmark reached a population of 6 million – a big landmark - but that's mostly d ... Show More
8m 20s
Jun 2024
Greatest Hits: The Nordic Theory Of Everything With Anu Partanen
What do you love about your home country? What do you think could be better? After moving to America in 2008, Anu began to notice how much more complicated and stressful things seemed to be in the States compared to her home country of Finland. Anu Partanen is a Finnish journalis ... Show More
1h 11m
Nov 2016
2. Hygge – Happiness and the Danish Art of Cozy Connection
Are You Curious Why Scandinavian Cultures Are So Happy? Are You Craving More Cozy Connection In Your Home? Do You Want To Slow Down And Savor Your Relationships? Join Us! According to the World Happiness Report, people in Denmark are unusually high on ratings of happiness and ... Show More
43m 17s
Sep 2024
Job switching in Denmark
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Denmark has one of the highest job mobility rates in the world - about 20% of Danes start new jobs each year. <span style= "line-height: 115%; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">Frequent job changes are a reflection of the Danish concept of "flexic ... Show More
6m 51s
Oct 2024
First Reactions | Daron Acemoglu, prize in economic sciences 2024 | Telephone interview
“There’s nothing natural about 30-, 40-, 50- fold differences in income per capita in a globalised, connected world.” Daron Acemoglu, economic sciences laureate 2024, speaks about the root causes of persistent poverty among the poorest nations and how to build the types of inclus ... Show More
9m 51s
Oct 14
Degrowth
<p>Which industries should cease to exist immediately? And what ‘bullshit jobs’ should they take with them? In episode 143 of Overthink, Ellie and David explore the&nbsp;academic and social movement of ‘Degrowth.’ They discuss the imperial mode of living that has become normalize ... Show More
56m 20s
Oct 15
Tax the rich — and save the planet | Esther Duflo
Nobel Prize-winning economist Esther Duflo brings her data-driven precision to the climate crisis — and the numbers are damning. While world leaders haggle over finances at endless summits, rising temperatures will kill millions in the poorest countries by the end of this century ... Show More
12m 5s
Aug 2025
Daniel Wortel-London, "The Menace of Prosperity: New York City and the Struggle for Economic Development, 1865–1981" (U of Chicago Press, 2025)
Many local policymakers make decisions based on a deep-seated belief: what’s good for the rich is good for cities. Convinced that local finances depend on attracting wealthy firms and residents, municipal governments lavish public subsidies on their behalf. Whatever form this str ... Show More
30m 20s
Oct 19
610. Nelson: The Battle of Copenhagen (Part 3)
With fears that the powerful Danish fleet would join with the French against the British, what great gamble did Horatio Nelson take? After taking the drastic decision to attack the Danish fleet in their own harbour, what challenges did Nelson and his men face? How did the bloody ... Show More
1h 7m