logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2020
41m 7s

429. Is Economic Growth the Wrong Goal?

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
About this episode

The endless pursuit of G.D.P., argues the economist Kate Raworth, shortchanges too many people and also trashes the planet. Economic theory, she says, “needs to be rewritten” — and Raworth has tried, in a book called Doughnut Economics. It has found an audience among reformers, and now the city of Amsterdam is going whole doughnut.

Up next
Yesterday
649. Should Ohio State (and Michigan, and Clemson) Join the N.F.L.?
Soccer leagues around the world use a promotion-and-relegation system to reward the best teams and punish the worst. We ask whether American sports fans would enjoy a similar system. (Part two of a two-part series.) SOURCES:Domonique Foxworth, sports analyst and former N.F.L. pla ... Show More
55m 21s
Oct 3
648. The Merger You Never Knew You Wanted
The N.F.L. is a powerful cartel with imperial desires. College football is about to undergo a financial reckoning. So maybe they should team up? (Part one of a two-part series.) SOURCES:DeMaurice Smith, former executive director of the National Football League Players Association ... Show More
1h 6m
Sep 26
Is the U.S. Really Less Corrupt Than China? (Update)
In this episode we first published in 2021, the political scientist Yuen Yuen Ang argues that different forms of government create different styles of corruption — and that the U.S. and China have more in common than we’d like to admit. SOURCES:Yuen Yuen Ang, professor of politic ... Show More
57m 34s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2019
Kate Raworth argues that rethinking economics can save our planet
Endless growth may actually be hurting our economy—and our planet. Economist Kate Raworth makes a case for “doughnut economics”: an alternative way to look at the economic systems ruling our societies and imagine a sustainable future for all.We're doing a TED Interview survey! If ... Show More
53m 59s
Feb 2021
A Renegade Solution to Extractive Economics — with Kate Raworth
When Kate Raworth began studying economics, she was disappointed that the mainstream version of the discipline didn’t fully address many of the world issues that she wanted to tackle, such as human rights and environmental destruction. She left the field, but was inspired to jump ... Show More
1h 26m
Dec 2021
284 - This Idea Will Save the World — Kate Raworth on “Doughnut Economics”
How can our families, businesses, cities, and even the global economy thrive — without destroying the planet? “Doughnut Economics” shows us the way. Listen now and learn the #1 factor that influences human behavior, why perpetual growth will destroy everything, and how “going dou ... Show More
44m 35s
Oct 2022
Trussonomics and the 1972 ‘Dash for Growth’
As Liz Truss considers another humiliating budget U-turn, host Jack Blanchard looks back at the U.K.'s infamous 1972 'Dash for Growth' budget — when another Tory Chancellor announced unfunded tax cuts and sent inflation through the roof — and considers the parallels with Truss' c ... Show More
47m 1s
Oct 2022
What is economic growth and why does it matter?
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has this week downgraded its forecast for global growth warning “the worst is yet to come and, for many people 2023 will feel like a recession”. The fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased inflation, forced central banks to ra ... Show More
49m 7s
May 2022
Diane Coyle on Cogs, Monsters, and Better Economics
Mainstream economics, says author Diane Coyle, keeps treating people like cogs: self-interested, rational agents. But in the digital economy, we're less sophisticated consumer and more monster under the influece of social media. Listen as the economist and former UK Treasury advi ... Show More
1h 2m
Feb 2022
What the Heck Is Going on With the U.S. Economy?
Should we be celebrating a Biden boom? Lamenting inflation and its consequences? Both?We know how to talk about booms, like the ’90s. We know how to talk about busts, like after the financial crisis. We know how to talk about stagnation. What we don’t know how to talk about is co ... Show More
1 h
Nov 2022
The Circular Economy and Repair
What do you do when something you own, say a toaster, breaks? You’ve usually got two options: fix it, or replace it. It often feels like replacing an item is easier than repairing it, and the most cost-effective solution. But in a circular economy, we want goods and materials to ... Show More
16m 20s