Economic Rockstar

Dr David Skarbek is a Senior Lecturer in Political Economy and Undergraduate Exam Board Chair in the Department of Political Economy at Kings College, London. David’s research interest is to understand how people define and enforce property rights in the absence of strong, effective governments. His work has examined incarceration, gangs, and crime in the United States. David received a BS in Economics from San Jose State University and a MA and PhD in Economics from George Mason University. He previously taught in the political science department at Duke University. David’s teaching include 'Research Methods for Politics’, 'Economics of Crime’ and 'Political Economy of Organized Crime’ David's new book is The Social Order of the Underworld: How Prison Gangs Govern the American Penal System (Oxford University Press). It examines how inmates create self-governance institutions to promote economic and social interactions behind bars. In this episode you will learn: what makes states stable. how prisoners tra

Christine Exley is Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Christine is also Co-founder and Chief of Research at Wagaroo - an organisation dedicated in re-housing homeless dogs to responsible and loving families. Wagaroo was founded to bring a simple principle to life: When it comes to getting a pet, it's time to make it easier for people to do the right thing! No puppy mills. No backyard breeders. Just owners, rescues, responsible breeders, and shelters working together to find great homes for dogs who need them. Find out more at wagaroo.com. In this episode you will learn: the use of assumptions in economic models for testing. how to encourage volunteering and whether monetary incentives work. how a trip to Honduras changed Christine’s academic path from mathematics to economics. how a story about an individuals’ plight can be a powerful message to have people react in a charitable manner, while the plight of millions with no media coverage of a personal story of suffering c

Helena Norberg-Hodge is the founder and director of Local Futures. A pioneer of the ‘new economy’ movement, she has been promoting an economics of personal, social and ecological well-being for more than thirty years. Helena is the producer and co-director of the award-winning documentary The Economics of Happiness, and is the author of Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh, described as “an inspirational classic”. Helena has given public lectures in seven languages, and has appeared in broadcast, print, and online media worldwide. She was honored with the Right Livelihood Award (or ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’) for her groundbreaking work in Ladakh, and received the 2012 Goi Peace Prize for contributing to “the revitalization of cultural and biological diversity, and the strengthening of local communities and economies worldwide. In this episode you will learn: how and why Helena decided to advocate for and promote localisation. about Ladakh and how it was removed from the rest of the world. how the glob

Alex Tabarrok is Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University and co-founder (with Tyler Cowen) of Marginal Revolution University, an online platform for learning economics. Alex is a TED speaker with over 640,000 views of his TED talk, How Ideas Trump Crises. In this episode, you will learn: how to ensure that criminals turn up of trial and to reduce the possibility of them becoming a fugitive. why bounty hunters and bail bondsmen are best for the taxpayer. why bounty hunters invited Alex Tabarrok to join them in a bounty hunt. why a mother’s signature on a bail bond is the most effective way of making sure a criminal repays its  due. how the terror alert level results in an increase in police presence and results in a decrease in local crime. whether the best teachers have a positive impact on the future earnings of their students. if a country can have a welfare state and open borders. why immigrants to the United States are the most entrepreneurial. what Marginal Revolution

Eyal Winter is the Silverzweig Professor of Economics at the Hebrew University and Economics Professor at Leicester University. He is a member and a former director of the Center for the Study of Rationality, an elected council member of the International Game Theory Society and an elected fellow of the Economic Theory Society. Eyal was awarded the Humboldt Prize for excellence in research by the German government in 2010. He has presented his work in more than 120 research institutes in 26 countries around the world including Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Berkeley, Cambridge, and Oxford. Eyal's book Feeling Smart: Why our Emotions are More Rational Than We Think was published in January 2015. Eyal graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Mathematics, Statistics and Economics before going on to study his doctorate in Game Theory. In this episode you will learn: if there is a link between game theory and behavioral economics. how the perceptions of human behaviour vary greatly across all discipl

Dan Ariely is Professor of Psychology & Behavioral Economics at Duke University in North Carolina. Dan’s interests span a wide range of behaviors, and his sometimes unusual experiments are consistently interesting, amusing and informative, demonstrating profound ideas that fly in the face of common wisdom. Dan is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, and The Honest Truth About Dishonesty and his latest book Irrationally Yours is now available. Dan received a B.A in Psychology from Tel Aviv University, an M.A and PhD in Cognitive Psychology from University of North Carolina and another PhD in Business Administration from Duke University. In this episode you will learn: about Dan Ariely’s traumatic experience resulting in severe burns. how Dan found his love for psychology and behavioral economics. why Dan will not be teaching his Irrational Behavior course on Coursera. the problems with MOOCs like Coursera and why it is making the wrong cho

Jez Groom is a behavioral economist and co-founder of the behavioral practice #ogilvychange in the United Kingdom. Alongside Rory Sutherland, Jez has created the Nudge Awards and Nudgestock, bringing the best in behavioral economics to the mainstream. Jon Haywood is the founder of Ambassadogs and has been working in the Advertising industry for almost 20 years. Jon has specialised in taking a more consumer (human) perspective of the marketing challenge, working with the likes of Rory Sutherland of #ogilvychange on understanding how behavioural economics can add a significant competitive advantage to the creative ideation process. In this episode you will learn: how Ogilvy Change are bringing Behavioural Economics into the mainstream. about Nudgestock which brings academics and practitioners together to discuss the theoretical and practical intersection of behavioural economics. how a ‘Fat Stickman’ pointing to an escalator and a ‘Thin Stickman’ pointing to the stairs can nudge a person to take the stairs

Steve Hanke is a Professor of Applied Economics, specializing in currency boards. He is Co-Director of the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Steve is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Troubled Currencies Project at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. and a member of the Charter Council of the Society of Economic Measurement and the Financial Advisory Council of the United Arab Emirates. Previously, Professor Hanke was a Senior Economist on President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers and was also an Advisor to the Presidents of Bulgaria, Venezuela, and Indonesia. In 1998, Steve was named one of the twenty-five most influential people in the world by World Trade Magazine. In this episode, you will learn: what is a currency board and the reason why a country should resort to one. about Bulgaria’s currency crisis in 1997, how hyper-inflation hit 142 percent per month and what Steve Hanke did to solve the p

Victor Ricciardi is Finance Professor at Goucher College, Baltimore, Maryland where he teaches courses in personal financial planning, corporate finance, investments, behavioral finance, and the psychology of money. Victor is the Coordinator of Behavioral & Experimental Research for the Social Science Research Network also known as SSRN. Victor is the current Editor for seven SSRN eJournals including Behavioral & Experimental Finance, History of Finance, and Behavioral & Experimental Economics. He received his PhD from Golden Gate University and his MBA from St. John's University. Victor’s current book Investor Behavior: The Psychology of Financial Planning and Investing with co-editor Kent Baker is now available and has 30 chapters on emerging research in behavioral finance. In this episode, you will learn: the difference between Behavioral Economics and Behavioral Finance. the rational approach to investing and whether it exists. what bounded rationality really means. if companies help yo

Shanta Devarajan is the Chief Economist of the World Bank’s Middle East and North Africa Region.  Since joining the World Bank in 1991, he has been a Principal Economist and Research Manager for Public Economics in the Development Research Group, and the Chief Economist of the Human Development Network, South Asia, and Africa Region. Shanta was the director of the World Development Report 2004, ‘Making Services Work for Poor People’. Before 1991, he was on the faculty of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Shanta is the author and co-author of over 100 publications, with his research covering public economics, trade policy, natural resources and the environment, and general equilibrium modeling of developing countries. Born in Sri Lanka, Shanta received his B.A. in Mathematics from Princeton University and his Ph.D. in Economics from University of California, Berkeley. In this episode, you will learn: why Shanta decided to take a sabbatical from lecturing and never went back. about S

Jon Manning is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Sans Prix and has over two decades of Pricing experience in a wide variety of industries. Since establishing Sans Prix, Jon (and his associates) have generated millions of dollars in incremental revenue for clients in places such as the UK, USA, India, and Australia. Increasingly in demand as both a speaker and educator, Jon has spoken at many conferences, workshops, webinars and educational institutions across the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the United Kingdom. In 2011, Jon and Greg Eyres established Pricing Prophets, the world’s first and only online pricing advisory service where clients can ask a panel of global pricing experts and thought-leaders what price to charge for a product or service and why. Jon holds a Bachelor of Business (Applied Economics) from Deakin University (Australia), a Graduate Diploma of Business (Management) from Monash University (Australia) and a Master of Arts (European Studies), from The University of West London. He

Nancy Folbre is a recently retired Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst andcurrently directs a research program of gender and care work at the Political Economy Research Institute. Professor Folbre's research focuses on the interface between feminist theory and political economy, with a particular focus on the work of caring for others. Nancy was elected president of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) in 2002, has been an associate editor of the Journal Feminist Economics since 1995, and is also an editorial assistant of the Journal of Women, Politics & Policy. Nancy is recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, and she has consulted for the United Nations Human Development Office, the World Bank and other organizations. Professor Folbre has also written extensively on the social organization of time, namely the time allotted to care for children and the elderly and how family policies and social institutions limit the choices people can make between paid

Herbert Gintis is Emeritus Professor of Economics at University of Massachusetts and visiting Professor at Central European University. He is known for his theoretical contributions to sociobiology, especially altruism, cooperation, epistemic game theory and gene-culture co-evolution. Herbert has a B.A and M.A in Mathematics but switched his PhD program at Harvard from mathematics to economics. Professor Gintis was part of a group of economists who developed their ideas on a new economics which encompassed issues of alienation of labor, racism, sexism, and imperialism. Herbert has worked extensively with economist Samuel Bowles, writing their landmark book, Schooling in Capitalist America. One of Herbert’s latest books The Bounds of Reason emphasises the unification of economic theory with sociobiology and other behavioral sciences which, in the words of Nobel Prize-winning economist, Vernon L. Smith, “is firmly in the revolutionary tradition of David Hume (Convention) and Adam Smith (Sympathy)”. In the episo

Parviz Parvizi is co-founder of Clammr, a mobile app and platform making audio more social and viral. Users are calling Clammr, which features snack-sized audio clips of 18 seconds or less, the “Instagram of Audio” and “Audio Twitter”.  Previously, Parviz worked at McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs, the Federal Communications Commission, and O’Melveny & Myers.  He has advised top 5 global media companies and mobile carriers on strategy and growth. He was a founder of McKinsey’s iConsumer research initiative on digital consumer behavior, authoring 3 of the Firm’s 10 most-downloaded media sector knowledge documents. Parviz was a Olin Law & Economics Fellow at Yale Law School. At Cornell he majored in economics and served as President of the Cornell Economics Society while an undergraduate.   Parviz holds a JD from Yale Law School and AB from Cornell. Find Out: about Clammr, the amazingly new app that shares an18-secondaudio clip just like an audio tweet. about Parviz Parvizi’s journey from Iran t

Dermot Hayes is the Pioneer Chair of Agribusiness, professor of economics, and professor of finance at Iowa State University. He heads the Trade and Agricultural Policy Division at CARD, a position he also held from 1990 through 1998.    He is co-director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, a research center dually administered through the Centre for Agricultural and Rural Development or CARD at Iowa State and at the University of Missouri at Columbia. He is also a leader of the Policy Task Force of the Plant Science Institute at Iowa State.   A native of the Republic of Ireland, Dermot obtained his degree in agriculture science from the University College in Dublin and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley with a major in international trade.    Dermot has distinguished himself with many awards at the college and university levels for his work as a teacher and researcher.    In 2006 he received a "Publication of Enduring Quality" award from the American Agricultural Econom

Dr Rebecca Harding, CEO of Delta Economics, is an independent economist with an extensive background in modelling economic growth, trade, productivity, innovation and enterprise. Rebecca is the author of nine books and has written over 250 articles on economic issues. She has held senior positions in leading academic, think-tank and corporate organisations, including roles at the London Business School, Deloitte and the Work Foundation.  Rebecca has advised the European Union and regional governments and agencies in the UK and Germany on innovation and enterprise policy. Rebecca is a Board Member of the Society of Business Economists and a Board Member and Trustee of the German British Forum. In 2013, she was elected as a national representative of the European Movement UK. Rebecca holds a BA in Economics and German and an MSc and PhD in the economics of Science and Innovation from the University of Sussex and writes on her blog rebeccanomics.com. Find Out: about Dr Harding’s company DeltaEconomics. about

David Zetland is an assistant professor at Leiden University College, where he teaches various classes on economics. David was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Natural Resource Economics and Political Economy at UC Berkeley (2008-2010) and a Senior Water Economist at Wageningen University (2011-2013).  David blogs on water, economics and politics at aguanomics.com and gives many talks to public, professional and academic audiences. David has two books The End of Abundance: economic solutions to water scarcity (2011)  and Living with Water Scarcity (2014). He received his PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from UC Davis in 2008. Find out: if we should be worried more about a shortage of water or a scarcity of water. if we should learn from the oil industry and develop the technology-equivalent of extracting oil from oil sands and desalinate the ocean water? if we can tell whether we know the water footprint of a cow and if it’s different in California than Ireland. why water is actually free and what yo

Leah Bell spent tens of thousands of dollars on a college education for a degree in Education with the same hope of getting a job one day.  After struggling to find a teaching job as an Elementary school teacher, Leah had to work at a minimum part-time job to supplement her teaching salary. However, the school closed and she lost her job. Leah took on a job related to sales. But after a few years she realized that she wanted nothing more than to stay at home with her son. But with student debt and rising prices, it was extremely difficult on one income.     Leah Bell learned the most about life, not in the classrooms of the colleges she attended, but in the years following. After realizing the struggle in the job market, the difficulty of paying off student loans, and the heartbreak of sacrificing priceless time with family to meet financial needs, she and her husband have devoted their lives to sparing people of this depressing fate through their company Neotrep™, providing entrepreneurs with affordable educ

Noah Smith is Assistant Professor of Finance at Stony Brook University, New York where he is also a member of the Center for Behavioral Finance research team. Noah’s research Interests include Experimental Finance, Behavioral Finance and Macroeconomics. Noah was panel discussant for the Institute for New Economic Thinking Task Force and has received numerous research awards and fellowships. Noah is a regular contributor to Bloomberg View where he writes extensively on economics and finance related topics. He also writes at his fantastic economics blog Noahpinion. Noah received his PhD in economics from the University of Michigan, graduating in 2012. His dissertation examined expectation formation in financial markets.    Noah majored in physics as an undergraduate at Stanford University, and spent three years working in Japan, where he still returns from time to time to do research. Find out: whether economists suffer from ‘Physics Envy’. if we should remove mathematics from economics. how math took over

Jason Shogren is the Stroock Professor of Natural Resource Conservation and Management and Chair of the Department of Economics and Finance at the University of Wyoming.  Professor Shogren’s background and research interests include the economics of environmental and natural resource policy, experimental methods; endangered species; invasive species; climate change; agricultural and forest management; energy; health; regulation; and paleoeconomics. Jason served as professor to Sweden’s King Carl Gustaf XVI in 2012 and is a 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner (shared with Al Gore) as a member of the United Nations team working on climate change. He has also served as a senior economist on the Council of Economic Advisers in the White House under the Clinton Administration.   Jason loves fishing and music. He spends his time composing acoustic roots songs that he describes as catawampus American music, has five albums and will be touring this summer. Find Out: about the Cap and Trade Market for carbon emissions is a