Assorted Podcasts

Most of the podcasts are from the National Economists Club;

Productivity and Economic Development
Bill Lewis, Former managing partner, McKinsey Global Institute

The Power of Productivity: Wealth, Poverty, and the Threat to Global Stability

The Tyranny of the Market: Why you can’t always get what you Want
Joel Waldfogel

The Economics, Policy, and Politics of Poverty Reduction
Jared Bernstein

Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays

The Economic Naturalist

Evolution in Central Bank Governance around the World
Ellen Meade

Economic Analysis and Cost-Benefit Analysis: Substitutes or Complements?
Chester Spatt, Chief Economist
Securities and Exchange Commission

An Anatomy of Jobless Recoveries: Will Employment Lag Output in 2009-2010 as it did in 2001-03? If Not, Why Not?

Innovation Economics: A 21st Century Alternative to the Neo-Classical

The Economic Naturalist's Field Guide

The Debate on the International Monetary System

Keynes’ original proposal envisaged a global bank (the International Clearing Union or ICU), which would issue its own currency (bancor), based on the value of 30 representative commodities including gold, exchangeable against national currencies at fixed rates. All trade accounts would be measured in bancor, while each country would maintain a bancor account vis-à-vis the ICU (expected to be balanced within a small margin), and also have an overdraft allowance vis-à-vis the ICU. When countries experienced large trade deficits (more than half of the bancor overdraft allowance), they would pay interest on their accounts, undergo economic adjustments (possibly also capital controls) and devalue their currencies. Conversely, countries with large trade surpluses would also be subject to a similar charge and required to appreciate their exchange rates. This mechanism would bring in a smooth symmetry of adjustments across countries and avoid global imbalances.

Interesting new staff position paper from the Fund.

Book recommendations

Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
Apostolos Doxiadis

SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
-Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner

What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures
-Malcolm Gladwell

The Big Questions: Tackling the Problems of Philosophy with Ideas from Mathematics, Economics and Physics
-Steven Landsburg

The Predictioneer’s Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future.