Economic Rockstar

Latest Episodes:

035: Stephen Young on Being Car Free and the Behavioural Economics of Owning A Car Jun 04, 2015

Show notes

Stephen Young is a Senior Lecturer at Brighton Business School and is subject leader for behavioural economics.

He is also Visiting Lecturer at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, where he teaches Behavioural Economics to health professionals, including commissioners, public health practitioners and GPs.

As an independent consultant and trainer, Stephen also provides client workshops and presentations on behavioural economics and behaviour change.

Stephen is widely published and his research interests include behaviour change, climate change, health, sustainability, and Information and Communications Technology.

Stephen does not own a car and is so passionate about being car free that he writes regularly on his blog livingthecarfreelife.blogspot.com. Other writings from Stephen can be found at www.stephenyoung.org.uk.

In this episode, find out:

why Stephen decided to become an academic.

about the Northern Rock bank run in the UK in 2007.

why universities need to adapt or die when it comes to addressing relevant content.

what Stephen is doing to reduce his carbon footprint in college and how he’s responding to the digital needs of his students.

why health professionals are interested in behavioral economics.

about the Irish government’s fight against obesity.

how Stephen is encouraging a town in the UK to become pedestrian friendly.

about framing car ownership - status and perception of rank.

how by ditching your car you can burn calories.

how the average person is working two days a week to pay for their car.

about the emotional attachment that a car represents.

what major cities across Europe are doing to make them more pedestrian and bike-friendly.

about peak car ownership.

some advice from Stephen on how to give your car.

about the pluralist approach to embracing economics.

Subscribe on iTunes or visit www.economicrockstar.com to access previous episodes.

034: David Simon on Meatonomics and How the Meat and Dairy Industry Impose Substantial Negative Externalities on Society May 28, 2015

Show notes

David Robinson Simon is a lawyer and advocate for sustainable consumption.

David works as general counsel for a healthcare company and serves on the board of the Animal Protection and Rescue League Fund, a non-profit dedicated to protecting animals.

David runs a website that keeps us up-to-date on matters arising from the farm animal industry as well as informing us of other animal-related causes.

David received his B.A. from U.C. Berkeley and his J.D. from the University of Southern California. He is the author of two books: New Millennium Law Dictionary, a full-length legal dictionary and Meatonomics.

He lives in Southern California with his partner, artist Tania Marie, and their rabbit, tortoise, and two cats.

Find Out:

why David, a lawyer, turned to economics to explain how the meat industry is a cost to society.

about the lack of rights that exist for farm animals.

how the farming community set the standards on how farm animals are treated.

how the Customary Farming Extension was introduced to legally treat farm animals inhumanely.

about the environmental costs associated with producing animal products.

how to control or even reverse climate change by reducing meat consumption.

how taking shorter showers is not going to alleviate the drought in California.

what the true external cost to society is when someone consumes an animal product.

how deferring climate change measures today will impose greater costs on society in the future.

what David, who is a vegan, had for breakfast this morning.

the ingredients to David’s ‘power smoothie’ - a refreshing and nutrient dense meal in a glass!

how companies are being subsidised by government to lower the retail price of meat.

about the heavy subsidies being paid out to the meat industry.

how artificially-low meat and dairy prices are fuelled by out-of-whack farm subsidies.

about Ireland’s removal of milk quotas and what it means for market prices.

and much, much more.

Check out the shownotes page to this episode at www.economicrockstar.com/davidsimon

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033: Abdullah Al-Bahrani on the Economy of Oman and How Racial Discrimination Empowered Him to Succeed in Life and in Economics. May 21, 2015

Show notes

Dr. Abdullah Al Bahrani is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Northern Kentucky University, where he serves as the Principles of Economics Coordinator.

Abdullah’s research interests are in the fields of Industrial Organization and Education of Economics. Currently, his primary focus is on innovative approaches to teaching Economics. In Industrial Organization, his research examines market structure and competition in the banking and real estate industries.

Prior to joining academia, Dr. Al Bahrani worked in the mortgage industry from 2003-2006. He has also served as outside economic consult to the Ministry of Education, Sultanate of Oman and new business ventures entering Oman.

Abdullah received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Kentucky in 2010, where he received an award for Best Economics Graduate Teaching Assistant.

Find Out:

why Abdullah decided to do a Phd in Economics in 2006 and left the mortgage industry just before it imploded.

about Abdullah’s economic consultancy work with the Sultanate of Oman.

about Abdullah’s connection when reviewing labor market studies in Oman (Hint: She is the Director General of the National Centre of Career Guidance and is as maternal to Abdullah as Oman is to him).

how Oman are creating an entrepreneurial spirit to drive is economy in the future.

why Oman is faced with difficulties in transitioning to an entrepreneurial economy.

how Omani culture is preventing it’s people to take on risk and why incentives do not work.

about Abdullah’s suggestion that to create an entrepreneurial spirit in Oman, the labor market must first be liberalised.

why discrimination exists in the Omani labor market and why US and UK ex-pats would be a preferred employee.

how data limitations for Oman make it difficult to conduct an empirical analysis of the labor market.

about Oman’s tourism initiative to create Oman as an eco-friendly destination.

how Abdullah is integrating social media into the classroom, making education a more interactive and conducive learning environment for students.

how to create a sense of community in a classroom.

why Abdullah received an Easter basket of goodies from a student’s mother.

why Abdullah is ‘helping his students to ‘clean’ their social media footprint.

about the research Abdullah is doing on racial discrimination in the labor market.

how Abdullah is identifying how racial discrimination is evident in online markets where, unlike traditional markets, the color of your skin is not a factor.

how Abdullah was racially discriminated against in both the labor market and when selling mortgage loans in the USA.

how Abdullah dealt with racial discrimination and how it gave him his Phd dissertation question.

how online price comparison websites may actually be anti-competitive.

how online stores are eating into the consumer surplus.

and much much more.

Check out the shownotes page to this episode at www.economicrockstar.com/abdullaalbahrani

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032: Joe Gladstone on the 'Pay What You Want' Pricing Model and Using Big Data to Understand You Better May 14, 2015

Show notes

Joe Gladstone is an academic researcher and consultant based at the University of Cambridge, where he applies insights from behavioural economics and psychological research to better understand consumer behaviour.

Joe partners with some of the world’s largest corporations, such as Twitter, Bupa and Visa, as well as government departments, to tackle challenges that deal with behaviour change.

Joe's views on consumer behaviour have been featured in the BBC, Forbes, The Huffington Post and other media outlets.

Joe is founder of BE-events.org and BE-Recruit.com. He received his Masters from Oxford University and his Phd from Cambridge University, and has been awarded a range of competitive grants and prizes.

Find Out:

about the link between the discipline of psychology and economics.

why Joe decided to do postgraduate research in behavioral economics.

how advances in technology, especially in social media, can help behavioral scientists understand human behaviour better.

why you do not know how much you spend on coffee.

how Joe has identified the relationship between psychology and money.

how Joe has used the ‘My Personality’ app to predict your personality from what you like.

how companies can use ‘Big Data’ to target messages directly to you.

why people are willing to pay for services that they could otherwise get for free.

if TIDAL will disrupt the online music industry by taking control of their own music.

if Spotify risks losing out to TIDAL.

how important is the price of zero?

how the ‘Pay What You Want’ pricing model defies classical economic theory.

why people pay even if they are given the option to take the product for free.

how Radiohead made more in sales when offering their album on a ‘Pay What You Want’ basis.

if the ‘Pay What You Want’ model is sustainable for a business in the long run?

how Jon Bon Jovi has successfully implemented the ‘Pay What You Want’ model in his Soul Kitchen restaurant in New Jersey.

how sitting with strangers to eat in Soul Kitchen can ‘nudge’ diners to pay more than what they were initially willing to pay.

about Joe’s passion for financial literacy and financial empowerment.

if you can become immune to nudging by having a deeper understanding of it.

if knowledge prevents you from being nudged.

about behavioral economics events that could be going on in your area with BE-event.org.

how Joe maximises his time by outsourcing his work on oDesk.

and much, much more.

Check out the shownotes page to this episode at www.economicrockstar.com/joegladstone

Subscribe to the Economic Rockstar podcast on iTunes and never miss an episode.

031: Matt Rousu on Experimental Auctions and the Need for Peer-Reviewed Economic Impact Studies May 07, 2015

Show notes

Dr. Matthew Rousu is a Professor and Warehime Chair in the Department of Economics at Susquehanna University. His main teaching interests include microeconomics, political economic thought, and game theory.

Matt is an expert on experimental auction design and implementation. He uses his expertise on experimental auctions to study problems in agricultural economics, environmental economics, and public health. He has published over 40 scholarly articles, as well as book chapters, non-technical articles and Opeds.

Matt has been quoted widely on many issues by The Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The NY Daily News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, US News and World Report, The Washington Post, Wikipedia, and Yahoo.com.

He has also been a guest for local radio stations mainly to discuss the local, state, and national economy.

Matt runs his own blog known as paeconomist.blogspot and is founder of the Economic Impact Review. He is the author of Political Trivia.

Matt earned a Bachelor's degree from the University of South Dakota and a Ph.D. in Economics from Iowa State University.

Find Out:

Benefits of lecturing at a liberal arts college - switch up your research interests.
about experimental auction designs.
what is consumer demand for Genetically Modified Products.
how demand for GMOs change due to differences in packaging.
how print advertisement for e-cigarettes increases their demand.
whether e-cigarettes are a ‘healthy’ alternative to traditional cigarettes.
about the impact of plain package cigarettes on consumer demand.
if the Irish government correct in enforcing plain packaged cigarettes.
how much less buyers were willing to pay for plain packaged cigarettes.
how a picture of smoking-related diseases on cigarette packaging decreases demand for cigarettes.
why Matt set up The Economic Impact Review.
why economic impact studies should go through a peer-review process.
and much much more.

Subscribe to the Economic Rockstar podcast on iTunes and never miss an episode.
Check out the shownotes page to this episode at: http://www.economicrockstar.com/matthewrousu

030: Kim Holder on Rockonomix and Teaching Economics Through the Lens of Sport, Music and Movies Apr 30, 2015

Show notes

Kim Holder is an economics educator from the University of Western Georgia and teaches principles of macro and micro. Kim is passionate about economics, music, media, pop-culture and sports and loves using technology and social media in the classroom to get her students excited about learning. Kim is founder of Rockonomix, an inter-university contest held in the USA that encourages students to compose economic-themed lyrics to a popular song.

Find Out:

how Kim Holder uses music to assess her students taking micro and macro classes.

about Kim's passion for economics and how she uses sports to explain economic concepts.

how you can become an ‘Economic Rockstar’ in the annual Rockonomix contest.

how to motivate students to study economics.

how selfies and memes can make students aware of economics around them.

about Kim’s decision to study economics because of true love.

about Kim's summer course ‘Economics Is Everywhere’ which introduces you to micro and macro, as well as personal finance.

about the Centre for Economic Education at University of West Georgia and how it is for the wider community and not just for students.

how K-12 teachers can avail of the workshops put on by the Centre for Economic Education at University of West Georgia.

about Pop Econ and why more should be done to introduce it to students at a principles of micro and macro level.

why students should be pushed to seek out economic themes in movies.

how to use Twitter for the classroom and the best practices to communicate with students.

what Kim’s top 3 movies are that contain economic themes.

the importance of financial literacy for students who are faced with taking out college loans.

how Kim Holder escaped poverty through education.

and much much more.

To access the shownotes and all the links mentioned in this episode visit www.economicrockstar.com/kimholder

Never miss an episode by subscribing to the Economic Rockstar podcast for free on iTunes.

029: John Cochrane on the Future of Finance, MOOC Education, Regulation and the Case for Free Markets Apr 23, 2015

Show notes

John Cochrane is the AQR Capital Management Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and is currently Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.

Professor Cochrane is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and past director of its asset pricing program, and an Adjunct Scholar of the CATO institute.

John is past President and Fellow of the American Finance Association, and a Fellow of the Econometric Society. He has been an Editor of the Journal of Political Economy, and associate editor of several journals including the Journal of Monetary Economics.

John’s is the author of 3 books including the book Asset Pricing. Other finance publications include articles on stock and bond markets, exchange rates, interest rates, liquidity premiums and option pricing.

John's monetary economics publications include articles on the relationship between deficits and inflation, the effects of monetary policy, and on the fiscal theory of the price level.

John currently teaches the MBA class Advanced Investments and a variety of PhD classes in Asset Pricing and Monetary Economics.

John earned a Bachelor’s degree in Physics at MIT, and earned his Ph.D. in Economics at the University of California at Berkeley.

In addition to research and teaching, John is a competitive sailplane pilot and windsurfs.

John blogs as 'The Grumpy Economist'.

Find Out:

why Professor Cochrane is known as the Grumpy Economist.

about John’s Proposed New Structure for US Debt.

how to create financial stability with a currency fit for the 21st century.

about the advantages of government debt.

what happened when Ireland guaranteed the bondholders and entered into a bailout.

the limitations to a eurozone country when faced with a bailout.

why countries should be allowed to act like companies and default.

why Greece should have defaulted and why Ireland should not have bailed out the bondholders.

about Professor Cochrane competing in the World Gliding Championship for the USA.

why Professor Cochrane delivered his Asset Pricing PhD course as a MOOC.

the costs and benefits of delivering a MOOC.

how MOOCs will become the textbook of the future.

how to monetize a MOOC and which type of course would have mass market appeal.

Ireland’s aim to become the capital of MOOCs.

how to create a social environment for students using MOOCs.

why Professor Cochrane went from a degree in physics to a PhD in Economics.

why people are stuck in the welfare system.

and much much more.

Visit www.economicrockstar.com/johncochrane to get access to the shownotes page and all the links mentioned inthis interview.

028: Alice Louise Kassens on Nudging Students to Study Economics and Why Mainstream Media Should Publish Research on Mental Health Apr 16, 2015

Show notes

Dr. Alice Kassens is an economics professor at Roanoke College and has already built a notable reputation in her profession.

Alice is the current recipient of Roanoke’s John S. Shannon Professorship in Economics, which honors and supports a faculty member who is an outstanding teacher and accomplished scholar and who is thoroughly committed to enriching the lives of Roanoke students.

Dr Kassens’ work at Roanoke includes creating and maintaining an economics program blog and a biannual newsletter, Roanomics. She also serves as the faculty advisor for the College's Economics Club.

Alice's areas of expertise include labor and health economics. She has won several awards and fellowships, and her work has been published in numerous academic journals.

Alice is one of three economists who won Cengage Learning’s 2013 Economist Educators Best in Class Award for her method of teaching using Twitter.

Dr Kassens is president of the Virginia Association of Economics, has recently been appointed by Governor McAuliffe to his Joint Advisory Board of Economists, is a senior analyst for the Institute for Policy and Opinion Research and is a Referee for the Journal of Economic Education, the Journal of Economics and Finance Education, and the National Council on Undergraduate Research.

Alice is the author of Changing Perceptions and Waistlines - A Bayesian and Behavioral Approach and is known as the ‘Running Economist’ not because of her busy lifestyle but because she is a competitive runner.

Alice earned her bachelor's degree from the College of William and Mary and her Ph.D. from North Carolina State University.

Find out:

how Alice's secrets to increasing an economics class size.

how Alice uses social media to encourage students to learn economics more effectively.

how Twitter can be used to remove the limitations to classroom-specific learning.

how Dr. Kassens collects data for the Consumer Sentiment Report for Virginia.

how to remove sample selection bias when collecting primary data.

how to analyse unobservables using observed data.

about the benefits of small-class sizes for learning.

which economist Dr. Kassens would love to collaborate with.

how being an athlete helped with a career decision to become a health economist.

why Dr. Kassens wrote a report on gender disparities in health care in Papa New Guinea.

about the gender disparity in depression levels upon losing a job.

whether men or women respond better to losing their jobs by continuing to job search.

if people lose their job because they were depressed or are they depressed because they’re unemployed?

how Dr. Kassens’ research can help people with depression if the media can report her findings to the masses.

if people reduce their expectations to live longer once they are diagnosed with Type II diabetes.

if obese people who are diagnosed with Type II diabetes respond by losing weight.

how writing a blog makes you accountable for what you do and helps you get things done.

the importance of why organisations should make their data freely accessible to academics.

and much much more.

To get access to the shownotes page and all of the links and books mentioned in this episode, please visit www.economicrockstar.com/alicekassens.

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027: Craig Medico on How Economics Saved My Career, Using Technology in the Classroom and Why I’m off to Wrestling School Apr 09, 2015

Show notes

Craig Medico is an Economics and History educator in New York with 11 years of classroom experience. Craig is doing amazing things to get young people to understand and become interested in economics.

He is the author of No Bull Review - Macroeconomics and Microeconomics: For use with the AP Macroeconomics and AP Microeconomics Exams (2012) and No Bull Review - Macroeconomics and Microeconomics: Top 10 Guide (2014).

Craig is the developer of several best-selling iPhone test prep apps from Study By App, LLC, including Economics AP (2010), Economics AP Free (2011), and Economics Flashcard Review (2011).

In 2010, he contributed to WNYC Radio/Public Radio International's morning news program The Takeaway.

Craig is the Macroeconomics instructor for the Junior State of America summer school at Princeton University and teaches Advanced Placement Economics at Paul D. Schreiber High School in Port Washington, New York.

He recently completed an economics educator study tour of Peru with the Global Economic Education Alliance in association with the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs and the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences.

In his spare time, Craig records and produces educational music videos for The Social Studs.

Find out:

about Craig Medico’s education trip to Peru.

about the class distinction in Peru and how it is upsetting the quality of education for the poor.

tweet me the answer to this problem @econom_rockstar: 2 + 2 x 2 + 2

how technology can be so beneficial to learning.

how Peruvian kids are excited about the country’s economic future.

how a trip to Peru will become part of Craig’s lessons at High School.

about Craig’s opinions about using technology in education.

why Craig embraces technology in education both for himself and for his students.

if there is a disruptive technology that exists that could compromise the traditional bricks-and-mortar way of education.

what upset Craig when he saw a mother and son at a donut shop.

how economics saved Craig’s career.

how idiot-proofing economics allowed Craig to master the concepts.

about Craig’s philosophy in his teaching methods and how it helps students to learn effectively.

about the Advanced Placement programs in the United States and how to earn college credit.

about Craig’s philosophy which is based on the thoughts of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

who are George Washing-tone and Abrajamz Lincoln and what are they teaching kids?

why Craig Medico transforms into Mr Medi-KO and why he’s off to wrestling school.

about the technological challenges facing all schools today.

about some of the apps you can use to create educational content.

and muc much more.

Check out the shownotes to this great episode with Craig Medico where you can get blog posts and links to everything mentioned by Craig: www.economicrockstar.com/craigmedico

026: Thomas O'Grady on How Writing a PhD on Demographics Revealed an Opportunity in the San Francisco Housing Market Apr 02, 2015

Show notes

Thomas O’Grady has a PhD in Mathematical and Statistical Economics from the University of California at Berkeley. His professional career has taken him from becoming the top analyst in Soviet intelligence for a U.S. agency and receiving the Meritorious Service Medal, also awarded to Wesley Clark, John McCain and General Schwarzkopf to positions with Fortune 100 companies to building three companies of his own. Thomas has been quoted by the print media over 30,000 times and appeared on TV and radio over 300 times. He currently hosts the popular podcast Life Unsettled.

Economic Themes:

In this interview, Thomas mentions and discusses: Demographics, population, baby boomers, excess demand, shortage, housing market, rent control, employment, causality, permanent income hypothesis, life-cycle hypothesis, savings, dissaving, income inequality, income distribution and incentives.

For more information about Economic Rockstar, please visit www.economicrockstar.com.

There you will find links to other interviews and any resources mentioned in this and previous episodes.

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