Economics Explained

Latest Episodes:

Here's Why Supply and Demand Is Overrated! Oct 22, 2020

Show notes

If you were to ask any random person on the street what it is that they knew about economics there is a pretty good chance that the first thing that they would blurt out would be the words “Supply & Demand”

The number of people out there willing and able to buy a good or service versus the number of people out there willing to sell a good or service, all individually vying to get the best possible price.

If demand increases prices increase, if demand falls prices fall and visa versa with supply.

Now I know this channel is called Economics Explained but for most of you listening, all of this should pretty much go without saying.

The only issue is that this rosy picture is in no way a reflection of the real world.

So what is going on here?

In this episode of Economics Explained we will explore the following questions:

How are prices decided if not through supply and demand?
What does this mean for regular people in the economy?
How could all of this be used to make better policies and business decisions?
And how does this all make the case for a zero dollar minimum wage?

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The Growing Generational Wealth Gap Oct 21, 2020

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The long-suffering generation of millennials are now set to be significantly poorer than both baby boomers and Gen X'ers.

Having entered the workforce during the fallout of the 2008 mortgage crisis and then being hit particularly hard during this current crisis has meant that today millennials only account for 3% of national wealth, where boomers at the same point in their lives accounted for 27%.

This trend is more than just another pity party for our fellow latte-sipping millennials. On a wider level, the share of wealth owned by people under the age of 40 has shrunk from 13% to just under 7% over the past 3 decades.

Even if we ignore the social issues of younger families having to make do with half that of what their parents did this can have some serious

Therefore if this trend continues businesses around the world might start to lose out on their Goldilocks zone of consumer spending.

What is causing this downward pressure on wealth in younger generations?
What will this mean for the future growth of nations like the USA?
And could this just be a waiting game of wealth, inevitably getting passed down?

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The Shifting Economics of California Oct 21, 2020

Show notes

This is California, the Golden State and one of the largest economies in the world in its own right.

If California was counted as a sovereign nation it would be the fifth-largest in the world by GDP, with a 3.2 trillion dollar gross state product putting it just behind Germany and just ahead of India.

In this episode of Economics Explained, we'll explore the following questions:

What made the state so prosperous before the 2020 downturn?
What were the underlying issues impacting the economy?
How will these issues be impacted by this decline?

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Are the "Extreme" Economic Systems Totally Pointless? Oct 21, 2020

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Communism vs Laissez-Faire Capitalism

Both of these opposing theories are very extreme and, for what it's worth, don’t exist in any modern economies anywhere around the world today, despite what some nations might have you believe.

In this episode of Economics Explained, we'll explore the following questions:

So what are the economic arguments for and against a communist economic system?

What are the economic arguments for and against a completely free market?

Are there any examples of these extreme systems actually working throughout history?

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Why Unprofitable Companies Are Winning in 2020 Oct 21, 2020

Show notes

The bottom line is the most important part of any functioning business.

Profit after costs, expenses, and taxes.

The money that the founders and investors in companies get to put back into their pockets for the risk and effort they put into a business.

Sounds like business 101 right? And it kind of is.

A business that doesn’t turn a profit is like a freezer that kind make ice, it’s more or less pointless.

And sure there are things like non-profit charity organizations out there but most businesses exist to make money!

So why is it that some of the biggest companies in the world are not turning profits? Why is it that they don’t even plan to?

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The Economics of Prisons Oct 21, 2020

Show notes

Inflation is something we more or less take for granted these days. The idea that 5 dollars today is not going to be able to buy 5 dollars worth of stuff in the future, and the fact that you used to be able to buy a family home for 10 grand, are all the result of inflation.

The idea that over time money becomes worthless and less influences a lot of decisions in out lives. Everything from retirement planning to salary negotiations take this relatively benign and constant force into account.

But it is something that should be feared.

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Is Hyperinflation Coming? Oct 21, 2020

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But it is something that should be feared.

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The Economy of Taiwan Oct 21, 2020

Show notes

This is Taiwan, or officially, the Republic of China, a country in east asia, which if you can’t tell by how delicate I am being with these titles here is consistently under a bit of ehh let’s call it scrutiny.

So contentious in fact that any country that is doing business with the people's republic of china, you know China, has to officially declare that they recognize the island of Taiwan as the sovereign territory of China.

While this is all very confusing, the fallout is that the nation of Taiwan is only officially recognized by a tiny selection of countries from around the world.

These countries include economic superpowers like Guatemala, Haiti, the Marshall Islands and Vatican city collectively making up only accounting for around 50 million people and covering a tiny portion of world trade.

So it's not exactly like they have brought their A team.

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Why GDP Is Overrated & Nobody Should Care About It! Oct 21, 2020

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GDP is one of the most universally recognized terms in economics. Even outside people with an interest in the subject most adults would be able to tell you that GDP is a measure of how large an economy is.... But they might not be able to tell you how it’s calculated, or even what it stands for.

In this episode of Economic Explained, we will explore the following questions:

What are the limitations of GDP?
Are there better figures to look at to get an idea of how prosperous an economy is?
And how could focus on something outside of pure productive capacity be good for our economy?

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What is the FIRE Movement? Could it be Hurting Our Economy? Oct 21, 2020

Show notes

The Fire movement is a growing trend amongst young workers which is growing in popularity thanks to its very enticing goal which is spelled out in the name.

FIRE is an acronym of Financial Independence and Retiring Early.

The idea is that by following a very aggressive saving and investing strategy people can get to a point where they are effectively retired at a very young age, sometimes younger than 30.

Getting to that point is harder for some than others, but advocates of the movement argue that this difficulty has more to do with personal lifestyles rather than personal incomes.

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