The pandemic and subsequent economic crisis have shown how government is crucial for getting things done – like rolling out a vaccine or throwing the economy a lifeline. But what if the state aspired to do a lot more? Economist Mariana Mazzucato thinks that states need to rediscover grand ambition and in-house expertise to solve climate change and inequality. Plus, a look at the ups and downs of China's economy in 2021.

Guests: Professor Mariana Mazzucato, Director, Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London. Author of Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism (First broadcast 18/03/2021)

Professor Jane Golley, Director, Australian Centre on China in the World, ANU

China's 2021 economy and Mariana Mazzucato's mission

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TikTok, the phone app that sends a stream of viral videos to every user, is in trouble in the United States. 

The company must either change its Chinese ownership, or leave the American market.

In response, TikTok is underlining its economic contribution, in Australia and elsewhere.  So how much difference does it make?

Guests:

Dr Joanne Gray, Lecturer in Digital Cultures, University of Sydney

Ariana Hendry, Co-founder, Beysis

Kristian Kolding, Head of Consulting, Oxford Economics Australia

Professor Vili Lehdonvirta, Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford University

The TikTok Economy

As they say a “diamond is forever”. But does it matter if that diamond is grown in a lab or mined from the Earth? Especially if they both are chemically, physically, and optically identical.

And given that cost of living pressures are colliding with consumers’ desire to not compromise on size or quality, more and more Australians can see the logic behind lab grown gems.  In America, lab-grown may have peaked.

Guests:

Cormac Kinney, Founder & CEO, Diamond Standard

Paul Zimnisky, Leading Global Diamond Industry Analyst

Talitha Cummins, Founder, the Cut Jewellery

Eloise Sohier, Customer, The Cut Jewellery

Diamond Disruption: Lab Grown vs Mined, which gem would you choose?

This year’s Budget tries to do several things at once. In the short term it offers cost-of-living relief but tries not to contribute to inflation. In the longer term it departs from decades of economic orthodoxy by picking industries to invest in.  Specifically, green hydrogen and critical minerals.   

But will it work? And how responsible is it? Three of the country’s leading economists offer their views.

Guests:

Shane Oliver, Chief Economist, AMP

Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Business School

Luci Ellis, Chief Economist, Westpac Banking Group

Marking the Treasurer’s work: Three leading economists discuss the federal budget.

Australians have a sleeping problem. The most conservative estimates show one in 10 have a sleep disorder, which is having an impact on their safety, wellbeing and productivity.

This ends up costing almost a $1 billion a week. And that’s not all. The total cost of inadequate sleep is thought to be as high as $75 billion a year.

We’re not alone either. International research shows places like the US, the UK and Europe are facing similar problems, with similar costs.

Guests:

Shanthakumar Rajaratnam, Chair of the Sleep Health Foundation

Professor Ron Grunstein, The Woolcock Institute 

Wendy Troxel, The Rand Corporation

Zafina Ademi, Professor of Health Economics, Monash University

The Sleepless Economy: The High Costs of Losing Shut Eye

You don’t need to be paying too much attention to be aware that economic growth matters.

Growth is central to economics. And growth of the last 60 years has delivered. We’ve seen a rise in prosperity, and developments in health and education.

But the pursuit of growth has also had consequences.

In his new book Growth: A Reckoning, Daniel Susskind explores the tension between the positives and negatives created by the pursuit of growth.

Guest:

Daniel Susskind, Research Professor in Economics at King’s College London

China's 2021 economy and Mariana Mazzucato's mission

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