With Mark Zuckerberg being probed by the US government recently, and similar hearings being held in the UK, there’s been a lot of discussion lately about whether the Internet giants wield too much power. In this edition of the Debunking Economics podcast Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen why we don’t treat them as monopolies, and force their break-up into smaller, competing operators. Steve doesn’t agree. He says the problem is, such a move would force prices up, rather than down. But it’s not just a question of price, surely?

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Land, is of course, heavily constrained. In this podcast Phil Dobbie asks Professor Steve Keen whether enough value is placed on it and the influence it has on the broader economy. Housing speculation is an obvious example of how land values distort the economy. If it was left to pure market forces what are the damaging impacts on broader society and just how far should the government intervene?

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Land, is of course, heavily constrained. In this podcast Phil Dobbie asks Professor Steve Keen whether enough value is placed on it and the influence it has on the broader economy. Housing speculation is an obvious example of how land values distort the economy. If it was left to pure market forces what are the damaging impacts on broader society and just how far should the government intervene?

To hear the full version subscribe by picking a plan in the right column of the Debunking Economics website (not the mobile app). Or become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen

It’s hard to support everything Vladamir Putin does – he probably was involved in the attack in Salisbury. If not, there are lots of other violations of human rights we can point to. But he does have a lot support in Russia. To understand why, you need to understand the recent past, what Russia is trying to achieve and the role of foreign powers in distracting them from their path. Today on the Debunking Economics podcast, a quick history lesson of a country that has struggled through false theories and bad advice to arrive at a point where it could finally integrate with the rest of the world – that’s if someone doesn’t blow it up first.

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It’s hard to support everything Vladamir Putin does – he probably was involved in the attack in Salisbury. If not, there are lots of other violations of human rights we can point to. But he does have a lot support in Russia. To understand why, you need to understand the recent past, what Russia is trying to achieve and the role of foreign powers in distracting them from their path. Today on the Debunking Economics podcast, a quick history lesson of a country that has struggled through false theories and bad advice to arrive at a point where it could finally integrate with the rest of the world – that’s if someone doesn’t blow it up first.

In this podcast series Prof Steve Keen has repeatedly argued the importance of keeping an economy in surplus. But, Alex Howlett, a regular listener and Patreon supporter, asks why this might be. He suggests a trade deficit is a good thing, because it suggests companies overseas are willing to accept your currency. The more currency you generate, the more you can buy. To a point. Phil Dobbie asks Steve, what’s wrong with Alex’s hypothesis?

To hear the full version subscribe by picking a plan in the right column of the Debunking Economics website (not the mobile app). Or become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen

In this podcast series Prof Steve Keen has repeatedly argued the importance of keeping an economy in surplus. But, Alex Howlett, a regular listener and Patreon supporter, asks why this might be. He suggests a trade deficit is a good thing, because it suggests companies overseas are willing to accept your currency. The more currency you generate, the more you can buy. To a point. Phil Dobbie asks Steve, what’s wrong with Alex’s hypothesis?

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One of our podcast listeners, Arjen, asks the question, “Why don't you recommend a full-reserve banking system instead of fractional reserve? There would be much less debt in such a system and a smaller role for the central banks.” Phil Dobbie puts the question to Prof Steve Keen, and struggles to understand why the text book explanation of fractional reserve banking is wrong, wrong, wrong.

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One of our podcast listeners, Arjen, asks the question, “Why don't you recommend a full-reserve banking system instead of fractional reserve? There would be much less debt in such a system and a smaller role for the central banks.” Phil Dobbie puts the question to Prof Steve Keen, and struggles to understand why the text book explanation of fractional reserve banking is wrong, wrong, wrong.

To hear the full version subscribe by picking a plan in the right column of the Debunking Economics website (not the mobile app). Or become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen

We’ve talked a lot on the Debunking Economics podcast about how energy is the only real driver of an economy, so the performance of an economy is driven by the availability of the resource and how efficiently it is captured. Phil Dobbie asks Professor Steve Keen if that means countries with the most energy resources should be the most effective producers of goods, with a healthy trade surplus. If that’s the case, why doesn’t Saudi Arabia make very much? And could nations embracing renewable energy efficiently become net exporters if their governments invested wisely?

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