Economic Rockstar

By Frank Conway - Economics and Finance Lecturer - interviews Dan Ariely, DeirBusiness Education Investing

Economic Rockstar episodes

July 23, 2015042: Parviz Parvizi on Clammr, Coffee, Coase and the Economy of Iran
Parviz Parvizi is co-founder of Clammr, a mobile app and platform making audio more social and viral. Users are calling Clammr, which features snack-sized audio clips of 18 seconds or less, the “Instagram of Audio” and “Audio Twitter”.
Previously, Parviz worked at McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs, the Federal Communications Commission, and O’Melveny & Myers.
He has advised top 5 global media companies and mobile carriers on strategy and growth. He was a founder of McKinsey’s iConsumer research initiative on digital consumer behavior, authoring 3 of the Firm’s 10 most-downloaded media sector knowledge documents.
Parviz was a Olin Law & Economics Fellow at Yale Law School. At Cornell he majored in economics and served as President of the Cornell Economics Society while an undergraduate.

Parviz holds a JD from Yale Law School and AB from Cornell.
Find Out:
about Clammr, the amazingly new app that shares an18-secondaudio clip just like an audio tweet.
about Parviz Parvizi’s journey from Iran to the US.
how Parviz Parvizi got his name.
about the motivation behind the creation of Clammr and how Parviz and his co-founder solved a problem.
how Clammr was built up from the beginning at zero cost.
what Clammr found out about podcasting.
the difficulties of growing and monetising a podcast and how Clammr is helping podcasters to solve these challenges.
about the social aspect of Clammr and how you can share audio snippets to your friends, colleagues and audience.
if Clammr will adopt a monetization model similar to YouTube.
how Clammr’s ‘Hear More’ button can potentially lead to a paid transaction for users.
about the opportunities that exist for users of Clammr in the education sector.
how teachers can use Clammr in assessments and how students can collaborate to give their audio response in a mashup-like answer.
how Clammr could be the new route for a musician to become known, just like the way Justin Bieber made it using YouTube.
and much more. Subscribe on iTunes and get access to all episodes of Economic Rockstar.
To find all the links mentioned in this episode with Parviz, visit www.economicrockstar.com/parvizparvizi
53 min
July 16, 2015041: Dermot Hayes on Comparative Advantage, Feeding the Chinese and the Malthusian Catastrophe
Dermot Hayes is the Pioneer Chair of Agribusiness, professor of economics, and professor of finance at Iowa State University. He heads the Trade and Agricultural Policy Division at CARD, a position he also held from 1990 through 1998.

He is co-director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, a research center dually administered through the Centre for Agricultural and Rural Development or CARD at Iowa State and at the University of Missouri at Columbia. He is also a leader of the Policy Task Force of the Plant Science Institute at Iowa State.

A native of the Republic of Ireland, Dermot obtained his degree in agriculture science from the University College in Dublin and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley with a major in international trade.

Dermot has distinguished himself with many awards at the college and university levels for his work as a teacher and researcher.

In 2006 he received a "Publication of Enduring Quality" award from the American Agricultural Economics Association, who subsequently named him a Fellow in 2007.

Besides his analysis of U.S. farm policy and international agricultural trade, Dermot’s other research interests include food safety, livestock modeling, demand analysis, and commodity markets.

Find out:
how China is finding ways to feed its people and how self-sufficiency no longer works.
about China’s ever-increasing demands for soybeans, sugar, wine, etc and how this is putting demands on the global agricultural industry.
how Ireland lost its comparative advantage in milk production by joining the EU.
about Kerrygold Irish grass-fed butter and Bullet-proof coffee.
why Kerry Group are only ‘scratching the surface’ in the US market.
what high-value, labor-intensive products China should concentrate on producing in order to feed their population and trade with other countries.
about if the Chinese government owns much of the land and property rights in China.
‘terminator seeds’ and how private companies could be incentivised to manufacture them.
about the use of beta agonists, such as ractopomine, in the use of animal food production.
and much, much more.
Subscribe on iTunes and never miss an episode. Check out the shownotes page at www.economicrockstar.com/dermothayes
40 min
July 09, 2015040: Rebecca Harding on Trade Finance and How Delta Economics Can Help Identify Growth Opportunities World-wide
Dr Rebecca Harding, CEO of Delta Economics, is an independent economist with an extensive background in modelling economic growth, trade, productivity, innovation and enterprise.
Rebecca is the author of nine books and has written over 250 articles on economic issues. She has held senior positions in leading academic, think-tank and corporate organisations, including roles at the London Business School, Deloitte and the Work Foundation.
Rebecca has advised the European Union and regional governments and agencies in the UK and Germany on innovation and enterprise policy.
Rebecca is a Board Member of the Society of Business Economists and a Board Member and Trustee of the German British Forum. In 2013, she was elected as a national representative of the European Movement UK.
Rebecca holds a BA in Economics and German and an MSc and PhD in the economics of Science and Innovation from the University of Sussex and writes on her blog rebeccanomics.com.
Find Out:
about Dr Harding’s company DeltaEconomics.
about the data used by DeltaEconomics and why it has developed its database of statistics.
what is Trade Finance and how it has experienced phenomenal growth in recent years.
how companies bridge the finance gap between the time they export goods to the time they receive payment.
what the challenges are with long-term growth in trade.
if there are inherent risks associated with the trade finance market as more sophisticated derivative and credit markets emerge.
about the inherent risks that may appear in the derivatives markets for trade finance.
if a market collapse could be the outcome of a non-compliant and unregulated trade finance securities market.
if could an implosion in trade finance is possible with large defaults in payments due mainly to the development of a derivatives and securities market.
if sovereign risk will become prominent if trade finance risk increases.
if enough data exists for trade finance to allow it to mature into a fully functioning wholesale and derivatives market.
and much, much more.
Visit the shownotes page for all the links mentioned in this episode:
www.economicrockstar.com/rebeccaharding
Subscribe to the Economic Rockstar podcast on iTunes and never miss an episode.
Thanks for listening!
45 min
July 02, 2015039: David Zetland on Aguanomics, Water Scarcity, Water Wars and ‘Toilet-to-Tap’
David Zetland is an assistant professor at Leiden University College, where he teaches various classes on economics.
David was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Natural Resource Economics and Political Economy at UC Berkeley (2008-2010) and a Senior Water Economist at Wageningen University (2011-2013).
David blogs on water, economics and politics at aguanomics.com and gives many talks to public, professional and academic audiences.
David has two books The End of Abundance: economic solutions to water scarcity (2011) and Living with Water Scarcity (2014).
He received his PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from UC Davis in 2008.
Find out:
if we should be worried more about a shortage of water or a scarcity of water.
if we should learn from the oil industry and develop the technology-equivalent of extracting oil from oil sands and desalinate the ocean water?
if we can tell whether we know the water footprint of a cow and if it’s different in California than Ireland.
why water is actually free and what you pay is for the delivery.
if there is an opportunity costs to acquiring water?
why people living in the slums of India pay up to 50 times the price for water than those who have cheaper piped water.
if a water monopoly is an effective market structure.
if price competition in the market for water would result in the over-use of water consumption.
about the water-diamond paradox.
why David decided to do a PhD in economics after failing to get rich in the dotcom era.
how David came to get his family name ‘Zetland’.
about the coming ‘Water Wars’ and how it has already started.
about Sao Paulo’s troubled water situation and how it’s creating water gang warfare on the streets.
who we should assign the property rights to water.
what David proposes to be the most effective way of managing water.
how Singapore are becoming independent in creating their supply of water and are no longer depending on imports fro Malaysia.
how Singapore are building technologies to recycle water from waste.
why the ‘toilet-to-tap’ water recycling initiative has failed in the US but is working in Singapore.
and much much more.
Check out the shownotes page at www.economicrockstar.com/davidzetland
Subscribe on iTunes and never miss an episode.
51 min
June 25, 2015038: Leah Bell on Being an Angry Grad and Setting Yourself Up for a Life of Success
Leah Bell spent tens of thousands of dollars on a college education for a degree in Education with the same hope of getting a job one day. After struggling to find a teaching job as an Elementary school teacher, Leah had to work at a minimum part-time job to supplement her teaching salary. However, the school closed and she lost her job. Leah took on a job related to sales. But after a few years she realized that she wanted nothing more than to stay at home with her son. But with student debt and rising prices, it was extremely difficult on one income.

Leah Bell learned the most about life, not in the classrooms of the colleges she attended, but in the years following. After realizing the struggle in the job market, the difficulty of paying off student loans, and the heartbreak of sacrificing priceless time with family to meet financial needs, she and her husband have devoted their lives to sparing people of this depressing fate through their company Neotrep™, providing entrepreneurs with affordable education and tools to succeed. She recently wrote the book The Angry Grad to help prospective students and recent graduates choose the route of entrepreneurship instead of the unstable job world.
Find Out:
what is the average student debt?
how a college degree is different today than it was just two or three decades ago.
why it’s so difficult for college graduates to find jobs and pay back their student loans.
how the future will look if we continue teaching young people that debt is the only way to afford a house, a car and an education.
what other options are there for people who are considering an education.
how debt is not the only way to get through college.
if we are paying more for college than we can hope to get back.
if it’s still worth taking on so much debt to get a degree.
if we’re living in a school loan debt bubble.
what we can do about all this?
and much, much more.
Never miss an episode and subscribe on iTunes or check out the shownotes to this episode at www.economicrockstar.com/leahbell
53 min
June 18, 2015037: Noah Smith on Austrian Theory Being a 'Bad Joke', Heterodox Models and Efficient Markets
Noah Smith is Assistant Professor of Finance at Stony Brook University, New York where he is also a member of the Center for Behavioral Finance research team.
Noah’s research Interests include Experimental Finance, Behavioral Finance and Macroeconomics.
Noah was panel discussant for the Institute for New Economic Thinking Task Force and has received numerous research awards and fellowships.
Noah is a regular contributor to Bloomberg View where he writes extensively on economics and finance related topics.
He also writes at his fantastic economics blog Noahpinion.
Noah received his PhD in economics from the University of Michigan, graduating in 2012. His dissertation examined expectation formation in financial markets.

Noah majored in physics as an undergraduate at Stanford University, and spent three years working in Japan, where he still returns from time to time to do research.
Find out:
whether economists suffer from ‘Physics Envy’.
if we should remove mathematics from economics.
how math took over economics.
if there is a connection between economics and physics.
how economics is becoming a more data-driven field.
about the micro foundations to macro theory and why these models don’t work.
why theory and math-focused economics papers are waning in the academic publishing field.
how to approach teaching micro and macro when the theoretical models may not explain much.
about whether Economics is moving away from the orthodox method of teaching toward a heterodox method.
about the difference between Heterodox and Orthodox Teaching in Economics.
why Noah considers Austrian Economics to be a bad joke.
where Noah falls within the economic spectrum.
why Noah believes that heterodox economics is not the future.
Noah’s recommended economics blogs to follow.
why the Efficient Market Hypothesis is a good starting model for finance students to understand.
and much, much more.
Check out the shownotes page and all the links, books and blogs mentioned in this episode at www.economicrockstar.com/noahsmith
48 min
June 11, 2015036: Jason Shogren on Music and Endogenous Risk and Rationality in the Environmental Goods Market
Jason Shogren is the Stroock Professor of Natural Resource Conservation and Management and Chair of the Department of Economics and Finance at the University of Wyoming.
Professor Shogren’s background and research interests include the economics of environmental and natural resource policy, experimental methods; endangered species; invasive species; climate change; agricultural and forest management; energy; health; regulation; and paleoeconomics.
Jason served as professor to Sweden’s King Carl Gustaf XVI in 2012 and is a 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner (shared with Al Gore) as a member of the United Nations team working on climate change.
He has also served as a senior economist on the Council of Economic Advisers in the White House under the Clinton Administration.

Jason loves fishing and music. He spends his time composing acoustic roots songs that he describes as catawampus American music, has five albums and will be touring this summer.
Find Out:
about the Cap and Trade Market for carbon emissions is a failure and would only work in a micro-management setting.
why its best to implement a carbon tax.
the difference between luxury emissions and survival emissions and why it maybe difficult for China and India to reduce their carbon.
how Jason’s depiction of a low probability-high severity event influenced Janet Yellen to take action on climate change.
if we are acting rationally or irrationally toward the environment.
how we can exploit rationality ‘for the good’.
how, over the last 30 years, we have become averse to just about everything.
how we can take advantage of peoples’ status quo to increase their contribution of paying a carbon tax.
how designing the right system can nudge people to do the right thing - just like soft paternalism.
how Jason sought inspiration about rationality from other disciplines, such as English literature and music composition, rather than from economics.
how Jason uses music as a form of escapism.
about the concerts that Jason Shogren will be playing at each year.
about Jason’s hitch-hiking experience in Ireland in 1985 from the Giants Causeway and down along the West Coast (now known as the Wild Atlantic Way).
about Jason theoretical thought process regarding endogenous risk and how he applies it to different environmental risks.
and much, much more. To access the shownotes to this episode visit: www.economicrockstar.com/jasonshogren
Subscribe to the Economic Rockstar podcast on iTunes and never miss an episode.
1 hr 4 min
June 04, 2015035: Stephen Young on Being Car Free and the Behavioural Economics of Owning A Car
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.
50 min
May 28, 2015034: David Simon on Meatonomics and How the Meat and Dairy Industry Impose Substantial Negative Externalities on Society
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
Subscribe on iTunes and never miss an episode.
44 min
May 21, 2015033: Abdullah Al-Bahrani on the Economy of Oman and How Racial Discrimination Empowered Him to Succeed in Life and in Economics.
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
Subscribe on iTunes and never miss an episode.
49 min

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Economic Rockstar is created for you, the economist, financial analyst, teacher or student. If you are looking to expand your knowledge or awareness, Frank Conway delivers the information you just…

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Economic Rockstar

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