Stephanomics

Why do so many Americans ignore their hip pocket? Portions of the country where citizens are increasingly dependent on government programs, like Kentucky, have become the most conservative. This transformation in the nation's economics and politics goes beyond Donald Trump; some of the most anti-government lawmakers come from Kentucky. Cornell University's Suzanne Mettler discusses this paradox with Scott Lanman of Bloomberg News and Daniel Moss of Bloomberg Opinion.   

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Turkey's currency plunged this month after President Donald Trump stepped up economic sanctions in a dispute over a detained pastor. It was already going downhill after the nation's leader vowed to shun the traditional playbook of dealing with soaring inflation. And global investors are spooked. Onur Ant, a reporter for Bloomberg in Turkey, discusses the situation and how we got here with Scott Lanman. Note: This episode was recorded on Tuesday, Aug. 14.

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Bitcoin was recently called a combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster by one of the world's leading authorities on finance and economics. But underneath that sensational description, cryptocurrencies are saddled with underlying technological flaws that will likely prevent them from living up to the hype or merely becoming a more commonly used currency. Hyun Song Shin, head of research at the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland, discusses the topic with Bloomberg News economics editor Scott Lanman.

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It's not tastebuds or the latest fetish at trendy health food stores that's driving the boom in bug gastronomy. Broad economic forces like climate change and population growth mean insects and grubs are appearing on more menus around the world. Bloomberg's Agnieszka de Sousa talks with Scott and Dan about how little critters can avert a food crisis, while Olympia Yarger talks about her bug-food startup. 

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President Donald Trump's trade war is hitting a wide variety of goods produced in America, and Alaska's fisheries are caught in the crossfire. The industry has become highly dependent on ties with China, thanks to shipments that head there for processing and are then exported again. How is a state that voted big for Trump and Republicans in 2016 coping with the threat to one of its most vital economic sectors? Alexa Tonkovich, executive director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, and Ralph Townsend, an economist at the University of Alaska Anchorage, discuss the issue with Scott Lanman and Reade Pickert of Bloomberg News.

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Trump's election wasn't a fluke. Nor are tariffs a passing fad. They reflect deep-seated trauma at the country's decline relative to China. So enraged and befuddled is the U.S. that it's a danger to itself, its closest allies and the global trading system, says former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr. A long-time lover of Americana and leader of the Chester A. Arthur Society, Carr is no crazy leftie. He tells Dan Moss of Bloomberg Opinion and Scott Lanman of Bloomberg News why he's just about given up on the U.S.   

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How many times have you heard India and China mentioned in the same breath? We may be looking at the South Asian giant all wrong. The best comparison might be with the robber-baron era in America, rather than China's state capitalism, says author James Crabtree. Crabtree explains to Dan and Scott what inspired his new book “The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India's New Gilded Age” and how India has become the financial powerhouse of world cricket.  

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Is a trade war or surging debt the biggest threat to China's economy? Try declining fertility. While the nation recently relaxed its one-child policy, such moves are unlikely to head off a projected plunge in population that will constrain the country in coming decades. In the second of a two-part episode on falling global fertility, Scott Lanman talks with Cai Yong, an expert in Chinese demographics at the University of North Carolina, about the challenges facing the world's second-biggest economy.

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Around the world, women are having far fewer children than they were 50 years ago. This decline in fertility threatens to cause falling populations in many countries, which weighs on economic growth because it means fewer workers who can produce goods and services. In the first of a two-part episode of Benchmark, Scott Lanman talks with Elizabeth Katkin, author of the new book "Conceivability," about why it's so hard for many couples to overcome struggles with fertility -- and how countries differ on their approach to the issue.

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The U.S. and China are on the verge of a trade war, one that President Donald Trump says will be easy to win. So how will it really impact China's economy? Is the nation's GDP really growing at an incredible 7 percent rate, or is it about to collapse from a mountain of debt and aging population? Jeff Kearns, a Bloomberg editor who just finished a three-year stint in Beijing, helps separate myth from fact with host Scott Lanman, himself a former China economy editor.

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