The Great Antidote

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What does it mean for something to be ESG when two of those words are adjectives and one is a noun? I mean think about it. “Environmental, social, and governance” doesn’t really describe anything. It’s also a good example of cacophony. So can someone please explain what it means? 

Today, luckily, Paul Mueller, senior research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, comes to my rescue. He explains what ESG means and how it relates to CSR (corporate social responsibility, ESG’s more comprehensible predecessor). He answers a question that’s been plaguing me forever, which is, why are free marketeers generally against these types of movements, even though they are private endeavors?

Want to explore more?

• Paul Mueller, A Short Guide to ESG, at AIER.
• Paul Mueller, ESG Puppeteers, at AIER.
• Dwight R. Lee, Corporate Social Responsibility: The Seen and the Unseen, at Econlib.
• David Henderson, ESG Feeds Inflation, Hurts Economic Growth, at Econlib.
• Read the entry on Corporate Governance in the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. 

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What’s in a price? Good question. How can you be “enslaved” to something like a price, to something that doesn’t eat, sleep, or breathe? Good question. What does it mean to wage a war against this inanimate enslaver? Good question. 

Join me today with Ryan Bourne, the R. Evan Scharf Chair for the Public Understanding of Economics at the Cato institute. Bourne paints a picture of a bloodless yet economically catastrophic war. It's one which leaves us vulnerable as the weapons of the market (dollars) diminish in our pockets (inflation) and the state of war (price controls) depletes the quality and quantity of our conquests (market interactions) until they are vastly inferior to the opposition’s (free markets).

Want to explore more?

• Russ Roberts, Where Do Prices Come From? at Econlib.
• Michael L. Davis, Price Gouging is Fine, but Humans are Better, at Econlib.
• Michael Munger on John Locke, Prices, and Hurricane Sandy, an EconTalk podcast.
• Rosolino Candela, Can Price Controls Fight Inflation? at Econlib.
• Michael Cannon on Prices and Health, a Great Antidote podcast.

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Michael Cannon is the Cato Institute’s director of health policy studies and it is his third time on the podcast. He has been on The Washingtonian’s list of most influential people for four years in a row. 

Today, we talk about why people think the American healthcare system is “free market” and the role of prices in determining health outcomes--- and how unfettered markets improve the lives of everyone in need of healthcare. He tells us about the ways government intervention, like patchwork, distorts and attempts to undistort prices, and how it leaves us all worse off. He leaves us with a bit of hope though, so tune in for a sunbeam of optimism in the thundering sky of our health policy landscape!

Want to explore more?

• Michael Cannon on Medicare, a Great Antidote podcast.
• Michael Cannon on Employer-Sponsored Healthcare, a Great Antidote podcast.
• Keith Smith on Free Market Healthcare, an EconTalk podcast.
  • Explore all the EconTalk episodes on healthcare. There are a lot! 
• Richard McKenzie and Katherine Shelton, How Free-Market Kidney Sales Can Save Lives- and Lower the Total Cost of Kidney Transplants, at Econlib.

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Charles Noussair is the Eller Professor of Economics at the University of Arizona and the Director of the Economic Science Laboratory. He also serves as the President of the Economic Science Association. Today, we talk about experimental economics, how it complements other types of economic research, and how economic experiments are conducted. He tells us about a recent macro experiment that tests institutions for growth and welfare, such as electoral systems, political speech, and corruption. He explains the difference between extractive and inclusive economic institutions. Finally, he explains how experimental economics applies to everyone’s lives, not just to economists.

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Sandra Peart is a Distinguished Professor of Leadership Studies and the President of the Jepson Scholars Foundation at the University of Richmond, as well as a coauthor of Towards an Economics of Natural Equals: A Documentary History of the Early Virginia School, with David Levy. She is also a distinguished fellow of the history of economics society.

Today we talk about the importance of humility in discussing important ideas in addition to the importance of asking the right questions, ethical questions. She leads us through the intellectual landscape of the 60s, post World War II, and the birth of the Virginia School of Economics, which was intent on asking important questions about humanity and the nature of equality. We talk about James Buchanan, Warren Nutter, Gordon Tullock, and their influences such as Adam Smith and Frank Knight. We talk about how public choice and experimental economics both critique and improve the field of economics.

Want to explore more?

• Sandra Peart and David Levy, The Secret History of the Dismal Science, a five part series at Econlib.
• Reassessing the Political Economy of John Stuart Mill, a Liberty Matters Forum at the Online Library of Liberty.
• Vernon Smith on Experimental Economics, the Nobel Prize, and Life, a Great Antidote podcast.
• Vernon Smith on Adam Smith and the Human Enterprise, an EconTalk podcast.
• Alexandra Hudson on The Soul of Civility, an EconTalk podcast.
• Peter Boettke on Mainline Economics, a Great Antidote podcast.

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Daniel Di Martino is a PhD candidate in Economics at Columbia University and a graduate fellow at the Manhattan Institute—where he focuses on high-skill immigration policy. He also founded the Dissident Project to teach high school students about the evils of socialist regimes.

Today we talk about his life in Venezuela and the economic realities he faced growing up, particularly inflation and shortages. He explains how poor institutions, even democratically elected ones, can turn a trusting and prosperous society into a mistrusting and thieving one. (Watch out ladies, they’ll even steal the hair from your head). We talk about the incentives involved in immigration policy and the immigration situation in places like New York City and Miami today.


Want to explore more?

• Bruce Bueno de Mesquita on Democracies and Dictatorship, an EconTalk podcast.
• Simeon Djankov and Matt Warner on the Doing Business Report and Development Aid, an EconTalk podcast.
• Jim Epstein on Bitcoin, the Blockchain, and Freedom in Latin America, an EconTalk podcast.
• Edward Lopez, Socialism From the Bottom Up, a review of Powell and Lawson's Socialism Sucks, at Econlib.
• Stan Veuger on the Dutch Farmer Protests and Cannabis Legalization, a Great Antidote podcast. 

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Anne Bradley is an economics professor at the Institute of World Politics and the Vice President of Academic Affairs at The Fund for American Studies. Today, we talk about the political economy of terrorism: what terrorism is, what makes a terrorist, and what the war on terror does to attempt to prevent terrorism. We talk about how economics is uniquely positioned to pose questions and find answers about this area usually dominated by those studying defense and international relations, and how the human element of economics informs her framing of the issue.


Want to explore more?

• Anne Rathbone Bradley, The Economics of al-Qaeda, at Econlib.
• Gary Shiffman on the Economics of Violence, an EconTalk podcast.
• Robert P. Murphy, Ensuring- and Insuring- Air Security, at Econlib.
• Chris Coyne on Manufacturing Militarism, a Great Antidote podcast.
• Kristi Kendall on Human Action and Inspiring Through Ideas, a Great Antidote podcast.

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Craig Richardson is a professor of economics at Winston-Salem State University, and the director of the Center for the Study of Economic Mobility there. Today, we talk about a ton of things, from a breakdown of compelling narratives to magic. He tells us why Elizabeth Warren is more interesting to listen to than economists, although she doesn’t understand economics as well as economists do. We talk about the importance of relationships and trust in society, from multinational corporations and small towns to the communication of big ideas. We talk about the lack of awe and magic in economics and communication, and he explains why bringing back the *wow* factor will help us personally and professionally.

Want to explore more?

• Bob Ewing on Communicating Well, a Great Antidote podcast.
• Kristi Kendall on Human Action and Inspiring Through Ideas, a Great Antidote podcast.
• Mike Munger on Profits, Entrepreneurship, and Storytelling, an EconTalk podcast.
• Frank Rose on Internet Narratives, an EconTalk podcast.
• Mikayla Novak, Liberty Tours: Why Tourism Matters to Liberty, at Econlib.
• Craig Richardson, Cuba's Dreams and Economic Reality, at Econlib.

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Dan Klein is a professor of economics at George Mason University. Today, He talks to us about another of Smith’s great ideas: self-command. We discuss what the difference between command and control is, and how its important in today’s society. He describes the prideful man and the vain man, including details such as their reactions to unwanted estimation (usually bad, not valuing them as they value themselves or want you to value them). We discuss whether Adam Smith is a reason-oriented philosopher. This episode is jam-packed, so check it out! 

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Katherine Mangu-Ward is the editor-in-chief of Reason: the Magazine for Free Minds and Free Markets. Today, we talk about what it is like to be an editor-in-chief and what that job description actually entails. She talks to us about the recent AI issue of Reason, in which they grapple with the big questions regarding the future of AI, what the valid concerns are, and what the less valid concerns are. We talk about how "tech bros" are responding to AI fears and whether being optimistic for the future has a place in this discussion. 

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