The Rhodes Center Podcast with Mark Blyth

Rhodes Center
  • 5.0 (47)
  • EDUCACIÓN
The Rhodes Center Podcast with Mark Blyth

A podcast from the Rhodes Center for International Finance and Economics at the Watson Institute at Brown University. Hosted by political economist and director of the Rhodes Center, Mark Blyth.

  1. HACE 5 DÍAS

    Why we ran out of everything during the pandemic, and why it had less to do with the pandemic and more to do with the corporations that made us much more vulnerable to it

    Remember the supply chain problems of 2020 and 2021? The story we were told was that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the global economy's ability to make and transport goods of every type imaginable: Surgical masks. Car parts. Infant formula.  But as New York Times' global economic correspondent Peter Goodman explains in his new book, “How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain,” the story is more complicated than that.  On this episode, Goodman and Mark Blyth discuss how, over decades, consulting firms and shareholders built a system that drove up profits but imperiled our economy, ultimately making COVID-related supply shocks (and the inflation that followed) much worse than they needed to be. Furthermore, if Goodman is right, it’s only a matter of time before we risk running out of everything again. Transcript coming soon to our website Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts

    42 min

  2. 8 JUN

    The expulsion of politics? What the UK’s Office of Budget Responsibility tells us about the limits of technocracy

    When it comes to governing our economy, estimates rule the day. We want to know what effect a policy might have on the government’s budget, on economic growth, on employment…in the next 1 year, 5 years, 10 years…you get the idea. If you want to make (or critique) public policy, you better have numbers to back it up.  To get those types of estimates, economists and politicians often rely on institutions like the Office for Budget Responsibility in the UK, or the Congressional Budget Office in the United States. As a result, their estimates and fiscal projections form crucial data points in our modern politics and policymaking.  We like to think that these estimates and projections (not to mention, the people who make them) come from somewhere outside of our partisan politics. That while our values might be debatable, the numbers, at least, aren’t. But, as Mark Blyth’s guest on this episode explains: that idea is a fantasy, and to the extent it obscures the values and politics that are baked into organizations like the Office of Budget Responsibility, it’s a dangerous one.  On this episode, Mark Blyth talks with Ben Clift, author of “The Office for Budget Responsibility and the Politics of Technocratic Economic Governance.” In it, he pulls back the curtain on Britain's Office for Budget Responsibility, and reveals the hidden processes and ideologies that shape the estimates and projections that come out of it. In doing so, he shows how the OBR – and other institutions like it – are much more political than they appear.  Learn more about and purchase “The Office for Budget Responsibility and the Politics of Technocratic Economic Governance” Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts

    43 min

  3. 30 ABR

    Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy citizenship abroad

    When you think of high-end luxury commodities, you might imagine yachts, private jets, or even whole islands. But in the last few years, another commodity has started to receive a lot of attention from the world’s wealthiest people: citizenship.  With enough money, people can buy their way into becoming a citizen of a growing list of countries around the world. While this trend has garnered lots of attention in the last few years, as our guest on this episode explains, there’s so much more to the story than meets the eye.  Kristin Surak is a sociologist and author of the new book “The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires.” In it, she pulls back the curtain on this rarified luxury market — who’s buying, who’s selling, and the complex web of middlemen that make it all work.  On this episode, Mark Blyth talks with Surak about what might be called the “citizenship industrial complex”’ and what it says about our global economy.  Learn more about and purchase “The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires”Learn more about our other podcasts at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs

    35 min

  4. 25 MAR

    How asset managers came to own everything and you failed to notice

    Listeners of the Rhodes Center Podcast have probably heard of companies like Black Rock, State Street and Vanguard. You’ve also probably heard how, through ETFs and other investment products, these types of investment firms own a staggering share of the world’s biggest companies (20-25% of the S&P 500 by some estimates).  But in this episode, you’ll hear about a whole other side of asset management; one that’s more opaque, and possibly much more influential (and corrosive) to our daily lives.   Brett Christophers is a geographer and professor at Uppsala University’s Institute for Housing and Urban Research, and author of the new book “Our Lives in Their Portfolios: Why Asset Managers Own the World.” In it, he explains how asset management companies like Blackstone and Macquarie Asset Management do more than passively own shares. Over the last few decades, they've begun to invest in and actively run a growing portion of our infrastructure and essential services: hospitals, care homes, water treatment plants, bridges and even parking meters.  On this episode, he talks with Mark Blyth about the economics of this new subspecies of asset management, and how they’ve begun to reshape our society, economy and planet in ways we don’t fully understand.  Learn about and purchase “Our Lives in Their Portfolios: Why Asset Managers Own the World” Learn more about other podcasts from the Watson Institute at Brown University

    53 min
  5. The business side of fighting climate change

    08/12/2023

    The business side of fighting climate change

    On this podcast, you’ve heard from a range of experts about the policies and politics of decarbonization. But what does the fight against climate change look like from the business side? Sophie Purdom is the Founder and Managing Partner of Planeteer Capital, a venture capital fund that invests in early-stage climate technology companies. She also writes Climate Tech VC, an industry newsletter that goes deep into the business side of the green transition.  On this episode, Sophie Purdom talks with a special guest host for the Rhodes Center Podcast, political scientist and director of the Watson Institute’s Climate Solutions Lab Jeff Colgan. They talk about the world of “climate tech,” as it’s known in the startup community, how the industry started, where it’s going, and what it can teach us about the relationship between private enterprise and the global fight against climate change. Learn more about and subscribe to Sophie Purdom’s newsletter, Climate Tech VC Learn more about the Climate Solutions Lab at the Watson Institute Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts

    33 min
  6. An Immigrant Economist in the Land of Inequality: A Conversation with Sir Angus Deaton

    21/11/2023

    An Immigrant Economist in the Land of Inequality: A Conversation with Sir Angus Deaton

    In 2015, economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton published a paper that revealed something startling: an increase in mortality rates in the United States among white middle-aged men and women between the years of 1999 and 2013.  They published a book in 2020 that aimed to explain the trend, which they attributed to — among other factors — economic stagnation, social isolation, and the opioid crisis. The book, titled “Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism,”, caused a stir inside and outside the field of economics, as people tried to make sense of America’s economy and society in the Trump years.  On this episode, Rhodes Center Director Mark Blyth talks with Deaton about his newest book “Economics in America: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Inequality,” which takes a broader view of the issues brought up in “Deaths of Despair.” They explore the pervasiveness of inequality in America, how it relates to the “deaths of despair” phenomenon, and why the field of economics often seems blind to the most pressing issues facing individuals and communities. Learn more about and purchase “Economics in America: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Inequality” Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other award-winning podcasts

    32 min
  7. The new politics of growth and stagnation (part 3): houses, micro states, finance, carbon

    21/10/2023

    The new politics of growth and stagnation (part 3): houses, micro states, finance, carbon

    This is part three in our companion series to the book “Diminishing Returns: The New Politics of Growth and Stagnation” (co-edited by Mark Blyth, Lucio Baccaro and Jonas Pontusson).  On this episode, Mark talks with four contributors for the book: Alex Reisenbichler, Aidan Regan, Oddný Helgadóttir, and Jonas Nahm. They look at case studies in a handful of countries, as well as some of the cross-cutting trends affecting all growth models across the world. They explore the role of finance and politics in growth models, and how the climate crisis is making us rethink this all even further.  Learn more about and purchase “Diminishing Returns: The New Politics of Growth and Stagnation” Listen to part one of this series Listen to part two of this series Learn more about and listen to Watson’s other podcasts

    35 min
  8. The new politics of growth and stagnation (part 2): growth models at scale

    22/09/2023

    The new politics of growth and stagnation (part 2): growth models at scale

    This is part two in our companion series to the book “Diminishing Returns: The New Politics of Growth and Stagnation” (co-edited by Mark Blyth, Lucio Baccaro and Jonas Pontusson).  In part one (which, if you haven’t listened to, we’d recommend you go back and do), Mark and his guests discussed how growth models are almost like the business model for a country. But of course, countries don’t exist in isolation. They can rise and fall together, and operate as regional economies tied into wider global networks.  So…what do growth models look like at scale? How should we even think about them?  To explore this concept, Mark spoke with two contributors to the book. Jazmin Sierra is an assistant professor of political science at Notre Dame, whose work focuses on the political economy of Latin America. Alison Johnston is an associate professor of political science at Oregon State University, whose work focuses on the European Union.  Learn more about and purchase “Diminishing Returns: The New Politics of Growth and Stagnation” Listen to part one of this series Learn more about and listen to Watson’s other podcasts

    33 min
Ver todo (64)

5
de 5
47 calificaciones

Acerca de

A podcast from the Rhodes Center for International Finance and Economics at the Watson Institute at Brown University. Hosted by political economist and director of the Rhodes Center, Mark Blyth.

Información

También te podría interesar

Para escuchar episodios explícitos, inicia sesión.

Mantente al día con este programa

Inicia sesión o regístrate para seguir programas, guardar episodios y enterarte de las últimas novedades.
Elige un país o región

Africa, Oriente Medio e India

Asia-Pacífico

Europa

Latinoamérica y el Caribe

Estados Unidos y Canadá