Economic Development
September 23, 2020
#4 Political Economy Forum Podcast – The End of Capitalism?
https://soundcloud.com/political-economy-forum-at-university-of-washington/pe-forum-podcast-episode-5-the-end-of-capitalism In this episode, Professor Victor Menaldo and Nicolas Wittstock discuss what Capitalism is and isn’t, as well as its peculiar historical trajectory and the pathbreaking economic expansion experienced during the last 250 years. They also broach concerns over lackluster economic performance in industrialized economies today and deep skepticism about Capitalism’s ability to continue to…
September 16, 2020
#3 Political Economy Forum Podcast – On Science and Evidence-Based Policymaking
https://soundcloud.com/political-economy-forum-at-university-of-washington/on-science-and-evidence-based-policymaking This week, the founders and organizers of the UW Political Economy Forum discuss the importance of the scientific method to improve how policymakers make decisions. Professors Rachel Heath, James D. Long and Victor Menaldo discuss how scientific inquiry is conducted in political economy and public policy – the pitfalls of relying on intuition and…
September 15, 2020
What is Political Economy? Podcast Episode with Beatrice, James, Rachel & Victor
University of Washington Professors Rachel Heath, James Long, and Victor Menaldo discuss what Political Economy is and what it has to offer. Moderated by Beatrice Magistro: Click here
September 10, 2020
Ronald Coase’s Inimitable Contribution to Evidence Based Policy, By Victor Menaldo
Nobel Prize winning economist Ronald Coase’s 1960 piece, “The Problem of Social Cost”, is one of the most helpful ways to think about cost benefit analysis. It is therefore a pillar of evidence-based policy. Setting the Table: What is Evidence Based Policy? What is evidence-based policy? All public policy starts with a theory,…
August 29, 2020
Center Left Capitalism as the Key to Prosperity, By Victor Menaldo
Capitalism, in its modern form, is only about 250 years old and was ushered in during the industrial revolution. The advent of general-purpose technologies (GPT) transformed the scale of production and put productivity on an exponential growth path for the first time in human history. This ended the Malthusian Trap whereby increased economic productivity engendered…
August 6, 2020
A Tale of TikTok and Tariffs – US Technology Policy towards China – By Victor Menaldo and Nicolas Wittstock
As China has become a more assertive international actor, US calls for active industrial policy to counter growing Chinese technological capabilities have grown. Allegedly, China’s technology companies are undermining US companies and hurt the US economy. Often “forced technology transfer” is invoked to justify the recent escalation in anti-Chinese technology policy. Yet, we argue…
August 5, 2020
Is Avocado Demand Driving Cartel Violence? By Megan Erickson and Lucas Owen
Has the growth of the avocado industry caused a surge in violence among Mexican Drug cartels? While the conventional wisdom in the media is that it has, a shibboleth avocado farmers themselves tend to concur with, our research suggests differently. In the last ten years, the demand for avocados has grown rapidly. Conscious of…
July 13, 2020
The Perils of Economic Populism, by Beatrice Magistro & Victor Menaldo
Argentina has cycled between populist democracies and military dictatorships over its modern history. This has catalyzed countless economic crises and catastrophes. The same is true of other Latin American countries. By contrast, Europe’s liberal democracies and the US have largely avoided this predicament, at least since World War II. That is, until now: Their political-economic…
July 9, 2020
Economic Growth and Increased Productivity is Only Half the Battle, By Taylor D.H. Rockhill
My career as an economist started nearly a decade ago, under the watchful eye of the inimitable Deirdre McCloskey. I still fondly remember reading her beautifully written, formidable Bourgeois trilogy and wondering: will I ever come close to attaining her seemingly bottomless well of knowledge? I highly recommend her Bourgeois books, Cult of Statistical Significance,…
July 8, 2020
The Economic, Political & Cultural Follies of Kicking Foreign Students Out, By Brian Ping Leung & Nick Wittstock
After the White House’s recent move to suspend the new issuance of several classes of visas, ICE published a Broadcast Message communicating that foreign students under F and M visas may not remain in the US if they exclusively take online classes in the Fall: “Students attending schools operating entirely online may not take…
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