Nobel Prize laureate Joe Stiglitz is on Econtalk this week:
Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in his recent book, The Price of Inequality. Stiglitz argues that the American economy is dysfunctional, benefitting only those at the very top while the bulk of the workforce sees little or no gain in their standard of living over recent decades. Stiglitz blames this result on deregulation and the political power of the financial sector and others at the top. He wants an increase in regulation and the role of government in the economy and a more transparent Federal Reserve Bank that he blames for coddling the financial sector. The conversation also includes a discussion of the Keynesian multiplier.
A fascinating discussion, made more so since the host of the show (Russ Roberts) holds substantially different views from Stiglitz, yet doesn’t turn the show into a Keynesian/Neo-Classical showdown. The site allows for both streaming and downloading the podcast (the interview’s over an hour long), and if you have even less time, a transcript of the highlights is also available at the bottom of the page.
Personally, I think Stiglitz is a little too quick to dismiss the capabilities of monetary policy, though he makes a relevant point about regulatory “capture”.
The book is currently available at Kinokuniya in KLCC (sorry, MPH doesn’t appear to carry it). Alternatively, you might want to try Amazon.
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It should be a balance between market economy and keynesian. Too much government intervention will stifle the market, but again market tends to be lack of self-discipline given liberty to take any direction it likes.
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