#7: Understanding the macroeconomy - Prof. Stephen Kinsella (UL)

At The Margin

In this episode, I am joined by Prof. Stephen Kinsella of the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick. Stephen has turned his hand to many topics, most notably applying novel method to the task of understanding the macroeconomy.

It has been said that the economic crisis was a crisis for macroeconomics. We probe elements of this statement in this episode. We begin by discussing what economists mean by macroeconomics and the history of macroeconomic model development. We discuss some of the simplifications required given technical constraints and how these have been gradually overcome as technology has developed. We discuss some of the novel approaches taken by Stephen and his team in an effort to further develop this field.

We discuss the importance of thinking about globalisation from different perspectives - geographers, anthropologists and political scientists have important things to say about the macroeconomy. This is an especially pertinent field of enquiry given the current political climate. We wrap up by discussing the importance of interpersonal linkages in understanding economic impacts - how important are personal relationships and interactions in determining economic performance?

Thank you to Stephen for offering his time.

And thank you to everyone who has sent good wishes and provided such overwhelmingly positive feedback over the past few weeks. There are 2, maybe 3, more episodes left in this first series and I really want to get as many listeners on board as possible before it draws to a close. So if you have friends colleagues who may be interested, or if you are at school or college – please, please mention the podcast.

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