Freakonomics Radio
A lot of jobs in the modern economy don’t pay a living wage, and some of those jobs may be wiped out by new technologies. So what’s to be done? We revisit an episode from 2016 for a potential solution.
- SOURCES:
- Erik Brynjolfsson, professor of economics at Stanford University.
- Evelyn Forget, professor of economics and community health sciences at the University of Manitoba.
- Sam Altman, C.E.O. of OpenAI.
- Robert Gordon, professor emeritus of economics at Northwestern University.
- Greger Larson, professor of archeology at the University of Oxford.
- RESOURCES:
- “Here’s what a Sam Altman-backed basic income experiment found,” by Megan Cerullo (CBS News, 2024).
- Utopia for Realists, by Rutger Bregman. The Correspondent (2016).
- The Second Machine Age, by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee (2014).
- “The Town With No Poverty: Using Health Administration Data To Revisit Outcomes of a Canadian Guaranteed Annual Income Field Experiment,” by Evelyn Forget (Canadian Public Policy, 2011).
- “The Negative Income Tax and the Evolution of U.S. Welfare Policy,” by Robert Moffitt (Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2003).
- Capitalism and Freedom, by Milton Freidman (2002).
- “Lesson from the Income Maintenance Experiments,” (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and The Brookings Institution, 1986).
- Law, Legislation and Liberty, Volume 3: The Political Order of A Free People, by Frederick Hayek (1981).
- “Daniel Moynihan and President-elect Nixon: How charity didn’t begin at home,” by Peter Passell and Leonard Ross (New York Times, 1973).
- “Income Maintenance Programs,” (Hearings Before The Subcommittee On Fiscal Policy Of The Joint Economic Committee Congress Of The United States, 1968).
- EXTRAS:
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
543. How to Return Stolen Art
Museums are purging their collections of looted treasures. Can they also get something in return? And what does it mean to be a museum in the 21st century? (Part 3 of “Stealing Art Is Easy.…
542. Is a Museum Just a Trophy Case?
The world’s great museums are full of art and artifacts that were plundered during an era when plunder was the norm. Now there’s a push to return these works to their rightful owners. Sounds simple,…
541. The Case of the $4 Million Gold Coffin
How did a freshly looted Egyptian antiquity end up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art? Why did it take Kim Kardashian to crack the case? And how much of what you see in any museum…
Why Your Projects Are Always Late — and What to Do About It (Ep. 323 Replay)
Whether it’s a giant infrastructure plan or a humble kitchen renovation, it’ll inevitably take way too long and cost way too much. That’s because you suffer from “the planning fallacy.” (You also have an “optimism…
540. Swearing Is More Important Than You Think
Every language has its taboo words (which many people use all the time). But the list of forbidden words is always changing — and those changes tell us some surprising things about ourselves. Note: The…
539. Why Does One Tiny State Set the Rules for Everyone?
Delaware is beloved by corporations, bankruptcy lawyers, tax avoiders, and money launderers. Critics say the Delaware “franchise” is undemocratic and corrupt. Insiders say it’s wildly efficient. We say: they’re both right.
538. A Radically Simple Way to Boost a Neighborhood
Many companies say they want to create more opportunities for Black Americans. One company is doing something concrete about it. We visit the South Side of Chicago to see how it’s working out.
How to Hate Taxes a Little Bit Less (Ep. 400 Replay)
Every year, Americans short the I.R.S. nearly half a trillion dollars. Most ideas to increase compliance are more stick than carrot — scary letters, audits, and penalties. But what if we gave taxpayers a chance…
537. “Insurance Is Sexy.” Discuss.
In this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, the economist Amy Finkelstein explains why insurance markets are broken and how to fix them. Also: why can’t you buy divorce insurance?
Why Are There So Many Bad Bosses? (Ep. 495 Replay)
People who are good at their jobs routinely get promoted into bigger jobs they’re bad at. We explain why firms keep producing incompetent managers — and why that’s unlikely to change.
