econ

Professor Ricardo Hausmann, Director of the Center for International Development here at Harvard Kennedy School, explains how measuring a country's know-how can create a remarkably accurate picture of future economic opportunity and expansion. He also discusses the Atlas of Economic Complexity, a website that allows anyone to explore graphic representations of the "product space" in countries around the world.

Ricardo Hausmann on the Atlas of Economic Complexity | PolicyCast

Economics Rules by  Dani Rodrik on Audible:
http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B0147QL8ZS&source_code=AUDORWS0821159EOM


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Summary:
   

Rethinking economics, from the inside out. In the wake of the financial crisis and the Great Recession, economics seems anything but a science. In this sharp, masterfully argued book, Dani Rodrik, a leading critic from within, takes a close look at economics to examine when it falls short and when it works, to give a surprisingly upbeat account of the discipline. Drawing on the history of the field and his deep experience as a practitioner, Rodrik argues that economics can be a powerful tool that improves the world - but only when economists abandon universal theories and focus on getting the context right.

Economics Rules argues that the discipline's much-derided mathematical models are its true strength. Models are the tools that make economics a science. Too often, however, economists mistake a model for the model that applies everywhere and at all times. In six chapters that trace his discipline from Adam Smith to present-day work on globalization, Rodrik shows how diverse situations call for different models. Each model tells a partial story about how the world works. These stories offer wide-ranging, and sometimes contradictory, lessons - just as children's fables offer diverse morals.

Whether the question concerns the rise of global inequality, the consequences of free trade, or the value of deficit spending, Rodrik explains how using the right models can deliver valuable new insights about social reality and public policy. Beyond the science, economics requires the craft to apply suitable models to the context. The 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers challenged many economists' deepest assumptions about free markets. Rodrik reveals that economists' model toolkit is much richer than these free-market models. With pragmatic model selection, economists can develop successful antipoverty programs in Mexico, growth strategies in Africa, and intelligent remedies for domestic inequality. At once a forceful critique and defense of the discipline, Economics Rules charts a path toward a more humble but more effective science. 

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Economics Rules by Dani Rodrik, Narrated by James Conlan

Matt Giroveanu, Rachel Bouton, and Kiki Mikkelson improvise a love song in Vern’s Audible special, "A Very Improvised Holiday Musical".  The prompt for the special was to create a new holiday on the spot, and the live audience chose “pickles” as the celebratory food, “periwinkle and maroon” as the holiday’s colors, and “the poop emoji” as the sacred symbol (Oh, millennials). But the resulting musical is surprisingly sweet.
 
Listen to the FULL holiday special on Audible: http://tinyurl.com/VernSpecial

Listen on Audible

A Very Improvised Holiday Musical (Teaser Clip)

Exclusively on Audible, an original audio documentary narrated by award-winning actress Mary-Louise Parker.

It’s always hard to make the crowd laugh — especially when joking about war, PTSD, and mental health. Strong Ending follows three military veterans as they attempt to turn their most painful stories into laughs by participating in a stand-up comedy boot camp.

After joining the military, deploying to combat zones, and coming home fundamentally changed, Michael Garvey, Isaura Ramirez, and Patrick Harth challenge themselves to share their stories on stage and perform original stand up-comedy about their experiences for a packed house.

Narrated by Emmy and Tony award-winning actress Mary-Louise Parker and featuring interviews with professional comedians Rob Riggle (The Daily Show, The Hangover) and Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite, Arrested Development), Strong Ending explores the science behind the healing power of laughter and the role of military-comedies in popular culture.

Is laughter really the best medicine? Listen to find out: Audible.com/StrongEnding

Strong Ending  - Maria Bamford on Mental Health & Comedy (clip)

Strong Ending - Rob Riggle On Comedy (clip)

Featuring Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, Eliza Skinner.

In this scene excerpt from a live cast reading, alien commander 9-Krelblax orders his navigator, Zzarvon, to set a course for the Big Dipper but things get off track pretty quickly.

Download and listen to the full Audible Original, "The Pole Vault Championship of the Entire Universe", at Audible.com/PoleVault!

The Pole Vault Championship - Live from SF Sketchfest - Navigating the Stars

6. I Wish I Was Sober (Kevin Devine & Julien Baker)

5. 400 Bones (Kevin Devine)

When you want to get a better job or achieve personal development, you might choose to increase your skills. This might mean learning something new, or acquiring more education. It's the same with countries, if they want to climb up the ladder of development, they need to develop their capacity, or "capabilities," says top economist Ricardo Hausmann.

How to Become Capable of Growth

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Economics Rules by Dani Rodrik, Narrated by James Conlan

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