A Conversation on the Economy with Joe Stiglitz and Paul Krugman

What do you get when you put two of the most well known and most widely cited economists in the world, both Nobel laureates, on stage together? A healthy dose of economic reality.

That's what happened Tuesday night at the Fashion Institute of Technology's Haft Auditorium in New York City at an INET-sponsored event featuring Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz in a "Conversation on the State of the Economy," moderated by INET Executive Director Rob Johnson.

[cmp]

Nobody is going to mention the fact that this video is almost 10 years old with this amazing quality? Big applause.

[RalfLippold]

Amazing, just speechless, that the Fashion Institute of Technology has been the initiator of this great conversation. #EconomicInsights

[woodwardlj]

I think this is Paul Giamatti's finest ever performance. His Krugman is a masterclass!

[joseph]

That was a good lecture. These guys need to be on TV more so others and see some truth in our economic system.

[albertedward]

Wonderfully stimulating conversation. I'm British, living in poor old Portugal and have been a regular visitor to the US as well as countries around Europe. These blokes are talking what used to be the received economic wisdom...how did we let the ground get shifted to allow the present shambles?Let's shift it back.please.

[brandonholt-smith]

Sound money, and a little bit of freedom will take us much farther than anything these two can create.

[dylan]

Correction, they ARE NOT NOBEL LAUREATES. Do the research. The economics prize was created by the Sweden Central Bank, 75 years after the Nobels were created.

[sfjeff]

Paul Krugman makes some good points on the effects of free trade on wealth inequality, but I offer the following considerations. 1) People make much of the deficit we have had since 1980, but what they overlook is that it has happened in the face of a consistent strong dollar. In order to make basic supply and demand work, you have to balance that deficit with something and the only thing left is capital dollars. Thus the obscene deficit is related to obscene capital liquidity in origin.

[rdrush]

Good to see these guys like each other so much. .

[sfjeff]

I actually kind of liked the intro. She covers in a very real way how the economic debate we are having is not an abstract concern, but instead a dramatic impact on the lives of her students.

[catkinson]

While I am not a fan of Canadian monetary policy, (luckily Carney is leaving) but I feel so grateful that we do not have 'economists' such as these. I find it incredible that people can believe that short term stimulus and disregard long term gain. Truly one of the greatest declines in all of history in standard of living. Will be a great history book.

[OhSoVeryConfused]

In a depressed economy, where huge amounts of private capital are sitting idly by, expanding government borrowing doesn't take money from the private sector it gives it an opportunity to be productive via state action. Fact is, if we want to get out of this situation, demand needs to grow and government spending offers us a way to do so.

[phoenix]

I don't know about Giamatti's performance as Paul Krugman. But Richard Dreyfuss' performance as Joe Stiglitz was outstanding. :)

[danielocampo]

I think these two are spot on about just about everything, but I do wish Stiglitz would elaborate when he mentions that those countries with the high labour market flexibility have fared worse in the economic crisis than those with more rigid labour markets. European countries like Spain, France and Italy haven't done brilliantly..., and I think that the high unemployment in these places can be credited to this rigidity.

[sfjeff]

5) In economics, when we are taught supply and demand, for some reason, the most interesting case, the case where supply force turns around and points in the same direction as the demand force, is never taught from what I can tell. Of course the behavior is that you move very, very fast, and this is a perfect, simple explanation for several economic phenomena of moving very, very, fast (eg. V-shaped labor supply -> Great Depression, V-shaped foreign currency demand -> hyperinflation, etc.) Why?

[a]

"a rejection of both theory and evidence" I love this statement!

But, I'll tell you what's hard to ignore is that Joe Stiglitz sounds just like Kent Hovand...

BUT, that said... This was a great discussion! I'm really glad this video was posted...

[dorniaki]

Extremely interesting video for a economy stundent like myself. It's extremely nice to see that those great economists engage in a productive discussion and its simply very enlightend to listen

[jannmutube]

Secretary Geithner gave an interview on C-Span where he said that Medicare and Medicaid were actually a fairly small percentage of the GDP and that the main contributor to the national debt was the Bush tax cuts. And, as Ronald Reagan said "social security has nothing to do with the debt." It is also true that the Senate already passed a tax package largely representing the Simpson-Boles plan but, as speaker, Boehner wouldn't even offer it up for a vote.

[ShijuNesamony]

Expected a better and clearer answer for the question on moral code for economists to live by (asked by the second person from the audience)

Good Discussion of Arrow and health care systems and interface between medical costs and the budget 41:20 - 57:00