Robert H. Frank: The Darwin Economy
Prof Robert H. Frank tells an audience at the LSE that Darwin was a greater economist than Adam Smith. Newsnight's economics editor Paul Mason asks him to explain why.
In 100 years time, Charles Darwin will be viewed as a better economist than Adam Smith, according to economics professor Robert H. Frank.
In his new book 'The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition, and the Common Good', Frank argues that whilst Smith was correct to point out the benefits of competition, Darwin went further by showing how some times competition over rank could produce benefits to the individual at the expense of the group. This insight, believes Frank, applies to the economics of human societies as much as it does to the animal kingdom.
Recorded at The London School of Economics, Prof Frank explains his ideas to Paul Mason and an audience of economists and scientists, as well as the free marketeers he criticises.
Robert H. Frank is an economics professor at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management and a regular Economic View columnist for the New York Times, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos. His books, which have been translated into 22 languages, include The Winner-Take-All Society (with Philip Cook); The Economic Naturalist; Luxury Fever; What Price the Moral High Ground?; and Principles of Economics (with Ben Bernanke). The Darwin Economy is published by Princeton University Press.
Paul Mason is the Economics Editor of 成人快手 2's Newsnight and is author of Meltdown: The End of the Age of Greed.
Last on
More episodes
Steve Keen: Economics is Bunk
Newsnight economics editor Paul Mason interviews the controversial economist Steve Keen
Keeping the Free Market Faith
Jamie Whyte defends free market ideas in apparently troubled times for capitalism.
Keynes v Hayek
Paul Mason chairs a debate between followers of two contrasting liberal economists.
Goodbye the Golden Eggs of Banking
Janan Ganesh asks if ending Britain's focus on financial services will make us richer.
Broadcasts
- Mon 14 Nov 2011 20:30成人快手 Radio 4
- Sun 20 Nov 2011 21:30成人快手 Radio 4
Featured in...
Economics Made Easy
The mysteries of economics debunked
The Best of Analysis: Economics
This collection explores a range of economic ideas and how they relate to the modern world
Podcast
-
Analysis
Programme examining the ideas and forces which shape public policy in Britain and abroad.