Crash Course Economics

During the pandemic and its aftermath, the world witnessed a revival of new narratives and strategies related to industrial policy in a geopolitically competitive environment. We invite Angela Wigger to reflect on the history of competition policy in the EU and provide a deeper understanding of the latest “come-back” of EU industrial policy. She will explain how EU competition policy is enshrined...

In this episode we do a deep dive into the realm of Big Pharma. As with Big Tech, this industry epitomises large-scale rentier income extraction by corporations. Despite the industry's assertions that the costs associated with drug research and development justify high prices, the stark reality of profit margins unveils a different narrative. We will further ask Nick: How did pharmaceutical compan...

Embark on a journey encompassing Brett Christophers' latest three books in this Crash Course Episode. He provides a comprehensive overview of the ascent of rentier capitalism, observed in diverse forms across political economies, and hones in on the pivotal role of asset managers in value extraction and shaping a rentier economy. Key questions we will explore with Brett: What exactly are rents, an...

In this first Crash Course episode of the new series, we invite writer-activist Cory Doctorow to explore the rise of Rentier and Monopoly Capitalism in the tech sector. Is the platform economy in the last phase of what he calls Enshittification? “First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business c...

In this special one-off we focus on European fiscal policy, following FiscalMatters' week of debate in which the future of the EU fiscal framework is discussed: “Too often important policy decisions happen behind closed doors. We need an open and accessible debate on Europe’s fiscal future”. Together with Ludovic Suttor-Sorel from Finance Watch we look at the current EU fiscal rules and how t...

Innovation economist and digital policy expert Francesca Bria joins us to talk about her experiences trying to counter the power of Big Tech and using technology for democratic decision making. Bria is the former CTO of the City of Barcelona and has been leading European Research and Innovation projects related to digital sovereignty, digital democracy and crypto platforms. In 2015 local elections...

In this fourth Crash Course episode of the series on Big Tech, Techno-feudalism and Democracy, we take a closer look at how we could resist the enormous and all-encompassing influence Big Tech and platform economies have on our lives. How can we regain control over our individual and collective data as they are being increasingly commodified and traded? Nandini Chami, deputy director of IT4Change,...

In this third episode, we discussed the challenges that Big Tech confronts us with in terms of regulation. The platform economy has fundamentally changed our societies and has made more and more citizens dependent on less and less companies. Due to lobbying efforts as well as ignorance and incompetence on many policy levels, this sector has massively expanded without much government oversight. The...

In this second Crash Course episode of the series on Big Tech, Techno-feudalism and Democracy, we will zoom in on intellectual property. We have invited political economist Cecilia Rikap to explain where intellectual property comes from, what its role is in fabricating monopoly power, and why it is important to understand the rise of Big tech and Big Pharma.  Rodrigo and Sara asked Rikap:  Is ‘int...

In this first Crash Course episode of our series on Big Tech, Techno-feudalism and Democracy, we take a bird’s-eye view before we dive into more specific issues in the episodes to come. To introduce you to the topic, we have invited York University professor Kean Birch, specialised in Big Tech and emerging forms of digital rentiership.  Rodrigo and Sara ask Birch:  What are the key concepts to und...

Since March 2020, 80 IMF lending arrangements have been approved. These arrangements arise in an era of historical global debt levels. The world is witnessing an insufficient and inadequate multilateral response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which will lock a large number of countries in a decade-long crisis of debt and austerity. What are the effects of growing debt piles for the public heath care se...

Dominic Brown will discuss the strategies being proposed by popular movements in the Global South to confront their debt. He will reflect on current movements and their demands from a historical perspective with a focus on South Africa – his home country. Brown will demonstrate how debt issuance in the Global South is often used to implement neoliberal and austerity policies, and discuss how this...

Ewa Karwowski will guide us through ways to quantify and recognize financialization in the global south. Also we will discuss why this particular theoretical frame may be useful to look at contemporary issues that developing countries face and how it is related to structural issues. Ewa Karwowski (University of Hertfordshire) is focused on the operations of large corporations, particularly how fir...

In this episode of Crash Course Sara Murawski en Rodrigo Fernandez discuss Dependency Theory with Ingrid Kvangraven. How does dependency theory help us to formulate different answers to the problems developing countries face today. We try to understand what it is and why it has been lost in debates on the global south, after being dominant in the 70s and 80s. Since the IMF and the world bank impos...

Sara Murawski en Rodrigo Fernandez speak with Andew Fischer about Debt, Dependence and Development in Historical Perspective. This lecture presents several past and present cases to demonstrate this dynamic and its continuing importance for facing the challenges of contemporary economic development, including the imperative of global redistribution. --- About Crash Course Economics Crash Course is...

Daniela Gabor speaks with Sara Murawski and Rodrigo Fernandez about monetary policy and austerity in the fourth and final webinar of Crash Course series on monetary policy, central banks and ideology. How can monetary policy be used to prevent economies from suffering another decade of austerity? What are the concrete policy options we have? What are different linkages between monetary and fiscal...

Pablo Bortz speaks with Sara Murawski and Rodrigo Fernandez about monetary policy and the effects on the Global South in the third webinar of Crash Course series on monetary policy, central banks and ideology. In this interview we will ask what effect the previous round of QE had on the global south? How did it inflate debt levels? What can we expect from the current crisis-led monetary policy in...

Benjamin Braun speaks with Sara Murawski and Rodrigo Fernandez about central banking, finance and power, in the second webinar of Crash Course series on monetary policy, central banks and ideology. What does the post-2007 web of interdependencies between monetary authorities, systemic banks and other leading financial actors look like? Why is this important to understand the prospects for change?...

Sara Murawski en Rodrigo Fernandez speak with Jens van’t Klooster about crisis, central banks and democratic control. What are the historical origins of central bank independence? Why are central banks not fully embedded in a democratic decision-making structure? How can we regain democratic control? Casting the net wide: what would progressive monetary policies look like? What are the necessary i...