John Cochrane on Free Markets & Economic Growth and the Fiscal Theory of the Price Level - EP214

Economics Explored

Professor John Cochrane of the Hoover Institution discusses the importance of free markets for economic growth and highlights stagnating growth as the biggest economic issue of our time. John talks about what may be his next book, "Free to Grow," which aims to update Milton and Rose Friedman's "Free to Choose" for today's world. After John speaks, show host Gene Tunny interviews him about his views on growth and his controversial Fiscal Theory of the Price Level. This is a recording of a live event at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney on 26 September 2023.

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About Professor John Cochrane

John H. Cochrane is the Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is also a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and an adjunct scholar of the CATO Institute.

Before joining Hoover, Cochrane was a Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, and earlier at its Economics Department. Cochrane earned a bachelor’s degree in physics at MIT and his PhD in economics at the University of California at Berkeley. He was a junior staff economist on the Council of Economic Advisers (1982–83).

For more on John, check out his bio here:

https://www.hoover.org/profiles/john-h-cochrane

What’s covered in EP214

• 00:03:36 Importance of economic growth.
• 00:16:06 Incentives drive productivity and growth.
• 00:17:12 Regulation hinders economic growth.
• 00:22:59 Fixing problems requires better solutions.
• 00:28:53 Fixing social programs by embracing free markets.
• 00:39:28 Regulatory state causing innovation slowdown.
• 00:46:24 Free market healthcare benefits the poor in John’s view.
• 00:48:47 Fiscal Theory of the Price Level: Inflation caused by government debt.
• 00:53:56 Avoid old left-right division.
• 01:05:21 Government debt may lead to a sovereign debt crisis.

Links relevant to the conversation

Video of the Free to Grow event on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/tmZh43Fc6Zo?si=wwWRfBW3zsbYmCRV

CIS web post about the Free to Grow event:

https://www.cis.org.au/event/free-to-grow-unlocking-economic-prosperity/