Summary: Why are some countries rich, and others poor? This episode “digs” into this classic question by looking at the case of Peru and Bolivia and the work Melissa Dell. Her research studies the persistent differences in economic development that can be linked to historical events and economic activity over four hundred years ago. The accompanying Team-Based Learning exercise asks students to put their policy hat on. Detailed Teaching Notes included!
Summary: AI systems like “DALL E 2” can create images based on a description. Like other types machine learning algorithms, the systems are trained on existing art. The adoption of this technology to generate and sell art has irked artists who claim that their intellectual property rights are being violated. The podcasts delves into one particular story like this.
Summary: Learn about a little group in North Korea, called the ‘donju.’ The economic prosperity that they developed went on to support the country’s nuclear program and contributed to the growth of their economy. This was all made possible when Kim Jong Un began allowing consultants from overseas to educate North Korean entrepreneurs on accounting, trade, and management. They did this without daring to actually call it a spread of capitalism, as North Korea still remains a strict socialist country.
Original Air Date: October 13, 2017
Length: 24 minutes 25 seconds
Discussion prompt (1): Having listened to this podcast, what type of economic system do you think North Korea has? What impact do you think this system has on people, businesses and the government. Use specific examples from the podcast to support your answer.
Discussion Prompt (2): The podcast points out that in N Korea’s economic system “the state technically owns everything.” How does this impact the ‘Donju’? Think particularly how it impacts the incentives they face to start and grow a business (contributing to economic development).
Discussion Prompt (3): Why would entrepreneurship not be something typically observed in a Centrally Planned/Socialist country? How are the economic incentives of this system related to this lack of entrepreneurship? According to this podcast, how did the economic actions of the Donju contribute to economic growth in N. Korea?
Summary: In this podcast, the Planet Money team attempt to decipher why economic news about China is so popular in the media and if the indicators are something we should worry about including the stock market and economic growth.
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