Season 5 Episode 1 - Simon Kuznets

Economics In Ten

To establish whether you are in good shape a doctor might take your pulse. In economics, Gross Domestic Product (aka GDP) is the go-to metric for determining economic health. Governments can be toppled off the back of disappointing GDP data - think recessions (or even worse the dreaded double-dip recession!). But who was the man behind the creation of this powerful if often misunderstood concept and what might he make of the latter-day uses and abuses of GDP today? In the first episode of our fifth season, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, explore the life and ideas of Simon Kuznets. A man of mystery, they hunt down how he became such a hugely influential figure in the world of economics and how he ended up having at least two curves named after him, the ultimate if unspoken dream of every academic economist. Along the way, you can test your knowledge of Belarus, the birth place of Kuznets and hear us (!) eating some food related to his Jewish background. As always, technical support is provided by a very tired Nic and music comes from Jukedeck. You can create your own at Jukedeck.com.