Guerilla Economics

The Communist Manifestoon

Economists should know their Marx. It may be "a load of old bunk", but the existence of Marxism helps keep us honest. Typically for GooTube it skirts sticks a forthright finger up at copyright law, which I mean as a good thing.

(Thanx, BoingBoing).

The Mystery of Capital

Hernando de Soto's acclaimed analysis of why some countries undergo rapid economic development and some do not.

Ultimately it all comes down to property rights (sorry, this is a very short and simple explanation in no way doing justice to de Soto's argument)

Funnily enough, John Sutherland pointed out a similar thing in his educational masterpiece "It's everybody's business"

Part 1

Part 2

The key idea that property rights are essential for the formation and utilisation of capital is common currency amongst economists. It's absolutely also key that solutions that seem developmentally correct can founder if one does not consider the availability of capital and its embodiment in some form of property rights. After all, one would actually need e.g title to one's home to borrow against its value, and say if one lived in a shanty in Lima one would most likely not have title to one's shack. Therefore, the capital that exists embodied in the shack is to some extent "dead": that is to say, it can't really work for you.

A good, non head hurting explanation here. As ever, original video in the Prelinger archives

What makes us tick

Produced by the mighty John Sutherland, You tubed into two parts.

This one is to edumacate the average American worker into the ways of the average American Stockmarket. Ignore the slightly naive and hokey way (and I admit that I'm asking a lot of you) and it's broadly accurate (notice it's a little, er, circumspect on the risk reward trade off).

In Part One we follow the oil drum manufacturing company to its $20Million flotation. Note that it floats with a track record of business. The idea that markets might allow companies without a record to float is surprisingly recent!

Part Two takes us up to a trade on the market, and then leaves with a pretty cute coda...Yes that's when risk gets mentioned. In the SMALLPRINT!

The original is there for your general perusal in the Prelinger Archives.