Mostly Economics Podcast 38: More Money, Less Problems with Arindrajit Dube
In this episode of Mostly Economics, Dean Baker talks with Arindrajit Dube, professor of economics at UMass, about his new book *The Wage Standard* and the broader story of America’s stagnant minimum wage. Dube traces how the federal floor has not risen in nearly two decades, while productivity and median wages have surged, leaving most workers far behind. The conversation highlights three research pillars: the historical tie between wages and productivity in the 1950‑60s, the natural‑experiment evidence from state‑level minimum‑wage hikes (30 states versus 20 with a $7.25 floor), and the seminal Card‑Krueger study that found no job loss after New Jersey raised its minimum. Subsequent work using administrative data across counties confirms those findings and shows modest wage gains can coexist with healthy employment. Dube illustrates the human side with the story of Frank, a Harvard janitor whose wage rose after a union campaign, and points to the 1980s shift toward outsourcing that created pay gaps for identical jobs within the same firm. He argues that wages are not determined solely by market forces; institutional choices matter and can be reshaped. The takeaway for policymakers and business leaders is clear: raising the minimum wage to reflect productivity—potentially $18‑$25 per hour—could boost consumer demand without the feared employment collapse, while addressing entrenched inequities caused by outsourcing and non‑union labor.
Mostly Economics Podcast #37: South Korea, Shareholder Capitalism, and Trump with Ha-Joon Chang
The Mostly Economics podcast episode examines South Korea’s rapid transformation from one of the world’s poorest nations in the 1960s to a high‑income economy, arguing that its success was driven by aggressive state‑led industrial policy rather than the free‑market prescriptions...
Mostly Economics Podcast #33: Nexstar-Tegna Merger and Media Partisanship with Milo Vassallo
The Mostly Economics podcast episode focuses on the looming Nexstar‑Tegna merger and its broader implications for media partisanship, ownership concentration, and regulatory capture. Host Dean Baker and guest Milo Vassallo dissect how decades‑long strategies by right‑wing billionaires have built a...
Mostly Economics Podcast: How the War on Iran Is Shaping the US Economy with Claudia Sahm:
The podcast examines how the escalating conflict in the Strait of Hormuz – often called the “war on Iran” – is feeding into the United States’ macroeconomic outlook. Host Dean Baker and chief economist Claudia Sahm explore two scenarios: a...
Trump's $166 Billion Dollar Tariff Scheme: Winners, Losers, and Why It Didn't Need to Happen
The video dissects the $166 billion tariff scheme launched by former President Donald Trump, which the Supreme Court later ruled illegal and is now being partially rebated. It outlines how the administration invoked a dubious national‑emergency claim to bypass Congress’s constitutional...
From D.C. Across the Americas: The Debt and Climate Crisis with Ivana Vasic Lalovic
The IMF and World Bank spring meetings highlighted a fresh downgrade in global growth, driven by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and the resulting energy shock that disproportionately burdens developing economies. The discussion centered on a dual crisis: soaring...
From D.C. Across the Americas: Colombia Exits ISDS with Paola Jaimes Santamaría
Colombia announced it will begin withdrawing from the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system, a move timed just weeks before the country co‑hosts an international conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels in Santa Marta. ISDS lets foreign investors sue governments...
From D.C. Across the Americas: Ecuador-Colombia Tensions with Andres Arauz
The video examines the sudden flare‑up between Ecuador and Colombia after a bomb, allegedly launched from Ecuadorian soil, killed 27 Colombian citizens. It links the incident to the United States’ Status‑of‑Force Agreement (SOFA) that grants U.S. military and civilian personnel...
From D.C. Across the Americas: Ecuador's Authoritarian Descent with Guillaume Long
The video outlines Ecuador’s rapid slide toward authoritarianism under President Daniel Noir, highlighted by the nine‑month suspension of the historic Citizens Revolution party ahead of the 2027 local elections. This political crackdown coincides with a foreign‑policy pivot that reduces Ecuador’s diplomatic agenda...
From D.C. Across the Americas: Trump's Miami Summit with Alex Main
The Center for Economic and Policy Research’s Alex Main previewed the "Shield of the Americas" summit scheduled for March 7 at Trump National Doral Golf Course in Miami. The gathering will bring President Trump together with roughly ten Latin American heads...
From D.C. Across the Americas: Venezuela Sanctions with Francisco Rodríguez
The video examines how U.S. sanctions have driven Venezuela’s dramatic economic decline, arguing that they account for more than half of the country’s 71% contraction between 2012 and 2020 – the deepest peacetime downturn on record. Research cited in the...
From D.C. Across the Americas: Cuba's Oil Siege with Francesca Emanuele
The video spotlights the United States’ oil blockade on Cuba, framing it as a deliberate energy siege designed to cripple the island’s economy and precipitate regime change. It argues that the embargo, now intensified under the Trump administration, constitutes...
From D.C. Across the Americas: U.S. Sanctions with Mark Weisbrot
The video argues that U.S. sanctions wield unparalleled power over the global financial system, turning economic coercion into a lethal tool that rivals armed conflict in its human cost. Researchers at the Center for Economic and Policy Research estimate 564,000 deaths...