Season 9 - Episode 2 - Raul Prebisch

How do countries grow and develop most rapidly? Most economists would argue that openness to trade is an absolutely key factor, with specialisation leading to greater living standards for all. What happens though if your specialism is in something that doesn’t earn enough to buy you the imports that you need? In other words are some specialisms superior? Could this lead to an unhealthy dependency on other countries? These challenges to conventional thought were raised by the Argentinian economist Raul Prebisch in the early 20th century. In this second episode of Season 9, your friendly neighbourhood economists Pete and Gav, discuss the life and times of this ‘outsider’ and look at his continued influence today. As always there is a quiz, some musical suggestions and a discussion about the derivation of the word 'chimichurri'. Technical support as always comes from our good friend Nic - the Mario Kempes of the team.