#032 Economics & Complexity

This weeks guest is Professor Doyne Farmer. Doyne is a physicist, econo-physicist, and founder of the Prediction Company, which brought insights from physics to the world of finance and stock markets. He is a Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University, where he co-directs the Oxford Martin Programme on Complexity, and is External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. We ask him about econo-physics, how it ties in with complexity theory, and what this all means for the current economic orthodoxy. We also talk about some models he has built that try and replicate the housing crash experienced in the Washington DC area, and how leverage and market impact works to destabilise our economies. He also has recommendations for what we should use instead of mark-to-market accounting that might help quell some of the market instability and high leverage we see about us today. And on top of all that, we talk of his days as a professional roulette player....