WEBVTT - Single Best Idea with Tom Keene: Simon Johnson

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news, single best Idea and

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<v Speaker 1>today we celebrate the Nobel Prize. Okay, full disclosure. Darren

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<v Speaker 1>Asimoglu with James Robinson wrote a book on growth fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>years ago. I've not read it cover to cover. It's

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<v Speaker 1>like eight hundred pages. And I did what a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of people did. I dipped into it and I interviewed

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<v Speaker 1>Professor Smogluo on it and it's all great and will

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<v Speaker 1>but I didn't read the book. I have read the

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<v Speaker 1>books of Simon Johnson. Simon Johnson is a high energy

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<v Speaker 1>kinetic economist out of Oxford, Manchester and of course iconic

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<v Speaker 1>at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in today to see

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<v Speaker 1>ASIMOGLUO and Johnson of MIT and James A. Robinson Chicago

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<v Speaker 1>all writing together. There's a new book out from US

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<v Speaker 1>and Mooglow and Johnson. I'll talk about that here in

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<v Speaker 1>the coming weeks. But for them to win the Nobel

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<v Speaker 1>Prize and the answers why they own the cottage industry

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<v Speaker 1>of trying to figure out prosperity and technology and yes,

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<v Speaker 1>with A and I it's front and center, but frankly,

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<v Speaker 1>for these three academics it's been front and Center for decades.

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<v Speaker 1>Simon Johnson on technology.

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<v Speaker 2>I think technology drives everything. Tom, You're well aware of that.

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<v Speaker 2>And the question is who's technology, Who has what priority?

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<v Speaker 2>What's that vision? Is it an inclusive vision or is

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<v Speaker 2>it a vision which only a few people have good

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<v Speaker 2>jobs and everybody else is really scrambling. That's been super

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<v Speaker 2>important over last two and fifty years. We've had some

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<v Speaker 2>good episodes and some really bad ones, and I think

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<v Speaker 2>it's all in play again with artificial intelligence.

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<v Speaker 1>An extended conversation today with a gentleman for the Massachusetts

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<v Speaker 1>Institute of Technology. He took his PhD with the iconic

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<v Speaker 1>Rooty durn Bushy single handedly changed international economics and foreign exchange.

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<v Speaker 1>We continued our discussion with Professor Johnson here on the

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<v Speaker 1>path forward for prosperity and em.

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<v Speaker 2>I suggest we think about it in two ways. One

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<v Speaker 2>is the sort of deep history and recognize that we've

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<v Speaker 2>all got these legacies that we're living with, and some

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<v Speaker 2>of these legacies, particularly if you were colonized in a

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<v Speaker 2>harsh way by the Europeans, that's a very tough legacy

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<v Speaker 2>to overcome. But the second thing is there's no predestination.

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<v Speaker 2>It's all about the choices that you make, including technology

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<v Speaker 2>that we just talked about. If you're in the United States,

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<v Speaker 2>but around the world, I would point to corruption. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>corruption has been, as you guys know, talked about a

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<v Speaker 2>lot over the past thirty forty years. But what do

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<v Speaker 2>we have. We still have immense amounts of corruption. And

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<v Speaker 2>there's two side set. There's the people who pay the

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<v Speaker 2>bribes and the people who take the bribes, and that's

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<v Speaker 2>a big part of what holds a lot of countries

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<v Speaker 2>deeply in the poverty that you see today. But I

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<v Speaker 2>think the key thing, it may you sound like a

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<v Speaker 2>rhetorical device, Tom, but it's real, is focus on inclusive prosperity.

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<v Speaker 2>How you get more good jobs created for more people

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<v Speaker 2>and make sure they can access those jobs, make sure

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<v Speaker 2>they have the skills, make sure they are empowered themselves,

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<v Speaker 2>and they recognize that. So the bumper sticker for me

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<v Speaker 2>out of all of this is more good jobs.

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<v Speaker 1>Finally, Simon Johnson in this conversation, and I had to ask,

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<v Speaker 1>of course, s John Mickelthwaite speaking with mister Trump tomorrow

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<v Speaker 1>in Chicago. Here is Simon Johnson lecturing at Sloan on tariffs.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, I don't look, if you want to blow up

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<v Speaker 2>the world, in the world treading system and really damage

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<v Speaker 2>poorer Americans, slap a massive tariff on all the important because,

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<v Speaker 2>as you know, poor Americans spent a lot on things

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<v Speaker 2>that have important content. So massive tariff war. Terrible idea, right, the.

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<v Speaker 1>Nobel Laureate Simon Johnson. What an announcement Today, We're on YouTube.

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<v Speaker 1>on the Corridor from ninety ninety one FM Washington, where

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<v Speaker 1>Professor Johnson took a tour of duty at the International

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<v Speaker 1>Monetary Fund in New York, our flagship Bloomberg eleven three

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<v Speaker 1>toero AM and then Boston ninety two nine FM on YouTube,

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<v Speaker 1>podcast on Apple Podcasts, Single best Idea