Season 8 - Episode 4 - Paul Samuelson

Season 8 - Episode 4 - Paul Samuelson

From Economics In Ten by Economics In Ten

April 29, 2025 · 1h 27m · Season 8 · Episode 4

About this episode

This episode explores the life and contributions of economist Paul Samuelson, highlighting his influential textbook and theories.

Paul Samuelson once said ‘I don’t care who writes a nation’s laws or crafts its advanced treatises if I can write its economics textbooks’ and boy did he write the book! Samuelson understood the power of economics and his best selling textbook called (surprisingly) ‘Economics’ was read by millions across America and influenced a number of the economists and policy makers that shape economic policy today. This was far from being his only claim to fame though and throughout his lifetime he wrote an extraordinarily large number of influential papers across a range of micro and macroeconomic topics (in cricket terms he was very much and all rounder or for baseball fans a 'two way player'. His neoclassical synthesis that combined Keynesianism with New Classical theory was a particularly influential advance. He is also seen as the man who brought a far greater mathematical rigour to economics, an approach which has very much outlived him. In this fourth episode of Season 8 of their award winning podcast, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, dive into the world of Paul Krugman’s (a fellow Nobel Prize winner) favourite economist. Along the way, you will find out about…

People in this episode

Hosts: Pete, Gav

Topics covered

  • economics
  • textbooks
  • neoclassical synthesis
  • Keynesianism
  • New Classical theory
  • mathematical rigor
  • influential papers

Keywords

  • Paul Samuelson
  • economics textbooks
  • neoclassical synthesis
  • Keynesianism
  • New Classical theory
  • influential economist
  • economic policy

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