Recorded in Wellington, on
Tuesday 28 June at 1:30pm
Tim Harford
Abstract Tim
Harford argues that the world economy - and attendant problems from
innovation to climate change to the financial crisis - is too complex
to allow solutions to be figured out from first principles, right first
time. Successful problem solving in a complex system relies on
effective mechanisms for formal and informal experiments, and promoting
the results of successful experiments. He explores successful
institutions for trial and error and discusses some of the political
and psychological obstacles to the broader use of this approach.
Bio
Tim Harford is the author of The
Underground Economist, Dear Undercover Economist and The Logic of life.
He is a columnist for the Financial
Times and the presenter of BBC Radio 4's award-winning More or Less.
He is a regular broadcaster, media contributor and public speaker.
