John Nye on Revisionist Economic History and Having Too Many Hobbies

Conversations with Tyler

Society & Culture, Education

4.8 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2018

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Is John Nye the finest polymath in the George Mason economics department?

Raised in the Philippines and taught to be a well-rounded Catholic gentleman, John Nye learned the importance of a rigorous education from a young age. Indeed, according to Tyler he may very well be the best educated among his colleagues, having studied physics and literature as an undergraduate before earning a master’s and PhD in economics. And his education continues, as he’s now hard at work mastering his fourth language.

On this episode of Conversations with Tyler, Nye explains why it took longer for the French to urbanize than the British, the origins of the myth of free-trade Britain, why Vertigo is one of the greatest movies of all time, why John Stuart Mill is overrated, raising kids in a bilingual household, and much more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded October 30th, 2018

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Conversations with Tyler is produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University,
0:08.4	bridging the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems.
0:12.5	Learn more at mercatis.org.
0:15.2	And for more conversations, including videos, transcripts, and upcoming dates, visit
0:20.4	ConversationsWithT Tyler.com.
0:29.5	I'm here today with my colleague John Nye, who is a renowned economic historian, professor
0:34.9	of economics at George Mason University.
0:38.0	He holds a chair at the Mercatus Center, and he is also an international advisor to higher
0:43.2	school of economics in Moscow.
0:45.6	John, welcome.
0:46.6	Thank you, Tyler.
0:48.0	Let's start with a few questions about France and French economic history.
0:52.1	It's commonly believed that from the 17th through 19th centuries, French per capita income
0:57.0	was about 70% that of Great Britain.
0:59.7	Why was France poorer if, indeed, you accept those numbers?
1:02.8	It's complicated, but the simple story is France was more agricultural.
1:06.5	England urbanized much more quickly, and France covered a much larger area with a larger
1:11.6	population, and a much more diverse population than Britain did.
1:15.6	But mostly I'd say the answer has to do with France having lower agricultural productivity
1:19.6	and being more heavily rural than England was.
1:23.2	And why did it take longer for France to urbanize?
1:26.4	This is a bigger issue.
	...

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