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♪ [music] ♪
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- [Tyler] Now what are
the key macro ideas?
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We're still on like two words
so the biggie here,
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"prosperity matters."
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Sounds trivial, but a lot
of people actually deny it,
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though I'm not sure
they really mean what they're saying.
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They'll say something like,
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"Oh, you know, life was much better
back in 1910," or back whenever.
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But I think there's a lot
of evidence from economics.
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It can't tell you ethically
that a wealthier country
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is better than a poorer country,
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but it can tell you that most
of the things people want,
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they get more of it
in wealthier countries.
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And I don't just mean money --
if you look at health,
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infant mortality, the ability
to choose a career you want,
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women's rights, minority rights,
political liberty, democracy,
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civil liberties...
air conditioning! Right?
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You can't live
without air conditioning.
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These are all correlated
with prosperity.
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And I know correlated
doesn't mean cause.
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The causation runs both ways,
and it runs through third
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and other variables.
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But the simple point
that prosperity is very important.
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There's a lot we want to do.
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You have to actually pay the bills.
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There is a budget constraint,
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and the way you meet
that budget constraint
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is to be a wealthy nation.
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People will have different goals
in politics and with their lives,
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but basically the wealthier nations
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do a better job
of meeting those goals,
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and you can look
at other economic evidence.
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Again, this is not
a final ethical judgement,
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but the simple question
if people, say, are leaving Syria
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because life in Syria has
become too difficult.
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Where is it ideally they want
to go when they have the choice?
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For the most part, they prefer
to go to wealthier nations.
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So in Europe,
the attraction was Germany,
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one of the wealthier nations.
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For migrants in general, Canada,
Australia, United States,
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United Kingdom, Switzerland,
wealthy relatively free countries,
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of course are where
people want to be.
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♪ [music] ♪
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- [Narrator] Click here
to watch the next episode
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of Tyler Cowen’s
"9 Big Ideas of Economics."
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Or, maybe you’re
not ready to move on
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and instead want
to learn more about this idea.
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Then you should
check out this video.
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Or, maybe you are dying to attend
one of our teacher events
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to mingle with other econ nerds.
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Click here for info on that,