Economic Rockstar - 035: Stephen Young on Being Car Free and the Behavioural Economics of Owning A Car

035: Stephen Young on Being Car Free and the Behavioural Economics of Owning A Car

06/04/15 • 49 min

Stephen Young is a Senior Lecturer at Brighton Business School and is subject leader for behavioural economics.

He is also Visiting Lecturer at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, where he teaches Behavioural Economics to health professionals, including commissioners, public health practitioners and GPs.

As an independent consultant and trainer, Stephen also provides client workshops and presentations on behavioural economics and behaviour change.

Stephen is widely published and his research interests include behaviour change, climate change, health, sustainability, and Information and Communications Technology.

Stephen does not own a car and is so passionate about being car free that he writes regularly on his blog livingthecarfreelife.blogspot.com. Other writings from Stephen can be found at www.stephenyoung.org.uk.

In this episode, find out:

why Stephen decided to become an academic.
about the Northern Rock bank run in the UK in 2007.
why universities need to adapt or die when it comes to addressing relevant content.
what Stephen is doing to reduce his carbon footprint in college and how he’s responding to the digital needs of his students.
why health professionals are interested in behavioral economics.
about the Irish government’s fight against obesity.
how Stephen is encouraging a town in the UK to become pedestrian friendly.
about framing car ownership - status and perception of rank.
how by ditching your car you can burn calories.
how the average person is working two days a week to pay for their car.
about the emotional attachment that a car represents.
what major cities across Europe are doing to make them more pedestrian and bike-friendly.
about peak car ownership.
some advice from Stephen on how to give your car.
about the pluralist approach to embracing economics.
Subscribe on iTunes or visit www.economicrockstar.com to access previous episodes.

Stephen Young is a Senior Lecturer at Brighton Business School and is subject leader for behavioural economics.

He is also Visiting Lecturer at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, where he teaches Behavioural Economics to health professionals, including commissioners, public health practitioners and GPs.

As an independent consultant and trainer, Stephen also provides client workshops and presentations on behavioural economics and behaviour change.

Stephen is widely published and his research interests include behaviour change, climate change, health, sustainability, and Information and Communications Technology.

In this episode, find out:

why Stephen decided to become an academic.
about the Northern Rock bank run in the UK in 2007.
why universities need to adapt or die when it comes to addressing relevant content.
what Stephen is doing to reduce his carbon footprint in college and how he’s responding to the digital needs of his students.
why health professionals are interested in behavioral economics.
about the Irish government’s fight against obesity.
how Stephen is encouraging a town in the UK to become pedestrian friendly.
about framing car ownership - status and perception of rank.
how by ditching your car you can burn calories.
how the average person is working two days a week to pay for their car.
about the emotional attachment that a car represents.
what major cities across Europe are doing to make them more pedestrian and bike-friendly.
about peak car ownership.
some advice from Stephen on how to give your car.
about the pluralist approach to embracing economics.
Subscribe on iTunes or visit www.economicrockstar.com to access previous episodes.

Previous Episode

034: David Simon on Meatonomics and How the Meat and Dairy Industry Impose Substantial Negative Externalities on Society

David Robinson Simon is a lawyer and advocate for sustainable consumption.

David works as general counsel for a healthcare company and serves on the board of the Animal Protection and Rescue League Fund, a non-profit dedicated to protecting animals.

David runs a website that keeps us up-to-date on matters arising from the farm animal industry as well as informing us of other animal-related causes.

David received his B.A. from U.C. Berkeley and his J.D. from the University of Southern California. He is the author of two books: New Millennium Law Dictionary, a full-length legal dictionary and Meatonomics.

He lives in Southern California with his partner, artist Tania Marie, and their rabbit, tortoise, and two cats.

Find Out:

why David, a lawyer, turned to economics to explain how the meat industry is a cost to society.
about the lack of rights that exist for farm animals.
how the farming community set the standards on how farm animals are treated.
how the Customary Farming Extension was introduced to legally treat farm animals inhumanely.
about the environmental costs associated with producing animal products.
how to control or even reverse climate change by reducing meat consumption.
how taking shorter showers is not going to alleviate the drought in California.
what the true external cost to society is when someone consumes an animal product.
how deferring climate change measures today will impose greater costs on society in the future.
what David, who is a vegan, had for breakfast this morning.
the ingredients to David’s ‘power smoothie’ - a refreshing and nutrient dense meal in a glass!
how companies are being subsidised by government to lower the retail price of meat.
about the heavy subsidies being paid out to the meat industry.
how artificially-low meat and dairy prices are fuelled by out-of-whack farm subsidies.
about Ireland’s removal of milk quotas and what it means for market prices.
and much, much more.
Check out the shownotes page to this episode at www.economicrockstar.com/davidsimon
Subscribe on iTunes and never miss an episode.

Next Episode

036: Jason Shogren on Music and Endogenous Risk and Rationality in the Environmental Goods Market

Jason Shogren is the Stroock Professor of Natural Resource Conservation and Management and Chair of the Department of Economics and Finance at the University of Wyoming.

Professor Shogren’s background and research interests include the economics of environmental and natural resource policy, experimental methods; endangered species; invasive species; climate change; agricultural and forest management; energy; health; regulation; and paleoeconomics.

Jason served as professor to Sweden’s King Carl Gustaf XVI in 2012 and is a 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner (shared with Al Gore) as a member of the United Nations team working on climate change.

He has also served as a senior economist on the Council of Economic Advisers in the White House under the Clinton Administration.

Jason loves fishing and music. He spends his time composing acoustic roots songs that he describes as catawampus American music, has five albums and will be touring this summer.

Find Out:

about the Cap and Trade Market for carbon emissions is a failure and would only work in a micro-management setting.
why its best to implement a carbon tax.
the difference between luxury emissions and survival emissions and why it maybe difficult for China and India to reduce their carbon.
how Jason’s depiction of a low probability-high severity event influenced Janet Yellen to take action on climate change.
if we are acting rationally or irrationally toward the environment.
how we can exploit rationality ‘for the good’.
how, over the last 30 years, we have become averse to just about everything.
how we can take advantage of peoples’ status quo to increase their contribution of paying a carbon tax.
how designing the right system can nudge people to do the right thing - just like soft paternalism.
how Jason sought inspiration about rationality from other disciplines, such as English literature and music composition, rather than from economics.
how Jason uses music as a form of escapism.
about the concerts that Jason Shogren will be playing at each year.
about Jason’s hitch-hiking experience in Ireland in 1985 from the Giants Causeway and down along the West Coast (now known as the Wild Atlantic Way).
about Jason theoretical thought process regarding endogenous risk and how he applies it to different environmental risks.
and much, much more. To access the shownotes to this episode visit: www.economicrockstar.com/jasonshogren
Subscribe to the Economic Rockstar podcast on iTunes and never miss an episode.