Re: Re: David Neumark (really)

[Michael Perelman <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Peter Dorman wrote:

> I should add a word about the real David Neumark, since I knew him slightly
> at Michigan State.  He is the #1 labor economist in the econ department
> there, which means he is crucial to personnel decisions, research
> applications, etc. in that field (at that school).  He is fairly typical of
> "star" research economists, in that he identifies primarily with what he
> sees as his intellectual mastery of theory and econometric methods, and has
> no conscious commitment to any political position -- which is not to say
> that there are no implicit politics in his work.

Don't most economists pretend to be that way.

>
>
> He was funded in his minimum wage work by a trade group representing
> restaurants, and was caught up on problems with a data set they provided
> him.  I don't know whether he came to see it as the scandal that many other
> mainstream labor economists did.  Other people can fill in details here.

Yes, that is one reason why I was surprised to find his changed position.

>
> Honestly, if David Neumark has changed his views on the minimum wage, it
> really would be no big deal.  He is ready to embrace any result produced by
> the right theory, the right data set, and the right methods, given what
> "right" means in this context.

Peter, I think that most economists would say as much, but they rarely do change
their minds.  Remember the famous position of Milton Friedman: if the data
doesn't agree with my theory, then the data is wrong.
--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx