Re: Re: Enron's Success Story

["William S. Lear" <rael@xxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wednesday, December 26, 2001 at 16:02:18 (-0800) Michael Perelman writes:
>Is it ever possible to the disprove market efficiency to the satisfaction
>of a conservative economist?

I think this is too narrow a battle field.  Market efficiency can be
defined in any number of ways, short-term, long-term, etc.  The
questions that we need to be asking are different ones, I think.
Amartya Sen has raised important shortcomings in mainstream economic
thinking by distinguishing between "cumulative outcomes" and
"comprehensive outcomes".  The former are measured by things like GDP,
income levels, etc. --- the usual macroeconomic indicators.  Sen
proposes that we pay attention to the process used to achieve these
outcomes, and measure them as well --- hence he recommends
"comprehensive outcomes" be used to measure both end and means.  This
leads him to view economic development as the development of freedom,
rather than mere wealth --- a return to Aristotelian conceptions of
the "good life" in which wealth is merely a means to other things.


Bill