RE: Re: [Pen-l] The economics professions

["David B. Shemano" <dshemano@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Laurent Guerby writes:

>> Why do you think economists are devoted to understanding our economy?
>> 
>> If they're rational and smart they know that economics has no
>> predictive power whatsoever so they will instead sell their current
>> influence on politicians to interest groups who pay the highest price.

Why do you think individuals go into academia and spend their time on a topic creating models, teaching undergraduates, writing articles?  I have the feeling that you (and others on this list) are buying into the notion that people who advocate ideas they agree with have good motivations and people who advocate ideas they disagree with have bad motivations.  I believe such assumptions are a fallacy.

>> 
>> > why do we think a few dozen government officials could do any
>> > better?
>> 
>> Overall government official incentives are less skewed than economists
>> incentives, so more of them will have some care for the general
>> interest.

I truly believe there is no theoretical or empirical support for your statement and it is entirely counterintuitive.  If the goal is truth or even the "general interest", why would an academic, protected by academic freedom with no pecuniary or other interest in the outcome of a prediction, have worse incentives than a government official, who is subject to the multitude of competing political interests?

David Shemano

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