Storia dell'articolo
Chiudi
Questo articolo è stato pubblicato il 10 maggio 2013 alle ore 11:43.
But even in microeconomics, where it is sometimes possible to generate precise empirical estimates using randomization techniques, the results must be extrapolated in order to be applied in other settings. New economic evidence serves at best to nudge the views – a little here, a little there – of those inclined to be open-minded.
In the of the World Bank’s chief economist, Kaushik Basu, One thing that experts know, and that non-experts do not, is that they know less than non-experts think they do. The implications go beyond not over-selling any particular research result. Journalists, politicians, and the general public have a tendency to attribute greater authority and precision to what economists say than economists should really feel comfortable with. Unfortunately, economists are rarely humble, especially in public.
There is one other thing that the public should know about economists: It is cleverness, not wisdom, that advances academic economists’ careers. Professors at the top universities distinguish themselves today not by being right about the real world, but by devising imaginative theoretical twists or developing novel evidence. If these skills also render them perceptive observers of real societies and provide them with sound judgment, it is hardly by design.
Dani Rodrik, Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard University, is the author of The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013.
©RIPRODUZIONE RISERVATA
Permalink
Ultimi di sezione
-
Gli economisti
Perché preoccuparsi per la Francia?
di Paul Krugman
-
gli economisti
Krugman: il dibattito sull'austerity è politicizzato
di Paul Krugman
-
Italia
A Theory About European Naval Domination
di Paul Krugman
-
Italia
Una teoria sul predominio navale dell'Europa
di di Paul Krugman
-
IL PIANO JUNCKER
Gros: consumi prima che investimenti
di Daniel Gros