Why Do Economists Disagree? Saturday, October 13th 2:30 - 4:30PM Past Event Watch the video » A pre-election roundtable of a politically diverse group of noted economic theorists exploring their philosophical convergences and divergences. Free and open to the public. Participants: Graciela Chichilnisky Professor of Economics, Columbia University Dr. Graciela Chichilnisky (www.chichilnisky.com) is a professor of Economics and Mathematical Statistics and a University Senator at Columbia University in New York, where she is the Director of the Columbia Consortium for Risk Management (CCRM). A world-renowned economist, she is the creator of the formal theory of Sustainable Development and acted as Lead US Author… read more » Robert H. Frank Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Management and Professor of Economics, Cornell University Robert H. Frank is the HJ Louis Professor of Management and Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at Cornell’s Johnson School of Management. His “Economic View” column has appeared in The New York Times since 2005. He received his B.S. in mathematics from Georgia Tech, then taught math and science for two years as a Peace Corps… read more » Jeffrey Miron Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Economics, Harvard University Jeffrey Miron is Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Economics at Harvard University and a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. Dr. Miron has previously served on the faculties of the University of Michigan and Boston University; at the latter, he was Department chairman for six years. He has been the… read more » Joseph Salerno Professor of Economics, Lubin School of Business, Pace University Joseph T. Salerno received his Ph.D. in economics from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. He is a professor of economics in the Finance and Graduate Economics Department in the Lubin School of Business of Pace University in New York. He is the editor of theQuarterly Journal of Austrian Economics and the Academic Vice President of the… read more »
Graciela Chichilnisky Professor of Economics, Columbia University Dr. Graciela Chichilnisky (www.chichilnisky.com) is a professor of Economics and Mathematical Statistics and a University Senator at Columbia University in New York, where she is the Director of the Columbia Consortium for Risk Management (CCRM). A world-renowned economist, she is the creator of the formal theory of Sustainable Development and acted as Lead US Author… read more »
Robert H. Frank Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Management and Professor of Economics, Cornell University Robert H. Frank is the HJ Louis Professor of Management and Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at Cornell’s Johnson School of Management. His “Economic View” column has appeared in The New York Times since 2005. He received his B.S. in mathematics from Georgia Tech, then taught math and science for two years as a Peace Corps… read more »
Jeffrey Miron Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Economics, Harvard University Jeffrey Miron is Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Economics at Harvard University and a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. Dr. Miron has previously served on the faculties of the University of Michigan and Boston University; at the latter, he was Department chairman for six years. He has been the… read more »
Joseph Salerno Professor of Economics, Lubin School of Business, Pace University Joseph T. Salerno received his Ph.D. in economics from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. He is a professor of economics in the Finance and Graduate Economics Department in the Lubin School of Business of Pace University in New York. He is the editor of theQuarterly Journal of Austrian Economics and the Academic Vice President of the… read more »
As Jeffrey Miron said at “Why Do Economists Disagree?”, because economists cannot do repeatable and controlled experiments, there is a problem knowing which economists and models are right and which are wrong. Might there be an alternative way to evaluate economists? Applying the old maxim “if you’re so smart why aren’t you rich”, no matter what policies are put in place, an economist should be able to place a bet (in a real or simulated market) that will make (or lose) money if they can predict the consequences of that policy. For example, if one can predict the change in interest rates due to a particular policy, they can buy or sell US treasury notes and make (or lose) money either way. Or if they think a monetary policy will lead to inflation (or deflation) they can make bets that will benefit by that. After a decade or so we would know which economist is right by who has the most money (real or simulated). Reply