The Paul Krugman essay in the New York Time magazine has generated many replies. Here are are three good ones, two of which came up with the same clever title:
(1) How Did Krugman Get it So Wrong? 9/4/09 - Scott Sumner
(2) How Did Krugman Get it So Wrong? 9/10/09 - John Cochrane
(3) Economists Got it Wrong, But Why? 9/10/09 - David Altig
(1) How Did Krugman Get it So Wrong? 9/4/09 - Scott Sumner
(2) How Did Krugman Get it So Wrong? 9/10/09 - John Cochrane
(3) Economists Got it Wrong, But Why? 9/10/09 - David Altig
Well we've got Krugman pushing Keynesian fiscal policy, Cochrane espousing the 1929 Treasury view and you David pushing nominal GDP targeting. But perhaps the best view of it all is Willem Buiter in the FT today: "I know that I know nothing. At least I know that."
ReplyDeleteNobel laureate James Buchanan would muse as to whether economics really was a discipline at all, and not just a bunch of policy entrepreneurs, be they Austrian or Keynesian, mercantilist or free trader, pushing some ideological line or other. Was he far off the mark ?
The "truth" is out there somewhere; I think the folks at the BIS get closer to it than most observers. (Of course their view fit my priors so they must be close to the truth!)
ReplyDeleteI am flattered you lumped me with Krugman and Cochrane... if only I had the influence of these guys in making my case for nominal income targeting!
David, have you read GLS Shackle's "Epistemics and economics"? It is I believe the finest discourse on the state of the subject that I have ever read.
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