What Do Economists Do?
All absolutely true.1. Economics is the study of trade-offs, of costs. ...Politicians, of course, hate the idea of trade-offs and costs.
2. Economists love counter-intuitive ideas. ...This leads to us stressing paradoxical notions – like the notion that outsourcing can be a good thing. Good politicians, by contrast, prefer sound-bites that corroborate the public’s prejudices.
3. Economists are like photographers - we love simple models. In particular ...we’ve loved models that yield bold, controversial but testable predictions.
4. Economists start from assumptions – or better still axioms – and see where they lead. ...Sometimes, though, they can lead to trouble.
5. Economists have a simple, brutal view of human nature – everyone’s rational (though not knowledgeable) and out for themselves. This makes us comfortable with conflict and argument, and uncomfortable about building alliances.
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