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A Comment on Daniel Klein's "A Plea to Economists Who Favor Liberty."

Author

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  • Gordon Tullock

    (James M. Buchanan Center for Political Economy, George Mason University)

Abstract

Economists can to some extent enlighten policymakers and the public and influence public policy. That enlightenment is achieved more by concrete policy work and application of basics than by fancy models and fancy statistical significance. There is a trade-off between relevance/importance and rigor/precision. Because many economists concentrate on rigor and precision, their influence in public affairs is not as good as it could be. The professional emphasis on scholastic crafts forsakes the Smithian character of political economy. A more Smithian character for the economics profession would lead to better government policy. The primary article by Daniel B. Klein is followed by comments by Gordon Tullock, Deirdre McCloskey, Israel M. Kirzner, C.A.E. Goodhart, Robert H. Frank and James K. Galbraith and a rejoinder by Daniel B. Klein.

Suggested Citation

  • Gordon Tullock, 2001. "A Comment on Daniel Klein's "A Plea to Economists Who Favor Liberty."," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 27(2), pages 203-207, Spring.
    • Handle: RePEc:eej:eeconj:v:27:y:2001:i:2:p:203-207
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    File URL: http://web.holycross.edu/RePEc/eej/Archive/eeconj/Volume27/V27N2P203_207.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Smith, Gary, 2019. "The Paradox of Big Data," Economics Department, Working Paper Series 1003, Economics Department, Pomona College, revised 04 Jun 2019.
    2. Shaar, Karam & Baharumshah, Ahmad Zubaidi, 2016. "US-China trade: Who is telling the truth?," Working Paper Series 5146, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economists;

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • H00 - Public Economics - - General - - - General

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