What Do Economists Contribute?

The title of this book raises a provocative question that should make all economists think. Do economists have much influence on government policy, particularly over, say, five or ten years? In this splendid collection, some published as long ago as the 1930s, nine great economists consider these questions. Economists tend to devote themselves to the technical frontiers of their discipline. But in political economy the important decisions are made, not by experts, but by ordinary public officials and voters, who need edification in the basics. This task is neglected by academic economists. Academic rewards go instead to refiners of the frontier. In this text great economists of the 20th century Hayek, Coase, Schelling, Tullock, Kirzner, Graham, Hutt, Philobrook and McCloskey explore the existential question for economists: how do they contribute to human betterment?