Tuesday, February 21, 2006
An Economist
What is an Economist? What do Economists do? Here is Russell Roberts on the subject. Here is Robert E. Lucas.
Here are some books on what Economists should do! And have you ever wondered what Economists contribute? Find out here.
How many economists does it take to change a light bulb?
None. If it really needed changing, market forces would have caused it to happen.
None. If the government would just leave it alone, it would screw itself in.
None. The invisible hand does it.
Two. One to assume the existence of ladder and one to change the bulb.
Eight. One to change it and seven to hold everything else constant.
One to prepare the proposal, an econometrician to run the model, one each MS and PhD students to write the theses and dissertations, two more to prepare the journal article (senior authorship not assigned), four to review it, and at least as many to refine the model and replicate the results.
More jokes here!
Here are some books on what Economists should do! And have you ever wondered what Economists contribute? Find out here.
How many economists does it take to change a light bulb?
None. If it really needed changing, market forces would have caused it to happen.
None. If the government would just leave it alone, it would screw itself in.
None. The invisible hand does it.
Two. One to assume the existence of ladder and one to change the bulb.
Eight. One to change it and seven to hold everything else constant.
One to prepare the proposal, an econometrician to run the model, one each MS and PhD students to write the theses and dissertations, two more to prepare the journal article (senior authorship not assigned), four to review it, and at least as many to refine the model and replicate the results.
More jokes here!
Comments:
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"Give me a one-armed economist!" demanded President Harry S. Truman.
President Truman was the first president to appoint a council of economic advisers. Unlike some later presidents, he actually liked to listen to his policy advisers. However, he preferred a clear recommendation, not a long discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of a particular course of action.
He quickly grew tired of economist who gave a good recommendation, and then began, "On the other hand. . ."
This is not the appropriate way for an economist to act. We each (most of us) have two hands and should always attempt to acknowledge the pros and cons of each policy matter, otherwise we aren't doing our job. That's my take.
President Truman was the first president to appoint a council of economic advisers. Unlike some later presidents, he actually liked to listen to his policy advisers. However, he preferred a clear recommendation, not a long discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of a particular course of action.
He quickly grew tired of economist who gave a good recommendation, and then began, "On the other hand. . ."
This is not the appropriate way for an economist to act. We each (most of us) have two hands and should always attempt to acknowledge the pros and cons of each policy matter, otherwise we aren't doing our job. That's my take.
But, let us not forget how important our profession is:
MOST IMPORTANT PROFESSION
Someone told me recently about an architect, a surgeon, and economist. The surgeon said, 'Look, we're the most important. God's a surgeon because the very first thing God did was to extract Eve from Adam's rib.' The architect said, 'No, wait a minute, God is an architect. God made the world in seven days out of chaos.' The economist smiled, 'And who made the chaos?'
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MOST IMPORTANT PROFESSION
Someone told me recently about an architect, a surgeon, and economist. The surgeon said, 'Look, we're the most important. God's a surgeon because the very first thing God did was to extract Eve from Adam's rib.' The architect said, 'No, wait a minute, God is an architect. God made the world in seven days out of chaos.' The economist smiled, 'And who made the chaos?'
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