INET:s chef i New York, Robert Johnson, har en läsvärd artikel i Time om vad som är fel med den ekonomiska vetenskapen och vad som bör göras för att rätta till saken. Inte alls förvånande består det enligt Johnson till stor del av ökad andel empiri på bekostnad av ekvationer och teoretiska premisser.
”After the financial crisis of 2008, the Queen of England asked economists, “Why did no one see the credit crunch coming?” Three years later, a group of Harvard undergraduate students walked out of introductory economics and wrote, “Today, we are walking out of your class, Economics 101, in order to express our discontent with the bias inherent in this introductory economics course. We are deeply concerned about the way that this bias affects students, the University, and our greater society.”
What has happened? Rebellion from both above and below suggests that economists, who were recently at the core of power and social leadership in our society, are no longer trusted. Not long ago, the principal theories of economics appeared to be the secular religion of society. Today, economics is a discipline in disrepute. It’s as if our ship of state broke from its stable mooring and unexpectedly slammed into the rocks. How could things have gone so spectacularly wrong? And what can be done to repair economics so economists can play a productive role in helping society?”