Quoting Richard Fiero <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
>
> Tim May wrote:
>
> >On Tuesday, April 24, 2001, at 09:21 AM, Bill Stewart wrote:
> >
> >>Perhaps the field has changed since I was in college, but back then,
> >>academic econometrics had the reputation of being dominated by
> Marxists -
It's changed, at least where I am.
It's not about central planning at all. Making any policy without using
rigorous data-based research to get a sense of the way things really are
(through analysis and measurement) rather than the way your theory tells you
they OUGHT to be, is a dangerous prospect no matter what your politics are. The
goal is more clear thinking and less bias.
> >I'll provide a data point about what corporations want: they
> >hire a _lot_ of MBAs, but not a lot of "economists." Sure,
> >MBAs have to complete a series of econ courses, probably based
> >on Samuelson and the various micro- and macro-econ courses,
> >but mostly corporations are seeking those with tools to manage
> >businesses, markets, product lines, etc. Classical economics is not a
> focus.
Yep, you know why? Because there's a huge difference between being an economist
at a widget factory and being an policy-oriented economist at a think tank. I
was talking about analysts interested in the big picture. More power to the
MBAs and what they do, but they really are extremely limited in comparison.
~Faustine.
****
'We live in a century in which obscurity protects better than the law--and
reassures more than innocence can.' Antoine Rivarol (1753-1801).
