On Tue, Aug 20, 2002 at 01:47:45PM -0400, Louis Proyect wrote: > postmodernism and Duflo's fascination with "smaller initiatives".
This brings us back to Stiglitz. Quite some time ago, I got the impression that the two most creative younger economists were Stiglitz and Summers, both of whom displayed ingenuity in moving about a wider range of fields. In contrast, most economists tend toward narrow specialization. Today, the most clever generalist might be Michael Kremer, mentioned in the article. Later, I came to realize that the neo-Keynesian perspective was much more consistent. Markets work, but here's a little problem. Let's see how we can fix it. Neo-Keynesianism was popular in the Clinton administration because it represented a kind of activism without much cost. Other than health-care, Clinton avoided big (nonmilitary) programs, especially those that would cost a lot. Summers' career shows how a more ambitious Stiglitz could have moved. I think that this "let's see how we can fix it" brand of economics represents the outer limits of critical thinking in economics. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
