Not All Economists are to Blame, But Some Are
Mark Thoma notes the discrepancy between pretty much standard economics and what the popular discussion considers ‘economics’ :
A defense of some, but not all economists:
I assert that some economists got things mostly right about the recession and what was needed to fix it, but they have been ignored in policy discussions. Conversely, those who got things mostly wrong were given prominent seats at the policy-setting table where they continued to make errant forecasts even as the evidence piled up against them. One attempt at rebuttal is, I suppose, is to ask how we know who was correct? The answer is that unlike the economists who continue to promote austerity, fear of inflation, and so on, the assertion is based upon the empirical evidence on these issues. [See Paul Krugman for a related issue, why fear of inflation, deficits, and so on “resonates with a lot of people no matter how often and how badly the worldview fails in practice.” Part of my point is that I don’t think economists are free of blame for this.]