Even the Simpsons are in on it.
Interestingly, 3 of the 4 for economics in the pic above are trade guys (or have dabbled in the trade literature). And i guess, in line with Blinkie the 3-eyed fish, there's no mention of any climate change economists in the Simpsons list.
Personally, I think Alesina and Weitzman are in good standing. Alesina does alot on political economy, macroeconomics and redistribution while Weitzman has written seminal papers that underpin the dialogue on climate change policies.
Of course, the times and circumstances may always demand for literature more closely tied to matters of the heart. Kiyotaki and Moore with their models on credit cycle shocks may just be what the world wants to talk and recognise right about now.
Post Edit: Then again, with all the China bashing right now, and things get heated over currency matters and trade, maybe the Simpsons are right to focus on the trade economists.
2 comments:
I just thought it was a criticism of Bhagwati's pro-trade position, given that Bart is his supporter. Lisa is usually portrayed as the sympathetic one, especially on intellectual and moral questions, and Helpman's theories (as I understand them) are in a bit of conflict with Bhagwati's.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, though. Other characters have moments of lucidity, like Homer's knowledge of the Supreme Court. Then again, Homer also thinks Earl Warren was a sleazy male stripper, so...
Hmm, as I understand it, Helpman's theories are more on recognising the trade and labour market rigidities and how these influences the impact of trade on an economy's productivity, prices, welfare, growth, distribution etc. I'm not so sure if his theories are so much in conflict with Bhagwati's, but perhaps more of a reconciliation of why the data doesn't match some of the theory.
oh and i love homer. I have no clue how he came up with that! but what a nice description of a day vs. night job.
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