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August 23, 2007
The public face of economists is that of market economists on TV providing economic commentary on the issues of the moment. These talking heads often spell out the implications for the Australian economy of event X, but it is often difficult to understand what they say. Are they actually saying anything of significance? Or are they spruiking for the market institutions?
They appear to be doing a publicity gig for the financial institutions. I guess that makes a change from the economist as a neo-liberal ideologue defending the free market and attacking the social democratic state.
in his op-ed in The Australian Alex Millmow confirms this judgment about financial market economists:
The talking heads on our television screens spell out the implications for the Australian economy, but all these commentators hail from financial institutions rather than academe. Only their voices are heard when it comes to commentary on current economic issues. This has implications for economic policy since these economists are paid to uphold the interests of their employer and the constituency they represent. In contrast, academic economists suffer from a lack of recognition and reach in the media, which biases the promulgation of economic policy options in the broader community.
Millmow, who is a member of the Centre for Alternative Economic Policy Research asks: Are these financial market economists medicine men advising the economy or merely weather men forecasting it? Either way, they are now the major spokespersons of the tribe -- prominent media commentators on the state of the national and global economy, more visible than their academic brothers.
Millmow highlights the shift away from academic expertise. He says that with the high public exposure of financial market economists, the common perception of an economist becomes one who predicts -- and often gets wrong -- future movements in interest rates and who considers the implications that the latest economic statistics will have for the economy and market sentiment. He adds:
Economics as a policy vehicle has also suffered as a result of this move away from academic media input. In terms of the debate of economic policy in the media, academic economists are generally not out there attempting to shape the views of the public on important issues such as budget deficits, interest rates, industry policy, industrial reform, taxation reform or even broader issues of economics like the environment.
Millmow's argument is to make academic economics relevant again through an engagement with the economic issues of the day in Australia via economic media commentary instead of leaving it to the standard journalist perspective of economics and the oracles in the tribe of the financial market economists.
Well the academic economists could go online more than they have done so. Where, for instance, is the blog of the Centre for Alternative Economic Policy Research, which aims to bring 'together people of like mind who are opposed to current neoliberal economic policies - to discuss, formulate and disseminate alternative policies by means of research, meetings, publications, publicity and a website'.
Academics still appear to look at the digital world with disdain or indifference and I'm not persuaded that academic economists, as experts, want to participate it the national conversation. It's too crude, vulgar, uniformed and irrational.
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Gary,
Re your comment 'I'm not persuaded that academic economists want to participate it the national conversation.'
If you look at the Centre for Alternative Economic Policy Research website you can see that it has not been updated since 2004. There was a flurry of research activity for a couple of years and then nothing.
These academics made the connection between academic research and public policy but they could not sustain the effort. Too difficult?