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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (105634)	3/7/2009 12:53:35 PM
From: Mary Cluney	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 540839

<<<I recommend you look up a few, before dismissing the list as irrelevant. It's an impressive list.>>> I looked up the first ten names on your list in your top economists list and non were listed. Whereas the four conomists that I respect are Joseph Stiglitz, Larry Summers, Paul Krugman, Ben Benanke and they are ranked 1, 11, 14, and 34 respectively. What does that prove? Lot of people have lists. There used to be a Senator that went around waving his list.

To: greenspirit who wrote (105634)	3/7/2009 2:54:53 PM
From: JohnM	Respond to of 540839

John, it appears you're not aware; the standard objective measurement by which economists evaluate one another is here. Interesting system. Would you please make the case that it is "the standard objective measurement by which economists evaluate one another". Can't tell just by looking at the page. I suspect there are other places that offer rankings as well. Certainly other disciplines have more than one source for rankings. On the face of it, it looks like other such measures I've seen for other disciplines. These kinds of ranking systems are standard pieces of evidence, only one of many, for making tenure decisions. One of the genuinely serious questions that have to be asked by any one of these is how the data set is constructed, what the scope of inclusion is, how reliable the information gathering is, whether the weighting system works for the specific use in hand, and so on. But back to your question. Which economists are on both lists (this one and the petition list) and where do they rank on this list? And, contrary, where do the economists who support the Obama plan rank on this list? Etc. I would not be surprised to see some of the names on the petition list on this list. It's easy enough to spot the more prominent names. Nor would it be surprising if economists associated, one way or another, with the University of Chicago were not in favor of the Obama program. My impression of them has been that they are not petition signers but that's past tense. Perhaps some have become so. Moreover, a more serious analysis would look to see which fairly prominent conservative economists chose not to sign it. And so on. I don't see anything here, just in the form you've provided the information, that undermines the Obama administration's assertion that a "consensus" of economists supports government intervention at this time. I should note the wording here just to make certain we are clear. I'm not typing that they support his program; rather that they support government intervention. Two somewhat different matters.