The culture wars between economists and markets practitioners
The latest spat is over whether the Fed is doing QE by the back door
SHOVE HARD and any group can be sorted into contrasting stereotypes: larks and owls; thinkers and doers; conservatives and progressives. Shove again (or simply stir), and you have the makings of a clash. There is a culture war of this kind even in finance. The two bickering tribes are economists and practitioners, such as traders and fund managers. Economists use formal models based on theory. They are rigorous, sometimes to the point of pedantry. Practitioners’ thinking is looser and more intuitive.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Two tribes”
Finance & economics February 8th 2020
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