Why “Freakonomics” failed to transform economics
The approach was fun, but has fallen out of favour
“Economics is a study of mankind in the ordinary business of life.” So starts Alfred Marshall’s “Principles of Economics”, a 19th-century textbook that helped create the common language economists still use today. Marshall’s contention that economics studies the “ordinary” was not a dig, but a statement of intent. The discipline was to take seriously some of the most urgent questions in human life. How do I pay my bills? What do I do for a living? What happens if I get sick? Will I ever be able to retire?
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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Gang warfare”
Finance & economics March 23rd 2024
- How China, Russia and Iran are forging closer ties
- Japan ends the world’s greatest monetary-policy experiment
- Why America can’t escape inflation worries
- First Steven Mnuchin bought into NYCB, now he wants TikTok
- America’s realtor racket is alive and kicking
- How to trade an election
- Why “Freakonomics” failed to transform economics
From the March 23rd 2024 edition
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