Why do economists have such a high opinion of themselves (they do)? Why does society turn to them for answers to issues that other branches of social science may be in a better position to address (it does)?
The answer is simple; math and money.
In this paper it’s authors, Marion Fourcade, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, California, and Associate Fellow at the Max Planck-Sciences Po Center, Sciences Po, Paris, France. Etienne Ollion, Research Fellow at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, University of Strasbourg, France and Yann Algan, Professor of Economics, Sciences Po, Paris, France set out a detailed explanation of where economist’s superiority complex comes from and their conclusion is both intuitive and satisfying.
Unlike many other branches of social science modern day economics comes with a heavy loading of math. People assume, economists as well unsurprisingly, that math is hard and so mastering it can only be done by superior intellects. Economists also get paid more than other social scientists both within academia and without. Again, there is a societal default setting that says better off people must be smarter and so a powerful circular reference takes hold.
What the paper doesn’t do is test the notion that economists really may be smarter than the average academic or the rest of society in general. Perhaps an economist would like to comment? Maybe they would only confirm that the answer is so obvious that the question doesn’t merit address?
[You can access the paper in full via the following link The Superiority of Economists]
Happy Sunday.