Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be

Whether good or bad, stories around the health of the economy are perennially front and center. Given the intellectual power in the field of economics, why does the discipline seem unable to better predict downturns and crises? Coyle (public policy, Cambridge Univ.) addresses multiple aspects that feed into questions like this. She begins by digging into longstanding critiques of the discipline; chiefly that, through its influence on public policy, economics serves to influence events rather than analyze them, but also that much of its macro-level analysis is inherently flawed due to the homogeneous viewpoint of individuals in the profession. She continues by considering the increasingly data-driven methods used by economists and whether objectivity is possible using these methods, given that existing data does not paint a complete picture of society. Finally, she delves into how methods should adapt to chart the course for economic progress more equitably and how the economist mindset might change to keep step with the digital age.