Tim Harford — The economists’ manifesto

If Britain’s top economists were in charge, what policies would they implement? Tim Harford sets the challenge 

It’s often said that economists have too much influence on policy. A critic might say that politicians are dazzled by data-driven arguments and infatuated with the free-market-fetishising practitioners of the dismal science. As a card-carrying economist, I have never been convinced that politicians are the puppets of economists. Still, the idea seemed worth exploring, so I called up some of the country’s most respected economists and presented them with this scenario: after the election, the new prime minister promises to throw his weight behind any policy you choose. What would you suggest?

My selection of economists was mainstream — no Marxists or libertarians — but arbitrary. There is no pretence of a representative survey here. But there were common threads, some of which may surprise...

The economists’ manifesto
Tim Harford