Life among the Econ: fifty years on

Thomas Palley

No PKWP2106, Working Papers from Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES)

Abstract: Almost fifty years ago, the Swedish econographer Axel Leijonhufvud (1973) wrote a seminal study on the Econ tribe titled “Life among the Econ”. This study revisits the Econ and reports on their current state. Life has gotten more complicated since those bygone days. The cult of math modl-ing has spread far and wide, so that even lay Econs practice it. Fifty years ago the Econ used to say “Modl-ing is everything”. Now they say “Modl-ing is the only thing”. The math priesthood has been joined by a priesthood of economagicians. The fundamental social divide between Micro and Macro sub-tribes persists, but it has been diluted by a new doctrine of micro foundations. The Econ remain a fractious and argumentative tribe.

Keywords: Micro; macro; economagicians; Keynesians; New Classicals; New Keynesians (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A10 B00 B20 Z00 Z10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 8
Date: 2021-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cwa, nep-his, nep-hpe and nep-pke
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