Distinguished Lecture on Economics in Government: The Economist vs. Madmen in Authority

Isabel V. Sawhill

Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1995, vol. 9, issue 3, 3-13

Abstract: This lecture, given to the Society of Government Economists in January 1995, examines the influence of research on policy and vice versa using three widely believed propositions. The first is that government spending is wasteful or ineffective and can readily be cut back in order to reduce the deficit; the second is that welfare should be time limited and made conditional on people's behavior; the third is that education and training are (more than ever) the ticket to individual and national prosperity. The paper explores the interplay of facts of economic analysis with political and institutional constraints and public values.

JEL-codes: A11 F14 H11 J21 J31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1995
Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.9.3.3
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