Ten Lessons for Economic Policymakers

Andrew Leigh

No 208, IZA Policy Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Economists have played a powerful role in shaping modern Australia. Drawing on my experience as an academic economist and an economic policymaker, I outline ten principles to guide economists seeking to maximise their impact. These are to (1) Focus on wellbeing, not just dollars; (2) Think comparative advantage; (3) Ignore sunk costs; (4) Optimise, subject to constraints; (5) Use the best evidence; (6) Consider expected value; (7) Think in magnitudes, not just in signs; (8) Channel a libertarian; (9) Remember equity; and (10) Incentives matter.

Keywords: economic policy; role of economics; relation of economics to social values (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A11 A13 D04 E60 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 12 pages
Date: 2024-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-sog
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