We talk with Robert Chernomas and Ian Hudson about the widespread influence of economics, their interest in the economic crash of 2008, and the Portsmouth Football Club.
How did you become involved in your area of research?
To quote the great Cambridge economist Joan Robinson – “The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.”
What inspired you to write this book?
The economics profession was the subject of a great deal of justified criticism for their role in not only failing to predict the economic collapse of 2008, but actually putting in place many of the policies that created it. We were interested in finding out to what extent younger members of the profession had changed their analysis in response to these criticisms.
How did you become interested in the subject?
In assessing the evolution of economics we wanted to try and pick the “best” of the profession. Rather than personally getting involved in the messy, subjective and controversial task of determining which economists we thought were the “best,” studying the John Bates Clark winners (awarded to the best US economist under 40) conveniently allowed the economics profession to do the selection for us.
How long did it take you to write your latest book?
From conception to end – three years.
What do you find most interesting about your area of research?
One of the most interesting things about our research is the process of how economic ideas get accepted as “correct” inside the profession and adopted into policy. Is it a matter of good ideas overcoming their inferior predecessors in a process of Darwinian evolution, a matter of incentives in the ivory tower of academia, or a matter of the old murder detective’s maxim qui bono?
What do you wish other people knew about your area of research?
Many people seem to find economics boring (although not this book – it’s a real page turner). Yet the influence that economists and their ideas have on the everyday lives of people around the world is almost impossible to overstate. How economic ideas take hold and who reaps their rewards or bears their costs is one of the most important questions in society.
What’s the most surprising thing you discovered during the course of your research?
There is a statistic floating around that only about 35% of Americans have passports. It’s supposed to demonstrate that Americans are a bit insular and unaware of what’s going on in the world. The economic world could be accused of a similar insularity, not because they don’t engage with other disciplines, our research in this book shows that they certainly do. Rather their insularity is about their dedication to a particular method no matter what discipline they are engaging with and, for many, an assumption that the US economy as it is currently structured is a more or less natural state of affairs.
Do you have to travel much concerning the research/writing of your book?
While the public is no doubt under the impression that economists jet around the world to exotic locations for Raiders of the Arc style adventures, writing the book meant sitting in our respective homes at our computers for hours on end, followed by yet more hours discussing whether what we have said is worth saying. Post book launch there is a bit of travel attending conferences to share ideas including Ottawa, Calgary, New York and Chicago.
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
This is our fourth book together. The hardest part is always the editing. At that point your substantive ideas are in place but you have to go over your own work with a critical eye in order to figure out if you are saying what you think you are saying -that and the grammar mistakes.
What did you learn from writing your book?
Our research certainly suggests that in determining the winner in the contest for economic ideas it is the qui bono question that produces the most useful answers.
What are your current/future projects?
We have two new book contracts for 2017 and a 2018. The first is a bit of a prequel to this book in that it examines the economists whose ideas transformed the US economy after 1980. The second looks at how neoliberalism has affected the life chances of different classes in the US.
In the health area, we have become fascinated with the relationship between epigenetics and economics. Our research looks into the economic implications of the epigenetic finding that the physical and socioeconomic environment can have multigenerational effects.
What do you like to read for pleasure? What are you currently reading?
For Robert, it’s mysteries, history, and biographies. He is reading “The Second World War” by Anthony Beevor.
This isn’t going to create the impression that Ian has any literary pretentions, but Sci Fi and fantasy are his most common genres. He’s currently reading Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie.
What is your favourite book?
Robert is a big fan of E. L. Doctorow.
For Ian, it depends on what you mean by favorite. If you mean the best book, it would be something by Joseph Conrad – Lord Jim or Heart of Darkness. If you mean books that he couldn’t put down – Lord of the Rings or The Road. Not exactly high-brow.
If you weren’t working in academia, what would you be doing instead?
Robert can’t imagine doing anything else accept maybe directing movies.
Ian would like to know if playing midfield in a promotion winning campaign for the Portsmouth Football Club is an acceptable answer. It’s possible that ship has sailed for Ian, hopefully not for Portsmouth.
