Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“In a world of Social Desirability Bias, the economics profession isn’t just a sanctuary. It is by far the biggest such sanctuary. No other discipline explores emotionally-charged topics with so much candor. Our sanctuary was never perfect, and as the profession’s political distribution moves toward the leftist monoculture of the other social sciences, the sanctuary has been getting worse. Still, if you want to honestly analyze the effect of IQ on earnings, the body count of pharmaceutical regulation, the inefficiency of pollution rules, or the wisdom of the Gulf monarchies’ immigration policies, economics remains the place to be. Yet in the heart of our sanctuary of ugly truths, economists have long cultivated a very special pretty lie. One almost unique to our intellectual world. Namely: Pointing to a change that is good on balance, then absurdly claiming that ‘everyone gains.'” (09/24/24)