Editor's letter: Beyond Efficiency: A More-human Economics

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The world urgently needs "that rare combination" Keynes described—of mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher—to navigate disruptions from climate change, artificial intelligence, demographic change, social and economic inequality, and geopolitical conflicts.
Economics should be treated as a moral science that draws on a wide culture and remains open to "the shifting picture of experience."

Growing disenchantment with the economics profession and calls for the discipline to change to better reflect individual and societal values.
Extensive professional soul-searching since the global financial crisis of 2008 has focused on integrating social sciences and elevating welfare and distributional issues.
There is a "growing consensus" that the profession must be open to new ideas and frameworks to solve 21st century challenges.

Niall Kishtainy: Account of forces shaping the discipline since Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations.
Angus Deaton (Nobel laureate): Argues mainstream economists must revisit assumptions, cast a more critical eye on the influence of power, stop prioritizing efficiency above all else, and be humbler.
Jayati Ghosh: Critiques the profession’s lack of diversity—ethnic, racial, and gender—which deprives economics of new ideas, new problems, and new talent.
Dani Rodrik: Warns against rule-of-thumb economics; contends existing policy models are inadequate for climate change, inclusion, and economic development; calls for tailoring solutions to differing economic and political contexts.
Atif Mian: Demonstrates why new approaches are needed to break the "debt supercycle."
Wendy Carlin: Advocates for making the curriculum more relevant to real-life problems and for explicitly addressing ethical considerations of fairness and solidarity.
John Cochrane: Counters that revival of "evergreen ideas," including supply-side incentives and fiscal policy reforms, can address today’s challenges.
Additional contributions in the issue cover behavioral economics, political economy, and wage-setting; a profile of Betsey Stevenson highlights her role in rethinking economics.

Economics must be open to institutional alternatives and experimentation.
The discipline should reflect the complexity of economic reality and the values of our time.
Ethical considerations—fairness and solidarity—are "unavoidable" in economic inquiry and policy design.
Teaching and curriculum reform are critical to making economics more relevant and practical beyond traditional efficiency concerns.

Keynes on the required traits of an economist: "the 'master-economist must possess a rare combination of gifts…. He must be mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher.'"
Keynes on intellectual inertia: "The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones."

The editor expresses gratitude for the ability to share these perspectives and hopes the issue reveals "something new" about the present to better understand the world.
Publication metadata included on the page: F&D Magazine; Beyond Efficiency: A More-human Economics; GITA BHATT; March 2024; "Less than a minute(0 words) Read"; "GITA BHATT, F&D editor-in-chief."; and the disclaimer: "Opinions expressed in articles and other materials are those of the authors; they do not necessarily reflect IMF policy."

Source: Editor's letter: Beyond Efficiency: A More-human Economics, F&D Magazine, GITA BHATT, March 2024.

Editor’s Letter: Economics That’s More Human
- Editor’s Letter: Economics That’s More Human (Markdown version)
- Editor’s Letter: Economics That’s More Human (PDF)
F&D March Issue: ECONOMICS How should it change?
- F&D March Issue: ECONOMICS How should it change? (Markdown version)
- F&D March Issue: ECONOMICS How should it change? (PDF)