Economic Behaviour &News Entropy | 14 Oct 2008
The Conscience of a liberal
I was pleasantly surprised and deeply moved to read the News of one of my favorite New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman receiving the Noble Prize in Economic Sciences. Essentially reading his columns for many years, makes me feel connected. In fact NYT has been my daily diet since it became accessible on the Net.
In the words of Edward L. Glaeser an economist at Harvard.
“Rarely, if ever, has an economics Nobel laureate been as widely known before receiving the prize than Paul Krugman. His New York Times columns have been read by millions; he has argued economic policy eloquently in a large number of popular books. Yet these pursuits had little to do with the decision of the Nobel committee. They gave this prize to honor a truly seminal figure in economic trade and geography. Mr. Krugman’s fame as a public intellectual should not lead anyone to think that they understand his contributions to economic research just because they regularly read his columns.”
I also take liberty to reproduce the excerpt from his autobiographical essay a collection about economists’ lives, which readers will find interesting.
“Coming up with a good idea, with an insight into the way the world works that is really new and that you really believe in, is a deeply satisfying experience. The only thing that is even more satisfying is when one idea leads on to another, when you find yourself making a whole series of related discoveries. When that happens, never mind if you are a shy and mild-mannered professor: you feel like some archetypal hero on a mythic quest. I count myself very lucky to have had that feeling even once, during the development of the new trade theory. It is little short of a miracle that I have been able to experience it a second time, as the new economic geography has taken shape.
What makes it even more satisfying is the relationship between the two quests. Economic geography, like the new trade theory, is largely about increasing returns and multiple equilibria. The technical tricks needed to make the models tractable are often the same. There is a difference in emphasis — the trade models were largely focussed on internal economies of scale, while geography is largely about external economies — and in policy relevance.
Nonetheless, it is clear that the two lines of research are in some sense part of a larger project. So I have the satisfaction of being able to feel that I have done more than written two dozen or so clever papers: I have been engaged in some kind of cumulative enterprise. In the remainder of this paper I will try to explain what I think the nature of that enterprise has been — that is, to justify myself as an economist.
Perhaps in the end the question one should ask of any scholar is what purpose he feels his work serves. I could claim great nobility of character and tell you that I work for the good of humanity. Or I could try to shock you and tell you that all I care about are the financial and professional rewards. Neither would be entirely false. I am, indeed, a bit of a romantic who believes, rather in the face of the evidence, that good ideas eventually prevail and make everyone’s life better. I am also not an ascetic: I will not sneer at a nice honorarium or a free trip to a pleasant location.
But the honest truth is that what drives me as an economist is that economics is fun. I think I understand why so many people think that economics is a boring subject, but they are wrong. On the contrary, there is hardly anything I know that is as exciting as finding that the great events that move history, the forces that determine the destiny of empires and the fate of kings, can sometimes be explained, predicted, or even controlled by a few symbols on a printed page. We all want power, we all want success, but the ultimate reward is the simple joy of understanding.”
Pl refer to this link to explore further on his works.
on 14 Oct 2008 at 2:13 pm 1.Rushabh said …
Another meaningful and insightful article from Ajaybhai. Glad to peruse your blog regularly. All the best!
on 14 Oct 2008 at 2:40 pm 2.michele roohani said …
this was the only good news i’ve heard in the longest time! i love krugman’s column in NYTimes and i’ve seen him on charlie rose (http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2007/12/26/1/a-conversation-with-paul-krugman) a couple of times – he is a decent man, extremely intelligent and critical of bush when there was no “fire sale” at the white house like now…CONGRATULATIONS to him and to the nobel committee…
thank you ajay for celebrating him here!