Tyler Cowen: evaluation

Transcript context

…Yeah. And what’s the theory of why these institutions, in particular, are so much better run? Is it just that they’re one step back from direct elections? Is it that they have traditions of knowledge within them? How do we think about this? I think both of those. I don’t think the elections point is sufficient because there are plenty of unelected bodies that are totally corrupt around the world. Most of them are, perhaps some sense of American civic virtue that gets communicated and then the incentives are such. Say you’re on the Fed for a while, what you can do afterward can be rewarding, but you want a reputation for having done a good job. So your sense of morality and your private self-interest coincide, and that’s pretty strong. And we’re still in that loop. I don’t really see signs of that loop breaking. It’s also striking to me how many times I’ll read an interesting article or paper and the person who wrote it, it’s like the former head of the Federal Reserve in New York or something. It just seems like that’s a strong vindication of these institutions, that the standards are very high.…

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