Jason Furman: belief

Transcript context

…Let me try a very embarrassing question on you. I sometimes tell people that, along a particular dimension, which I can’t quite myself define, that I think you are the greatest economist in the world. A particular kind of policy economist, I guess. But if you had to describe what you think is the dimension of economist where you are the best, how would you put it? Economists who have been chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and read everything that Charles Dickens has ever written. But yeah, I think you’re kinder about me than I would be, frankly. But there’s some kind of mix of breadth and being analytical and knowing facts and theories about different areas, and having real-world experience, but being focused on policy, not writing a column. You’ve done a lot of published academic research, but it’s not the focus of your life the way it has been for, say, Joe Stiglitz in his earlier years. And along that dimension, who’s better than you? Seriously. Now I’m embarrassing you.…

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