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Noah Smith

What Noah Smith thinks about economists

@noah-smith · 44 positions · 1 change of mind

Economics writer; author of the Noahpinion newsletter.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

Noah Smith did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

3 dated positions, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Noah Smith has said — not written or endorsed by them.

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  1. Our readingIt is better for researchers to study something knowable than something unknowable, even when the knowable question matters less.

    Their wordsThe counterargument here — which I made in 2020 and which a number of economists made in response to JFV’s post — is that it’s better to study something knowable than to study something unknowable, even if the knowable things are less important.

    ↗Could development economics be more useful?noahpinion.blog 1st of 5 in this piece

    Interesting

  3. Our readingDevelopment economists can contribute far less to a poor country’s growth policy in real time than either they or their critics assume.

    Their wordsUnless and until AI gets smart enough to study human society from a bird’s-eye view, I think we should be humble about how much we expect development economists to be able to contribute to developing countries’ growth policies in real time.

    ↗Could development economics be more useful?noahpinion.blog 3rd of 5 in this piece

    Interesting

  5. Our readingPushing development economists onto the big questions risks pressing them to pretend they have big answers.

    Their wordsSo we should be careful that exhortations for development economists to focus on the Big Questions don’t pressure them to pretend that they have the Big Answers.

    ↗Could development economics be more useful?noahpinion.blog 5th of 5 in this piece

    Interesting