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What Tyler Cowen thinks about economists

@tyler-cowen · 32 positions · 0 changes of mind

Economist at George Mason University, co-author of Marginal Revolution, host of Conversations with Tyler. Writes in short, dense claims about economics, culture and AI, and has moved his position on AI in public more than once.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

Tyler Cowen 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.

12 dated positions, 2023, in their own words. Our reading of what Tyler Cowen has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingMilton Friedman's chief intellectual flaw was wanting to make economics too simple.

    Their wordsAnd indeed overall that interaction fits with my more general reservation about Friedman: he wanted to make economics just a little bit too simple.

    ↗GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?tylercowen.com 1st of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  3. Our readingJohn Maynard Keynes is best understood as a British aesthete rationalist who did economics in his spare time, not primarily as an economist.

    Their wordsI don’t view Keynes primarily as an economist, rather I see him as a British aesthete rationalist who did economics in his spare time, and fortunately he had lots of spare time.

    ↗GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?tylercowen.com 2nd of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  5. Our readingKeynes's bisexuality and strong interest in gay sex were a significant cause of his ability to grasp different and outside perspectives.

    Their wordsI view Keynes’s bisexuality and his strong interest in gay sex as a significant cause of what made him interesting and which gave him so strong an ability to grasp different and outside perspectives.

    ↗GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?tylercowen.com 4th of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  7. Our readingThe General Theory is a brilliant work despite numerous flaws in reasoning, exposition, and microeconomics.

    Their wordsMy current view is that the General Theory is a brilliant work, marred by numerous mistakes in reasoning, exposition, and microeconomics.

    ↗GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?tylercowen.com 6th of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  9. Our readingHayek's three best economics articles surpass the three best articles from any other economist.

    Their wordsHayek’s three best articles are better than any three articles from any other economist.

    ↗GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?tylercowen.com 7th of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  11. Our readingAn inability to see the viewpoints of people unlike oneself is a genuine weakness in a social scientist, not merely a separate moral failing.

    Their wordsIt is a sign that Hayek was not so great at seeing the viewpoints of other people, and that (political moralizing aside) also should count as a weakness of him as an economist and social scientist.

    ↗GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?tylercowen.com 11th of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  13. Our readingNeither monetarist money-supply-focused models nor Keynesian macro models have outperformed simple random-walk models at forecasting the macroeconomy.

    Their wordsFriedman’s focus on the money supply has not held up, as Samuelson suggested, but the alternative Keynesian macro models recommended by Samuelson in the same interview have not done better and they were not outperforming simple random walk models of predicting the macroeconomic future.

    ↗GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?tylercowen.com 12th of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  15. Our readingJohn Stuart Mill's The Subjection of Women is one of the best, most important, and most original books of the nineteenth century.

    Their wordsNot only did Mill consider the topic of women, but virtually everything he claimed turned out to be true, and insightful, even though it was highly controversial at the time. It is one of the best and most important and most original books of the nineteenth century.

    ↗GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?tylercowen.com 16th of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  17. Our readingJohn Stuart Mill developed a deeper and more enduring defense of liberty than Hayek or Friedman did, despite writing decades earlier.

    Their wordsIt is striking that Mill, although writing many decades before Hayek and Friedman, fleshed out a deeper and more enduring defense of liberty than they did.

    ↗GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?tylercowen.com 17th of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  19. Our readingMilton Friedman was the best economist among the plausible candidates for greatest economist of all time.

    Their wordsFriedman has one big factor in his favor, namely that he is clearly the best economist on the list of contending names.

    ↗GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?tylercowen.com 22nd of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  21. Our readingMilton Friedman's best-known policy prescription, targeting the money supply, is no longer regarded as correct.

    Their wordsFriedman’s best-known policy idea – targeting the money supply – no longer is regarded as correct.

    ↗GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?tylercowen.com 23rd of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  23. Our readingAmong the leading candidates for greatest economist of all time, Adam Smith was analytically the weakest, save perhaps Malthus.

    Their wordsOf all the contenders for GOAT, Smith seems to be clearly the worst economist, with the possible exception of Malthus.

    ↗GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time and Why Does it Matter?tylercowen.com 24th of 25 in this piece

    Interesting