Economics in the Blogosphere, or, “OK, I’ll Help This Go Viral”

The Richmond Fed’s Kartik Athreya takes the commentariat to task for its habit of making pronouncements on economics that they (we) aren’t qualified to make (HT: Greg Mankiw). Athreya makes several interesting comparisons of economics to oncology, seismology, and cell biology. People who have little or no training in these fields usually refrain from making confident pronouncements about them. Ignorance doesn’t stop those who would opine on economics, and indeed, it is sometimes seen as a sign of even greater credibility. As a regular contributor to the blogosphere and public commentary, I saw Athreya’s piece as a refreshing and re-centering reminder about what I’m qualified (and not qualified) to say.