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I think the point being made is that it's not straightforward to synthesize a plausible set of causes and remedies, despite the survey of 21 sources, and that e

by muraiki 11y ago

I think the point being made is that it's not straightforward to synthesize a plausible set of causes and remedies, despite the survey of 21 sources, and that economics as a science needs a bit of self-reflection in the light of this reality.

roymurdock 11y ago
The author's main conclusion is that economists "need to collect, check, and accumulate facts from which more accurate inferences can then be drawn. Without the immutable hard platform of objective facts on which we can build an accurate narrative of the crisis that stands the test of time, there’s little hope for scientific progress as the waves of public opinion toss our perspective in one direction or another." I don't need a degree from Harvard and Yale, nor do I need to be a professor at MIT to tell you that. If I were an expert in Professor Lo's position, I would probably make a greater attempt to present my expert view of the events and my expert recommendations based off of the 22 texts that I have just read on the subject, rather than just saying that we should collect more data on everything so that this won't happen again in the future.
- Illotus 11y ago
  If the data sucks, how are you going to present any other reasonable expert view than the one he presented? Manufacturing some grand view and recommendations based on untrustworthy data is something that needs to be avoided, however much we would want to hear it.
  - roymurdock 11y ago
    I'd love to hear the opinion and recommendations of the guy who read 22 primary/secondary texts on the subject and have him help shape policy now. You're not going to get better data than the expert views and analyses presented in these texts, barring the constant surveillance, recording, and analysis of every transaction ever made within and without the US economy, every email sent within and between banks/regulators/credit rating agencies/mortgage brokers/loan originators, etc. - data that is impractical and currently illegal to collect. We'd all love to have more/better data, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't draw conclusions or act on the data that is available to us now.

by muraiki 11y ago

roymurdock 11y ago

The author's main conclusion is that economists "need to collect, check, and accumulate facts from which more accurate inferences can then be drawn. Without the immutable hard platform of objective facts on which we can build an accurate narrative of the crisis that stands the test of time, there’s little hope for scientific progress as the waves of public opinion toss our perspective in one direction or another." I don't need a degree from Harvard and Yale, nor do I need to be a professor at MIT to tell you that. If I were an expert in Professor Lo's position, I would probably make a greater attempt to present my expert view of the events and my expert recommendations based off of the 22 texts that I have just read on the subject, rather than just saying that we should collect more data on everything so that this won't happen again in the future.

Illotus 11y ago
If the data sucks, how are you going to present any other reasonable expert view than the one he presented? Manufacturing some grand view and recommendations based on untrustworthy data is something that needs to be avoided, however much we would want to hear it.
- roymurdock 11y ago
  I'd love to hear the opinion and recommendations of the guy who read 22 primary/secondary texts on the subject and have him help shape policy now. You're not going to get better data than the expert views and analyses presented in these texts, barring the constant surveillance, recording, and analysis of every transaction ever made within and without the US economy, every email sent within and between banks/regulators/credit rating agencies/mortgage brokers/loan originators, etc. - data that is impractical and currently illegal to collect. We'd all love to have more/better data, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't draw conclusions or act on the data that is available to us now.