That's more of an indictment of the field of economics than anything else. The most talented leave to make better money in markets and hedge funds and the remai

That's more of an indictment of the field of economics than anything else. The most talented leave to make better money in markets and hedge funds and the remaining academics get to set our public policy. There are plenty of consistently performing funds. Successful "applied economists" include Ray Dalio and Jim Simons.