Paul Krugman on Making Wonkery Accessible to the Public

How do you make esoteric economic wonkery accessible to the public?

Barry Ritholtz

19 Feb 2020, 02:32 PM IST

Paul Krugman on Making Wonkery Accessible to the Public

Paul Krugman, professor of economics at the City University of New York (CUNY). (Photographer: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- How do you make esoteric economic wonkery accessible to the public?

That was the challenge facing Paul Krugman when he began writing columns. Back then, he was better known for his oft-cited academic papers and the college economics textbook he had co-authored with with economist Robin Wells (who also happens to be his wife).

Krugman describes how he began his career completely apolitically — he was called “ideologically colorblind” by Newsweek — and worked as a staffer in the Reagan White House. In the 1990s, he started writing a popular economics column for Slate, and then in 2000 moved to the New York Times. It was only during the George W. Bush administration that he became much more politically oriented and partisan.

In 2008, Krugman won the Nobel’s Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences “for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity.” He has written or edited more than 20 books and 200 scholarly articles, and his most recent book is Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future.

We discuss how his real-life persona is different from what people imagine him to be like based on his written columns; in person, he’s really a “pussycat.”

According to Krugman, today’s right-wing economists and policy makers are missing “reasonable conservatives” like Harvard’s Martin Feldstein — people who make coherent arguments based on facts and provable theory. He observes that in the 1980s, there were policy arguments about genuine issues. He notes there is less room for rationality on the right. He argues that “Zombie Ideas” (along with Donald Trump) have taken over the GOP, making it nearly impossible for bi-partisan legislation to move forward.

His favorite books can be seen here; a transcript of our conversation is available here.

You can stream and download our full conversation, including the podcast extras, on Apple iTunes, Overcast, Spotify, Google, Bloomberg, and Stitcher. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here.

Next week, with Brian Deese, Global Head of Sustainable Investing for Blackrock.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sarah Green Carmichael at sgreencarmic@bloomberg.net

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Barry Ritholtz is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is chairman and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management, and was previously chief market strategist at Maxim Group. He is the author of “Bailout Nation.”