Scholarly Comments on Academic Economics

Mistah Friedman? He Dead.

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Abstract

Why is there no Milton Friedman today? For two reasons. The young Milton Friedman emerged from a cloistered hold-out against the Age of Keynes; as such he was a battle-tested master of ingenuity and subterfuge. The accomplishments of those years cannot be replicated by the dominant and dogmatic orthodoxy that Chicago-style economics has become. On the other hand, as a celebrity and TV personality, the older Milton Friedman has many imitators. It’s a well-paid niche, and as such the caliber of people drawn to it is not very high.