Econ Journal Watch

Scholarly Comments on Academic Economics

Who We Are

Joshua Gans

The bio below comes from a published article and may now be dated.

What Are Your Most Underappreciated Works?: First Tranche of Responses

Testimonials

To be honest, I do not remember having heard of Econ Journal Watch until I was asked to write a paper for it. Since then I have become a fan, and I eagerly check out each new issue that comes online. Econ Journal Watch seems to me to fill a void in the current journal literature. The amount of commentary in the general interest journals has declined in recent years, especially the kind of commentary in which one economist tries to get at and challenge the basic point that another is making. I am not sure why this kind of commentary has declined. In fact, Econ Journal Watch has published some interesting articles wrestling with this issue, although a clear answer did not emerge. In any case, Econ Journal Watch provides a new forum for this kind of fundamental conversation. Another area that has almost disappeared from the mainstream journals is history of economic thought. Again Econ Journal Watch has provided a forum for this kind of research. Econ Journal Watch, in other words, is restarting conversation among economists. I think it will succeed. The only thing I do not like about Econ Journal Watch is the title. It sounds like some kind of media watch group that criticizes economic ideas that are not politically correct. In fact Econ Journal Watch appears to be unusually open to different points of view, and I think the conversation at Econ Journal Watch will continue to broaden as the readership grows. I therefore urge economists, indeed anyone concerned about economic issues, to read and lend their support to Econ Journal Watch.

— Hugh Rockoff, Professor of Economics, Rutgers University