Economic Theory for the Real World
Although policies based on mainstream neoclassical economics, famously enshrined in the Washington Consensus, have clearly failed, economic theory has remained in a state of paralyzed confusion. What has been missing is a full shift to modern modes of thought informed by contemporary science.
TOWNSHEND, VT – Economic theory exists to underpin and guide economic policy – and so it has done since the days of the mercantilists and the physiocrats, and from Adam Smith and David Ricardo to Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes. While good theory helps us understand the world and make better policy choices, bad theory can lead to major policy failures.