Economists, their role and influence in the media

In this chapter, the authors look at the good and bad aspects of media appearances by economists. They aim to combine their personal experiences with the media with some more general observations and insights from the academic literature on the topic. The authors explain what ethical issues arise from the involvement of economists in media. They address this question by looking at the normative case for media appearances by economists and the ethical issues surrounding appearing in the media. The authors provide some recommendations – in their case, recommendations about media behavior by economists. The way economists analyze and interpret the world influences decision-making by politicians and other policymakers. Practical people, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Economists have been influential in imposing their worldview on the public, as informing or educating the public sometimes becomes confused with indoctrination of the public.