Economists as Public Policy Advisers

Abstract

A s a member of the Joint Economic Committee for over 15 years I have had ample occasion to observe economists testifying. When I was Chairman of the Committee in the last Congress, for example, we held over 100 hearings and heard from at least that many different economists. From this experience, I have developed some views about how economists can be effective witnesses and, more generally, how they can make a useful contribution to economic policy.For me, the most important quality for economists to have when they are testifying or advising policy-makers is the ability to express their ideas on important policy issues clearly and simply, without jargon. I am most emphatically not asking that economists give overly simple or simplistic advice. In fact, one of the most useful roles an economist can perform is to remind policymakers that the economy is complex, that we must be keenly aware of the unintended consequences of our actions, and that choices must be made among competing objectives. We politicians don't always want to hear these things, but it is important that we do. That is why it is important that we hear them in language that we cannot ignore as vague or incomprehensible.Walter Heller set a standard for economist-advisers that few can match. Beyond an ability to apply simple yet powerful economic principles to the problem at hand and to express his ideas in understandable English, Heller had an enviable knack for coming up with the memorable phrase or aphorism that would drive home his point. He also had a talent for focusing his attention on issues that were on the cutting edge of concern to policy-makers.

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