Economists tend to move in small circles – like some endangered species, we often tend to gravitate towards one another. This means that most economists in the City, for example, know lots of other economists in the City, or at least have heard of them.
Economists can also be a bit awkward. While we regularly get things wrong – when speaking to those considering a career in the profession, I often tell people they have to be ready to make mistakes – we can be quite particular about getting things wrong ourselves, on our own basis, rather than because someone else tells us what to think or say.
All this is background to a conversation that took place before Christmas between an acquaintance of mine and a public relations manager at his firm (essentially, a junior spin doctor). The broad thrust of the conversation was around the Coalition Government’s policy and how good it was, and what the economist in question should say about it. Apparently the junior spin doctor was keen that my acquaintance should present the Government in a more positive light, despite the fact that the economist thought the policy stance was wrong.
Four lines of the conversation in particular really shocked the economist, which he wrote down to make sure he remembered them correctly. They went like this:
Economist: 'Are you asking me to lie?'
Junior spin doctor: 'Not really.'
Economist: 'That means you are [asking me to lie].'
Junior spin doctor: 'I wouldn’t call it lying.'
This conversation struck a chord with me, as I have sometimes come under pressure to modify my view or ‘toe the line’ to suit someone else’s agenda. Admittedly, those occasions have been few and far between. But, as someone who often gets the broad thrust of events right, but the details fairly regularly wrong (what will GDP growth be tomorrow, to one decimal place?), the last thing I would want is someone else telling me what to think. It's hard enough to get this stuff right in the first place. Plus, as an economist, intellectual honesty is one of the few things that really matters to me. Personally I think that being wrong (albeit hopefully for consistent and well-understood reasons) is more respectable than flip-flopping your view to keep other people happy.
However, it occurred to me that we economists (or maybe it’s just the two of us) are hardly representative of the wider world as a whole. So what’s your view? Please use the comment box below to let me know what you think.
I suppose it depends what you want to achieve.
If you want the real truth then intellectual honesty is a must.
But if you want to persuade people (politics) then you need to go for the heart and the truth may well have to suffer to get what you want done.
Mr Dean if economists spoke the truth it might compromise their reputations.
Towards the end of the Celtic Tiger, very few economists were willing to speak out against the government's dodgy economic policies. As a result Fianna Fail, the previous government, won another term in 2007 despite starting one of the biggest financial disasters of all time. Needless to say voters felt misled and betrayed because they were being told lies by spin doctor economists.
As Jeff Taylor said above, the truth was sacrificed for political gain.
If you're into spinning the truth by presenting the government "in a more positive light" like that you're more of a politician than economist in my eyes.
I would go further and say that company, not just government, economists probably play 'political' games. Not just for their employers but for their own needs to be 'accepted' and promoted within the corporation.