Economist

An economist is a professional who studies how people, businesses, and governments make choices about using limited resources.

Economists look at how society works and study specific markets. They use tools like numbers and math to understand and predict economic behavior. Their work can focus on the whole economy or on individual choices and markets. Some economists also help make better financial and policy decisions.

History of the profession

See also: History of economic thought

Long ago, people who thought about many things, called philosophers, were the first to write about economics. Some of their writings are very old, like those by Aristotle and Xenophon. They talked about simple ideas, such as sharing jobs among people.

In the 1600s, writers who studied many areas, like philosophy and law, also began to write about economics. One of these writers, Adam Smith, wrote a very important book called "The Wealth of Nations." This book helped make economics its own special area of study.

As time went on, economics became a job that people did all the time. By the 1900s, many economists were teachers who used math in their work. Important ideas from thinkers like John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman shaped how people understand economics today.

Professions

Economists study how money and resources are used in society. To become an economist, a person usually needs a special degree in economics. In some places, there are rules about how much economics study is needed.

Economists can work in many places, such as universities, government offices, and companies. They look at information to understand trends and help make better decisions. For example, they might study how people spend money or how businesses make choices. Some economists work as economic analysts, helping to give advice and make plans.

In universities, economists often have advanced degrees. In companies, they help with planning and making forecasts. In government, they help leaders make decisions about laws and policies. Having good skills in numbers, analysis, and communication is important. Many economics graduates find jobs in finance, management, and other fields.

Sociology and public perception

Status among the social sciences 

Some writers say that economics is special among social sciences. People often see it as more scientific and exact than other social subjects. Economists usually earn more money than others in social sciences, both in schools and jobs. They even have their own special prize, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, often called the “Nobel Prize in Economics”. This helps make economics seem very important in making public policy.

After the Second World War, economics changed a lot. It moved away from moral questions and began to use more math and models, like the natural sciences. This made economics different from other social sciences. By the late 1900s, economists started studying topics that sociologists usually looked at, but they still mostly talked only to each other, not to other social scientists.

Economists in public policy and technocracy

Finance and professional orientation

As finance became more important, business schools started hiring more economists. This moved the focus of economics more toward business and private companies, supporting ideas like deregulation and less government control. Economists often feel very confident in their ability to fix problems using their tools, which can make them seem very important—but also more likely to face criticism during tough times.

Influence in the state

Even though economists seem very powerful, helping to make big decisions in central banks, ministries of finance, and international groups, sometimes their advice is ignored when politics get tricky. Still, economists shape how leaders think about problems using ideas like incentives and efficiency.

Scientization of policy advice

Governments now often turn to economists for advice, seeing their ideas as scientific and reliable. Economics fits well here because it uses math and models, and it has strong groups of top schools and journals that give its ideas credibility. But advice still mixes economics with other kinds of knowledge, like reports from banks or government studies.

Technocracy and limits

Economists influence policy more by shaping the tools and ideas leaders use, rather than directly telling leaders what to do. Things like GDP or unemployment rates guide decisions in hidden ways. However, when politics get heated, economists have less say.

Social composition, values and public image

Economics has fewer women than many other social sciences, and economists often come from more well-off backgrounds. They usually hold views that are a bit to the left of centre, but they often support market-based solutions to social problems, which can differ from what most people think. This gap can cause tension, since economists help make important decisions that affect everyone.

Notable economists

See also: List of economists and History of economic thought

Some well-known economists today include:

• Adam Smith, a Scottish economist and philosopher known as "The Father of Economics".
• John Maynard Keynes, an English economist famous for his work on Keynesian economics.
• Jan Tinbergen, a Dutch economist who helped create econometrics and won the first Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1969.
• Ragnar Frisch, a Norwegian economist who started the term econometrics in 1926 and also won the first Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1969.
• Joan Robinson, an English economist who supported Keynesian ideas.
• Karl Marx, a German thinker and economist who created Marxist Economics.
• Amartya Sen, a winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and a professor at Harvard University.
• Kenneth Arrow, a winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and a professor at Stanford University.
• Robert Aumann, an Israeli-American expert who won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 2005.
• B. R. Ambedkar, an Indian scholar and economist who helped shape the Reserve Bank of India.
• Ben Bernanke, who led the Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014.
• Esther Duflo, a winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Milton Friedman, a winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
• Claudia Goldin, a winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and a professor at Harvard University.
• Alan Greenspan, who led the Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006.
• James Heckman, a winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize and a professor at the University of Chicago.
• Glenn Hubbard, Dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.
• Thomas M. Humphrey, an American economist and historian.
• Paul Krugman, a winner of the 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
• Greg Mankiw, an American economist and teacher.
• Joseph Stiglitz, a winner of the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.
• Dambisa Moyo, an economist from Zambia who studies global economics.
• Thomas Sowell, an American economist and thinker.
• Robert Lucas Jr, a winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Economics.
• George Akerlof, a winner of the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics Sciences.
• Carmen Reinhart, a member of the American Economic Association.
• William Forsyth Sharpe, a winner of the 1990 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
• Christopher Antoniou Pissarides, a winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Economics.
• Arthur Laffer, who won the 2019 Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• Jeffrey Sachs, a teacher at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs.
• Ludwig von Mises, an Austrian economist and writer.
• Friedrich Hayek, an Austrian economist and winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
• Thomas Malthus, an English economist who studied how populations grow.
• David Ricardo, who created the idea of comparative advantage in 1817.
• Henry George, an American economist and writer.
• Silvio Gesell, a German economist who created an economic model.
• Jean-Baptiste Say, who created Say's law.
• Ronald Coase, who created the idea of transaction cost.