Don’t blame economics, blame public policy

Public policy schools typically have a strong economics focus but must rethink how they teach students. Medical schools could offer a model, writes Ricardo Hausmann

It is now customary to blame economics or economists for many of the world’s ills. Critics hold economic theories responsible for rising inequality, a dearth of good jobs, financial fragility, and low growth, among other things. But although criticism may spur economists to greater efforts, the concentrated onslaught against the profession has unintentionally diverted attention from a discipline that should shoulder more of the blame: Public policy.