Last Wednesday the Wall Street Journal published this letter of mine:
Behavioral economics, a subject that Alan Blinder
knows something about, teaches that people often read too much into the
dominant facts currently before their eyes. In fearing recent
technological innovations that make "outsourcing" more likely, Mr.
Blinder himself seems to have fallen victim to this psychological
malady. Do today’s technological advances put more pressure on American
workers than did the arrival of electrification, automobiles, aviation,
container shipping and the microchip? Is today’s increased competition
from foreign workers really that different from the massive post-World
War II entry of women into the work force? Unlikely. Mr. Blinder should
chill out.
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Fairfax, Va.