As far as I know, no prominent market-oriented economist has come out in favor of a trillion dollar increase in government spending as a way to improve the economy. Every market-skeptical economist that I have heard is in favor of it on the grounds that it will improve the economy. Each side claims to have empirical support for its position.
What does this tell you about economics as a science? What should a non-economist conclude?
In this podcast with Robin Hanson, we explore these questions and a few others. It's a little bit off the beaten track, style-wise. It's more of a lengthy confession by me of how my views on these issues have changed, followed by Robin's response. Robin has some very interesting things to say.
