Some Good Economics Commentary Coming out of AIER
Many think tanks churn out pages and pages of commentary on a daily basis. Of course, the ones advocating "My Side" of the issue are doing a fine job, and those on the side of the "Enemy" are producing hogwash. (And for the most part I do believe that.)
The difference? The good ones are basing their research on at least a modicum of science. The bad are simply writing their propaganda and then finding the pseudoscientific justification for it.
But that's what this tug-of-war of ideas is all about, and may the best player win.
[Thanks to quiltersmuse.com for the image.]
One of the organizations founded on a model of scientific inquiry as opposed to nice-sounding nonsense is the American Institute for Economic Research established by Edward C. Harwood.
Since Harwood's death in 1980, the Institute has preserved the most important aspect of its identity: Its lack of bias and its reliance upon data and the evidence. If the figures to support an argument are not there, they will refrain from making the argument; and this takes a strength of discipline that many economists and thinkers in other fields do not possess.
The funds supporting the work they produce come from readers and from reader donations, not from any particular wealth source with an agenda, like so many of the tanks around, e.g. George Soros's Open Society Institute, or the Pew Charitable Trusts.
AIER's present management has begun to bring their platform into the 21st century and now maintains a rapidly improving website, adding just recently a daily commentary column like this one about the true stats on American manufacturing and jobs in the manufacturing sector. You might be surprised by the conclusion to which the unbiased evidence points.
Add them to your daily read. The RSS feed is hidden here, top left corner.
The difference? The good ones are basing their research on at least a modicum of science. The bad are simply writing their propaganda and then finding the pseudoscientific justification for it.
But that's what this tug-of-war of ideas is all about, and may the best player win.
[Thanks to quiltersmuse.com for the image.]
One of the organizations founded on a model of scientific inquiry as opposed to nice-sounding nonsense is the American Institute for Economic Research established by Edward C. Harwood.
Since Harwood's death in 1980, the Institute has preserved the most important aspect of its identity: Its lack of bias and its reliance upon data and the evidence. If the figures to support an argument are not there, they will refrain from making the argument; and this takes a strength of discipline that many economists and thinkers in other fields do not possess.
The funds supporting the work they produce come from readers and from reader donations, not from any particular wealth source with an agenda, like so many of the tanks around, e.g. George Soros's Open Society Institute, or the Pew Charitable Trusts.
AIER's present management has begun to bring their platform into the 21st century and now maintains a rapidly improving website, adding just recently a daily commentary column like this one about the true stats on American manufacturing and jobs in the manufacturing sector. You might be surprised by the conclusion to which the unbiased evidence points.
Add them to your daily read. The RSS feed is hidden here, top left corner.
Labels: AIER, American Institute for Economic Research, economics, Edward C. Harwood
posted by Katy Delay at 6:52 AM
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