Economics, Public Policy, and the Third Way (with David Colander)

The economics profession includes many schools of thought–some that emphasize laissez-faire, others that emphasize centralized planning, with many admixtures in between. David Colander, an acute observer of economics who is sometimes described as the profession’s court jester, helps me identify the economic schools of thought that best exemplify the Third Way.

This episode has an accompanying article and is the Third Episode of This View of Life’s new series, “Evolution, Complexity, and the Third Way of Entrepreneurship”.

References from the Show:

12:00- Why aren’t Economists as Important as Garbagemen? by David Colander

23:30- Chaos by James Gleick

David Colander

David Colander, Distinguished College Professor of Economics at Middlebury College, writes on complexity, history of economic thought, economic policy, and social science methodology. His recent book, Complexity and the Art of Public Policy, (co written with Roland Kupers) was described by Herb Gintis as the “best book on public policy in years.” He is currently at work on a book exploring how the neoclassical revolution in economics moved economics policy discussion away from its classical liberal policy roots, and how the complexity revolution is returning economics to those classical liberal roots.