When Politicians Ignore Economic Expertise by Kaushik Basu
As politicians encroach on areas that require technical knowledge, the risk of costly policy mistakes increases. The failures of Narendra Modi and Donald Trump show that when it comes to economic policymaking, political acumen is no substitute for a deep understanding of incentives, markets, and institutions.
NEW DELHI—During the seven years I served as chief economic adviser to the government of India and as chief economist at the World Bank, I came to appreciate what a strange discipline economics is. Parts of it amount to little more than organized common sense, which is why political leaders with no formal training can sometimes make policy decisions every bit as sound as those of professional experts.
