What Kind of EconoTroll Are You?

Posted on September 27, 2012 by yellojkt

Noah Smith of Noahpinion has published a taxonomy of commenters found on economics oriented blogs. It struck me that a lot of them sounded awfully familiar but I couldn’t quite put types to aliases. So I invite ATiMers to self-diagnose and pick what arbitrary ill-fitting bin they belong in. Feel free to mix and match. Choices include:

Libertarian
Post Keynesian
Market Monetarist
Republican
Austrian
Modern Monetary Theorist
Marxist
Scientist
New Classical

As for myself, I have to classify myself as a Krugmanite, a type mentioned in the comments, since Krugman is the only economist I actually ever agree with even if I can’t understand anything labeled ‘wonkish’.

Filed under: Economy |

« »

5 Responses

  1. markinaustin, on September 28, 2012 at 10:05 am said:

    I read the link. I do understand the humorous categorization of comments from folks based on their politics. I would not have characterized the economists he cited uniformly as he did.

    I studied economics as an undergraduate, when Keynes and Friedman were the guiding lights on macroeconomic theory and price theory was basically Adam Smith through the math of Alfred Marshall. For all I know, price theory may still be such, but the rise of Hayek and Von Mises in the estimation of some is since that time. They do not see the competitive model through the same prism as Smith-Marshall.

    Marxism as economic theory remains the easily disproven joke it always was.

    Krugman’s polemics are Keynes on steroids and without regard for the changed circumstances of global trade and commerce.

    I am guessing that I am closer to Bernanke and Simon Johnson who both respect the monetarist influence on macroeconomics far more than Krugman, while both believing that fiscal policy ought to be carefully managed, and not shotgunned [the Krugman mantra of “it should be more”].

    I have mentioned before that I wrote my senior thesis on “taxation and urban land use” and it was pretty much a Friedmanesque exercise in multiple regression analytics. I became certain that fewer municipal governments, aiming for a limit of zero overlap in functions, was a worthy public finance goal.

    I don’t know what Noah category I am in.

    Like

    Reply
  2. ScottC, on September 28, 2012 at 10:33 am said:

    yello:

    So I invite ATiMers to self-diagnose and pick what arbitrary ill-fitting bin they belong in.

    Austrian/Libertarian

    As for myself, I have to classify myself as a Krugmanite

    That’s cheating…it wasn’t a choice.

    Like

    Reply
  3. Michigoose, on September 28, 2012 at 10:36 am said:

    Scott:

    Austrian/Libertarian

    I guessed right for you, even though Hayek wasn’t mentioned! 🙂

    Like

    Reply
  4. Brent Nyitray, on September 28, 2012 at 11:46 am said:

    None of the Above.

    I would be the financial economist – the type that resides at the B-school, not the econ department.

    Think Charles Plosser, Ron Coase, Gene Fama, Merton Miller

    Like

    Reply
  5. Brent Nyitray, on September 28, 2012 at 12:14 pm said:

    Or to put it in self-deprecating Noah form:

    Financial Economists

    “That cannot be a $10 bill lying on the sidewalk because someone would have picked it up already.”

    How they see themselves: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Holdem.jpg

    How the world sees them: some photo of a mad scientist blowing up the lab.

    Favorite Blog: Seeking Alpha

    Favorite Dead Economist: Hayek

    Will Appear in response to posts regarding: Dodd-Frank / Taxes / Keynsianism

    Craziest Idea: Believing the market will correct their so-called arbitrage before the margin calls kick in.

    Special Attack: Market Efficiency / Rational Expectations

    Secret Weakness: Covariance Matrices

    Like

    Reply

Be kind, show respect, and all will be right with the world.