http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/17/opinion/brooks-the-inequality-problem.html
Meanwhile, Charles Wyplosz provides a fascinating analysis of the socio-economic challenges facing France:
Tackling fundamental socio-economic problems requires economists whose insights are not solely derived from quantitative modeling. Knowledge of history, social structure and political landscape are also essential for policy-oriented economists.
A recent BusinessWeek piece on Janet Yellen and the highly technical area of monetary economics observed:
“In other words, you
can have a rate-setting rule that’s very good but unreliable, or one that’s
reliable but not very good. Some choice. “A dose of good judgment will always
be essential as well,” Yellen concluded. That’s also known as trusting your
gut.”
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Tangentially Related,
Why Quants Don’t Know Everything BY FELIX SALMON (Wired
Magazine)