When you testify before Congress or advice policy makers, what economic ideas are the hardest to communicate?
The idea that good intentions do not guarantee good results. Time and time again I see people in the policy world assume that if they have good intentions, then the policies they favor will produce the results they say they want -- even if they have no empirical evidence that the policy actually does produce those results. If an economist questions whether a policy will in reality produce the hoped-for results, he or she is assumed to be attacking the proponent's good intentions. If policymakers were more willing to make decisions based on actual evidence, I'll bet that fewer policy debates would degenerate into the nasty name-calling wars we see on TV and social media every day.
What is the best (or worst) advice you received when you were studying to become an economist?
Best advice: Go to George Mason. Worst advice: Don't go to George Mason. George Mason was the lowest-ranked school that offered me money, but I went there anyway for my Ph.D because it was the most intellectually stimulating. I don't regret it. Education should be about learning something you're passionate about learning, not just pursuit of credentials.
