What Economists Believe

Greg Mankiw and Arnold Kling post survey results of Economist opinions. There is actually a wide range of agreeement on many key issues.

Here is a sample:

87.5 percent agree that "the U.S. should eliminate remaining tariffs and other barriers to trade."
85.2 percent agree that "the U.S. should eliminate agricultural subsidies."
85.3 percent agree that "the gap between Social Security funds and expenditures will become unsustainably large within the next fifty years if current policies remain unchanged."
77.2 percent agree that "the best way to deal with Social Security's long-term funding gap is to increase the normal retirement age."
67.1 percent agree that "parents should be given educational vouchers which can be used at government-run or privately-run schools."
65.0 percent agree that "the U.S. should increase energy taxes

From what you learned in class, what do you think is behind these beliefs?