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Response to reviewers on “The Tyranny of Experts”

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  • William Easterly

Abstract

I respond to the three excellent reviewers, who have covered well some of the most difficult issues raised by the arguments in The Tyranny of Experts. These include the good intentions of aid officials supporting autocrats, the role of Western history and current Western travails in the debate on freedom, distinguishing good and bad experts, advocating principles vs. tangible interventions, the serious flaws of democracy and not overstating the case for democracy, the question of whether some academics are also technocrats, the value of freedom as an end in itself, and the definition of democracy as to whether it includes individual rights. Finally and most controversially, I address the biggest question raised by the reviewers (and many others): what should we do? I say why I believe this question is the wrong one, why I refuse to answer it, and suggest more constructive ways to debate freedom and development. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • William Easterly, 2015. "Response to reviewers on “The Tyranny of Experts”," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 28(4), pages 425-441, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revaec:v:28:y:2015:i:4:p:425-441
    DOI: 10.1007/s11138-015-0326-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Torsten Persson & Guido Tabellini, 2009. "Democratic Capital: The Nexus of Political and Economic Change," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(2), pages 88-126, July.
    2. Peter Leeson & J. Subrick, 2006. "Robust political economy," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 19(2), pages 107-111, June.
    3. Eltis, David & Engerman, Stanley L., 2000. "The Importance of Slavery and the Slave Trade to Industrializing Britain," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 60(1), pages 123-144, March.
    4. Kenneth L. Sokoloff & Stanley L. Engerman, 2000. "Institutions, Factor Endowments, and Paths of Development in the New World," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 217-232, Summer.
    5. Doemeland, Doerte & Trevino, James, 2014. "Which World Bank reports are widely read ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6851, The World Bank.
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    Cited by:

    1. Joanna Dzionek-Kozlowska & Rafal Matera, 2016. "Institutions Without Culture. A Critique of Acemoglu and Robinson's Theory of Economic Development," Lodz Economics Working Papers 9/2016, University of Lodz, Faculty of Economics and Sociology.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Individual rights; Economic freedom; Political freedom; Economic development; Foreign aid; Institutions; B1; B2; D64; F35; F53; F54; H1; N00; O1; O2; O3; O4; P1;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B1 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925
    • B2 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • F35 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Aid
    • F53 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations
    • F54 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - Colonialism; Imperialism; Postcolonialism
    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O2 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity
    • P1 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies

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