Economists Share Some Of The Blame For Our Economic Crisis And Weak Recovery

This article by Dani Rodrik shows that it is not always easy to determine the actions that special interests might take to achieve an objective.  He gives several good examples of how that has worked for businesses and for nations. He argues that economists blame special interests for all of our problems.  The powerful always get what they want.  There is some truth to that, but economists played an important role in providing academic cover for liberalization policies that led to the financial crisis.  They have also played a role in legitimizing the failed idea of expansionary austerity.