Princeton economist Angus Deaton on the emotional aspects of discussing politics:
“People appear to dislike politics and politicians so much that prompting them to think about them has a very large downward effect on their assessment of their own lives,” he writes. “The effect of asking the political questions on well-being is only a little less than the effect of someone becoming unemployed …”
The results seem strange in the sense that the emotional effect of losing one’s job would appear to be much worse than discussing the modern-day equivalent of Al Capone’s thugs. The data and methodology were not provided in the summary article.
Deaton is from Princeton, the same place that harbors Alan Blinder and Paul Krugman and spawned Ben Bernanke. Perhaps the University now believes diverting the efforts of their economists is now a more productive and less embarrassing endeavor than having them ply their trade. Or, perhaps Princeton economists believe they can solve any problem, whether it is in their field, related to their field or outside their field.
At any rate, it would seem that Princeton has other departments eminently more qualified to analyze and comment on such matters. Surely the self-renowned, public nusisance, Cornel West would be able to shed light on this issue.
Angus Deaton
Curious, I decided to learn a bit about Professor Deaton’s background. His self assessment appears quite proper and normal:
I am the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Economics Department at Princeton University. My main current research areas are in health, wellbeing, and economic development.
I am a British citizen, and previously taught atCambridge University and the University of Bristol. I am a corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of the Econometric Society and, in 1978, was the first recipient of the Society’s Frisch Medal. I was President of the American Economic Association in 2009.
Cornel Wests
Then I decided to check out the background of Cornel West:
… (born June 2, 1953) is an Americanphilosopher, author, critic, actor, civil rights activist and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America. West is a 1973 graduate of Harvard University and is currently employed as a Professor at Princeton University, where he teaches in the Center for African American Studies and in the Department of Religion. West is known for his combination of political and moral insight and criticism and his contribution to the post-1960s civil rights movement. The bulk of his work focuses on the role of race, gender, and class in American society and the means by which people act and react to their “radical conditionedness.” West draws intellectual contributions from such diverse traditions as the African American Baptist Church, pragmatism andtranscendentalism.
Perhaps Princeton is allocating their manpower properly after all. It appears they are choosing, at least in this case, the allocation that will do the least damage to society and their own reputation.
Solving one puzzle only raises a bigger one — Why are parents paying huge dollars to “educate” their children at Princeton?
That will have to wait for some other day.
