William K. Black
Dublin, Ireland April 4, 2017
I presented a talk today at the Trinity Economic Forum in Dublin. The Forum is a wonderful annual event run by the students that brings together thoughtful and forceful economic speakers from diverse viewpoints. Steve Keen also gave a talk at the Forum and I thank him for bringing the subject of this column to my attention. France is the home of some of the most theoclassical economists in the world.
Orthodox French economists, a bastion of laissez faire, are enraged that theoclassical economics is in increasing disrepute and heterodox economists are leading powerful challenges to the doyen of French economic orthodoxy, Jean Tirole. Tirole received the Nobel Prize in economics in 2014 for his work on “regulating” oligopolies. Tirole denounced all heterodox economists as a “motley crew” and claimed that they had failed to meet “internationally recognized norms of evaluation” for science. Triole stated that it would be a “catastrophe” if heterodox economists taught French students.
