What do students from other faculties think of Economists?

Sometimes professors and others high in the hierarchy of the university get the reproach that they live in an ivory tower and that they do not know what is happening in our society. I assume that you, the reader of this article, more or less know what is happening in our society and know about the dissimilar views of various groups on the most important topics. But do we, economists, know how others view us? To get a bit of insight, we asked four students from other disciplines how they view economists. In addition, we tested their knowledge about economics a bit. Here is an inquiry in three interviews.

The first interview is with Berk, a Dutch student of 22 years old, who is studying International Business Administration:

EFR: When you hear the word economics, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

Berk: First thing that comes to mind is welfare, both socially and as a group term. Money does not stay in one place, it is a flow. I earn money at the supermarket, which I will spend on something, and in that way it ends up in the pockets of someone else. Who will spend it again on something, so it becomes a flow.

EFR: Okay, thank you for your interesting thoughts, now some questions about your knowledge of economics; do you know who the president of the ECB is?

Berk: I have no idea, I would guess the famous German guy? But it could also be that he is from the World Economic Forum.

EFR: Would you like to know who it is? It is Christine Lagarde.

Berk: Oh Lagarde? Yes, that name does ring a bell.

EFR: And Klaas Knot, do you know who he is?

Berk: I have no idea as well, sorry, I am not really into current events.

EFR: No worries, that was already it for the knowledge questions, on to the fun questions! What do you think a stereotypical economist looks like? And a student?

Berk: For economists I would say that regarding their skills, that they analyse economic numbers and facts and then make predictions. Regarding their looks I would say that they wear suits. For students who study economics I would say that they are more interested in student life, not really into their studies. They look trendy and are focussed on consumption, so for example the brand is more important than the quality of their clothes.

EFR: Should we listen more to those economists, or less? Or is it more or less alright now?

Berk: It is quite important to listen to economists, it is a fairly broad discipline and they try to take into account quite a number of things. So we should take their advice into consideration when we decide on things such as increasing or decreasing the interest rate or reforms in the housing market. But if you are talking about political decisions, it is fairly easy to use the statistics in the way you want. I just had a course about this, and it makes for example already a difference if you say that something contains 5% fat or that it is 95% fat free. So it depends on the subject whether we should listen more to them or not.

EFR: Okay, sure. In the news we hear that some politicians and economists want the Dutch government to cut expenditures, while others do not want a cut. What do you think is wise and if you agree on the cut, what should they cut?

Berk: Well I think it is not necessary right now. But if we had to… We already give quite an amount of money to other countries, in the form of aid? It is however important that there is some level of welfare here as well. We also have the European Union to arrange these things. Besides that maybe we could stop spending money on infrastructure? But only the roads, not public transport. Compared to other countries, the roads are very nice over here, so maybe just not spend any money on it for one year? But thereafter, just continue spending, because it is relatively good but we need to maintain how it is, it should not deteriorate too much.

The second interview is with Lieke, a Dutch student of 22 years old, and with Juliett, a French student of 21 years old, who are both studying International Business Law:

EFR: When you hear the word economics, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

Juliett: I love economics, I had a course in my secondary school and my bachelor was partially economics (a double degree).

Lieke: Oh really? I did my high school in the USA and I had an AP there, that is a university course that you finish during high school. Besides that I think economics is very useful for our daily life.

EFR: Hahaha, glad to hear! Now we move on to some questions about your knowledge of economics; Do you know who is the president of the ECB?

Lieke: I have no idea.

Juliett: Is it Christine... No, she is from the IMF. Then I have no idea as well.

EFR: What did you want to say?

Juliett: Christine Lagarde, but she is already president of the IMF.

EFR: She was there first indeed, but now she is the president of the ECB!

Juliett: Oh nice! So I was right? Hahaha.

EFR: Yes you were, well done! Do you know Klaas Knot as well?

Juliett: No, I would really have to guess.

Lieke: It probably has something to do with economics?

EFR: Hahaha, obviously. He is the president of the Dutch National Bank. Let us move on to the next question then: What does a stereotypical economist look like? And a student?

Lieke: I almost studied it, but I imagine it as being mostly male dominated. Law is becoming female dominated, but I imagine it being the opposite way in the field of economics?

Juliett: Most famous economists I know are male…

Lieke: Yes and it seems a bit nerdy as well. I imagine people working in a bank.

Juliett: And I would say that in general economists are good at maths, good at science stuff.

Lieke: What do you mean, good at science stuff? Are we not good at science stuff as well?

Juliett: Well, good at logical reasoning and so on.

Lieke: Yes that could be true.

EFR: With that in mind, should we listen more to those economists, or less? Or is it more or less alright now?

Lieke: The problem I have with economics is that there are a lot of contradicting opinions. We had a course about some treatment that was based on the philosophy of the Chicago School of Economics. But now that seems to be out of fashion…

Juliett: Yes, it changes all the time, what was relevant 100 years ago is not necessarily relevant nowadays.

EFR: Yes, it does change. Then about these different views: In the news we hear that some politicians and economists want the Dutch government to cut expenditures, while others do not want a cut. What do you think is wise and if you agree on the cut, what should they cut?

Juliett: No, I think they should invest more.

Lieke: I do not know, I heard there is a semi recession coming up so invest maybe. I do not know much about macroeconomics, but what I learned was that during a recession, you should spend money to keep employment and prevent a deeper recession, so therefore I would say that they should not cut expenditure, on the contrary: they should spend more money.

Juliett: Yes indeed!

EFR: Any additional remarks?

Lieke: Well I just hope I did not insult your audience and other economists :)

The third interview is with Florus, a Dutch student of 19 years old, who is studying electrical engineering. Two of his friends who study economics help him to answer the questions: Diogo, a Portuguese student of 21 years old, and Luc, a Dutch student of 20 years old.

EFR: When you hear the word economics, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

Florus: Money! Because economics has to do with money, and the stock exchange and so on. Right?

EFR: Yes it has to do with these things, amongst others. Let us move on to some questions about your knowledge of economics; Do you know who is the president of the ECB?

Florus: I have no idea, sorry.

Diogo: I know, I know, I know!

Luc: Mario Draghi!

Diogo: No no no, it is Christine Lagarde.

EFR: Exactly! And Klaas Knot, do you know who he is?

Florus: I have no idea as well.

Luc: I know this one, he is the president of the Dutch National Bank (DNB)

Diogo: How do you know?

Luc: I watch programmes on television, hahaha.

EFR: Very nice! That was already it for the knowledge questions, on to the fun questions! What does a stereotypical economist look like? And a student?

Florus: In my view an economist wears a suit at work, neat shoes and is someone who uses hair gel. Personality wise I would use the word ‘slick’ to describe an economist, sorry.

EFR: And those economists, should we listen more to them, or less? Or is it more or less alright now?

Luc: Minder, minder, minder, minder! [Less, less, less!, red.] Hahaha.

Florus: Yes indeed, because I do not want to listen to you [points at his friends], hahaha. No, seriously I think economists usually look at things in terms of money, which is important, but it is also important to look at other functions. A doctor for example also looks at the health of a patient. And in life, it is not just about the money.

EFR: Speaking about money: In the news we hear that some politicians and economists want the Dutch government to cut expenditures, while others do not want a cut. What do you think is wise and if you agree on the cut, what should they cut?

Florus: If it is necessary to cut, it is necessary, but if it is not necessary I would not advise to cut expenditures.

EFR: And do you think it is necessary right now?

Florus: Probably yes, in the Netherlands we are always busy cutting expenditures.