The Dynamite Awards

The world is in a terrible state and we as (potential) economists are to blame. Though readers of, and contributors to, Observator can hide safely under the excuse of being students, our field of interest has inarguably been the cause of severe misery brought upon the world the recent years. So even though the Swedish Central Bank continues to honor the best and brightest every year, the Real-World Economics Review brought it upon themselves to honor those who contributed the most to bringing this mess about.

 

Greenspan got over 5 thousand votes!

In a fashion reminiscent of the Darwin Awards (helping out evolution by killing yourself in the most idiotic fashion) or the Raspberry Awards (the anti-Oscar’s of the movies), the RWER initiated the Dynamite Awards. From a list of ten worthy candidates, readers were invited to vote on who’s teachings and doings has contributed the most to the economic meltdown and financial crisis. Voting was open for everybody through their website, and more than 7,500 people cast their votes. Each voter could list up to three favorites, and a total of 18,531 votes were cast.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the winner of the dubious honor of blowing up the world economy was former chairman of the Federal Reserve System, Alan Greenspan. With 5,061 votes, Greenspan received the award for his unquestionable belief that the market would solve all problems itself and thus was in no need of regulation, and in that belief expanded both money and credit in a manner that built the bubble that eventually burst.

Greenspan’s victory was in no way threatened by the other candidates. In second place we find Milton Friedman, while former Secretary of the Treasury (and current director of Barack Obama’s Economic Council) took third. 3,349 voters felt that Friedman’s simplistic model of money had created a fantasy-based theory of economics, and that his belief that an economy could be accurately modelled by use of counter-factual propositions about its nature, had led to the greatest depression since the Great Depression. Not far behind, Summers successful work to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act while Secretary of the Treasury led 3,023 voters to say he contributed the most in ruining it all for the rest of us.

An honorable mention also goes out to Norway’s own Finn E. Kydland, who along with Edward Prescott received an impressive 403 of the votes. Observator congratulates the winners, as well as the rest of the nominees, and eagerly awaits the next award cermony.

 

Av Espen Hoel
Publisert 13. mars 2010 15:51 - Sist endret 17. mars 2010 18:45