Oct 17, 2019
Economists shape conversations on topics ranging from business to
politics, and their influence is widely felt; the Federal Reserve,
trade negotiations, and public spending have become central focuses
of political debate. But economists weren’t always permanent
fixtures in policymaking. Binyamin Appelbaum joins Sam Wang and
Julian Zelizer to discuss the rise of economists between the 1960s
and 2000 — the focus of his new book, “The Economists’ Hour: False
Prophets, Free Markets, and the Fracture of Society. His book
explores the role of economists in shaping public policy on issues
like the draft, income inequality and distribution, and minimum
wage. Appelbaum is The New York Times Editorial Board’s lead writer
on business and economics. Prior to joining the Board this year, he
was a Washington correspondent for the Times, covering the Federal
Reserve and other aspects of economic policy from 2001 to 2009.
Appelbaum previously worked for the Charlotte Observer, where his
reporting on subprime lending won a George Polk Award and a Gerald
Loeb Award. He also was a finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize.