[Imc-chicago-audio] AVAIL. FOR INTERVIEW: Chris Hayes on Chicago School of Economics

[Erin Polgreen]

MEDIA ALERT November 28, 2005 | For Immediate Release

Is a little economics a dangerous thing?

It’s back to school for In These Times Senior Editor Christopher  
Hayes. In “What We Learn When We Learn Economics,” Hayes considers  
the effect of economic theory—especially the Chicago School of  
economics—on the Left.

In “What We Learn,” Hayes juxtaposes the standard economic theory  
he's taught while enrolled in “Principals of Macroeconomics” at the  
University of Chicago with real-life examples, including the 1999 WTO  
protests in Seattle and proposed raises to the minimum wage.

Though econ theories seem to compute flawlessly in the classroom,  
Hayes finds that real life isn’t nearly as neat. And given the grip  
that Chicago School of economic theory has on the academy, there  
isn't much room for non-economists to disagree. Standard economics is  
a system that cannot be criticized.

While “efficiency is the Chicago School’s defining value,” Hayes  
writes, “in much of the world, reforms [prompted by the Chicago  
school] have failed to produce the promised growth.”

As Hayes and the class move into the topic of trade, the conflicts  
between theory and practice become more troublesome. Economic  
theories don't always give the expected outcomes. "In other words,"  
Hayes concludes, there are some "question[s] that economics alone  
can't answer."

For the full text of this article, visit: http://www.inthesetimes.com/ 
site/main/article/2897


For more information, or to interview Christopher Hayes, please contact:

Erin Polgreen, Advertising and Marketing Coordinator

erin at inthesetimes.com

773/772.0100 Ext. 225



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