I just read a fascinating manuscript about how accurate economists working for the military and the OSS were in estimating the workings of the Japanese and the German economies during World War II. Guglielmo, Mark. "The Contribution of Economists to Military Intelligence During World War II." These economists seem to be better than the military in figuring out how bombing campaigns could take advantage of the enemy's vulnerabilities.
I was struck by the methodological differences between these economists and the economists that Philip Mirowski studied for his machine dreams. The former group included economists, such as Moses Abramovitz and Charles Kindleberger, whose specialty was more historical, although Milton Friedman straddled the two groups. The second group mainly consisted of the economists who led the movement toward abstract, mathematically based economics. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
