Alan S. Blinder is the Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University, a former member of Bill Clinton's Council of Economic Advisors, and a former vice-chair of the Federal Reserve. The bestselling author of After the Music Stopped, he lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
"...An outstanding exposition of the contemporary crisis of
inequality in America."--Washington Post
"[Blinder] knows of what he speaks... His purpose is always to show
an underlying economic reality that is too easily overlooked in the
hurly-burly of daily debate."--Wall Street Journal
"A valuable book from a sensible centrist who writes with great
knowledge and good humor."--Kirkus
"Alan Blinder provides one of the best summaries of the divide
between economics and politics. He should know because he has
served both areas in the highest capacities. But Alan's greatest
gift is that he is first and foremost a pragmatist who is sick and
tired of the dysfunction in Washington. His recommendation to
economists and politicians is my recommendation to Democrats and
Republicans--grow up, work together and better understand that
fairness and efficiency can both serve the interest of a better
democracy."--Leon Panetta
"Alan Blinder's book is a thoughtful and witty exploration of what
he calls the Lamppost Theory--the proposition that politicians who
make economic policy rely on economic experts for support, not for
illumination. As a leading academic, a veteran of the policy wars
in Washington, and a witty prose stylist, Blinder is ideally placed
to explain the policy process in all its messiness and to suggest
some practical options for getting better results."--Ben
Bernanke
"At a moment when policy expertise is devalued in Washington,
Advice and Dissent is a brisk and refreshing call to reason.
Blinder's thoughtful, entertaining and eminently readable book
rightly critiques politicians and economists for misunderstanding
each other's motivations. And he traces a helpful path to tackling
even the most difficult economic problems by balancing the sound
insights of economics with appropriate respect for the exigencies
of politics. Politicians and economists can learn from this book.
So can the rest of us."--E.J. Dionne, Jr.
"Full of examples, anecdotes, and wry humor...An illuminating
primer on critical U.S. economic issues and how they intersect with
politics."--Library Journal
"In Advice and Dissent, economic sage Alan Blinder offers brilliant
insights into why politicians so often rely on economics for
support but not illumination, with the economy suffering as a
consequence. Blinder's perceptive ideas to transform good economics
into good politics makes it a must-read for everyone interested in
a stronger economy and for economists who need the political savvy
to contribute to the policy process."--Janet L. Yellen
"More than any other aspect of governance, economic policy is
entangled with--note well: I do not say 'informed by'--scholarship.
Alan Blinder has participated from both sides in the complicated
relationship between academic theories and political practices. His
reflections about this are as fresh as today's headlines, and as
entertaining as they are illuminating."--George F. Will
"Refreshingly, this is not just a high-minded complaint that
ignorant politicians are scorning dispassionate technocratic
economists. Prof Blinder points out, for example, that while
economists have correctly argued that in the very long run freer
trade boosts efficiency, they tend to discount the transitional
costs for those who lose jobs from import competition...Prof
Blinder's helpful suggestions are likely for the moment to go
unheeded. That is a shame."--Financial Times
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