If You're So Smart: The Narrative of Economic Expertise

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University of Chicago Press, Sep 7, 1990 - Business & Economics - 180 pages
In this witty, accessible, and revealing book, Deirdre McCloskey demystifies economic theory and practice to show that behind the economists claim to certainty is the ancient art of storytelling. If You're So Smart will engage, enlighten, and empower anyone trying to evaluate the experts who stand ready to engineer our lives.

"Writing with delicious wit and great seriousness."—Publishers Weekly. "

"McCloskey is more interesting on an uninspired day than most of her peers can manage at their very best."—Peter Passell, New York Times
 

Contents

Introduction
1
Telling Stories Economically
10
Plot and Genre in Economics
24
The Politics of Stories in Historical Economics
40
Economic Rhetoric in Aid of the Story Line
56
The Scholars Story
70
Metaphor Against the Story Chaos and Counterfactuals
83
The Poetics and Economics of Magic
97
The American Question If Youre So Smart Why Aint You Rich?
111
The Limits of Criticism
123
Keeping the Company of Economists
135
The Common Weal and and Economic Stories
150
Works Cited
165
Index
174
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About the author (1990)

Deirdre N. McCloskey is John F. Murray Professor of Economics and professor of history at the University of Iowa. Her books include The Applied Theory of Price and The Rhetoric of Economics.

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