Thursday, January 17, 2008

The two most important people in Arizona's budget battle (it's not the Gov or a legislator)

The East Valley Tribune has this fascinating insight into how economic forecasts are created for the state. There are two economists, one at ASU and one at UofA, that provide econometric forecasts for the state and this year their forecasts differ greatly.

I actually find it heartening that there are two guys who worry about the specifics of the economy and seem relatively non-political. This is why having great education intuitions is so important and why we should give more respect to intellectualism. It also more than a little ironic that these guys could cause the funding of their respective universities to be cut. To me this illustrates the importance of tenure (an economist would see an incentive to fudge the forecasts).

The politicians can fight their political fights (and they will), but without Marshall Vest and Dennis Hoffman, to provide the information, they would not even be able to discuss the future. Thanks guys!

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