Economists Aren’t Doing Much Economics These Days

Arnold Kling notes in a blog post that the recent issue of the Journal of Economic Literature, a prominent peer-reviewed econ journal, is largely sociology.

He links to a different blog post by Florida State economics professor Randall Holcombe about the 115 papers published in the May issue of the American Economic Review. Holcombe writes:

Race and gender issues get the most coverage, and are the subjects of 44 of the 115 total articles. That’s 38% of the total. Migration and immigration are the subjects of 10 articles, or 9%. Much has been made lately about the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion movement in academics, and it is apparent in the research interests of economists.

Some pretty big economic issues were totally absent:

There were no articles on inflation, and no articles on supply chain issues, despite the frequent appearance of those issues in the popular press. While the general public looks at the economy and is concerned about rising inflation, the rapidly increasing national debt, and supply chain issues that disrupt markets, academic economists appear to have much more interest in issues surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.