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CREDENTIALS_PAUL_KRUGMAN

                                             November 6, 2015

And, just to cover a stunningly obvious case
(a man who needs no introduction...):

Krugman represents himself as an Economist, and needless to
say it would be phenomenally weird to try to say he's not a
real economist (MIT, Princeton, Nobel Prize...), but our
conservative friends do try to go there...

For example, they like to claim that the Nobel prize in Economics
isn't a *real* Nobel prize... but you know, that's not something
anyone ever said about Milton Friedman's nobel.

Another line that conservatives sometimes trot out is:
"Krugman was okay back when he was doing economics, but now
that he's turned political he's nothing but an ideologue."
If you actually follow Krugman, that seems like a very
strange angle of attack... his political opinions, such as
they are are typically rooted in economic arguments,
typically backed up by some very clear facts and figures
with accompanying charts and graphs...

Krugman hasn't done a lot of original economic research of
late so by some measures you can argue that his "academic
rank" is slipping. But you know, as Krugman repeatedly
points out, the old, well-established work in economics is
getting ignored whenever it seems politically
convenient... is it any wonder he's prioritizing
popularization vs doing new work?

Krugman himself has commented on the subject of credentials:
                                                                http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/14/do-you-know-who-i-am/
    "What a lot of people-- academics, I’m sorry to say, in
    particular-- don’t seem to understand are the limits to
    what credentials get you, in principle and in practice."

    "Basically, having a fancy named chair and maybe some
    prizes entitles you to a hearing-- no more. It’s a great
    buzzing hive of commentary out there, so nobody can read
    everything that someone says; but if a famous intellectual
    makes a pronouncement, he both should and does get a
    listen much more easily than someone without the
    preexisting reputation."

    "But academic credentials are neither a necessary nor a
    sufficient condition for having your ideas taken
    seriously. If a famous professor repeatedly says stupid
    things, then tries to claim he never said them, there’s
    no rule against calling him a mendacious idiot-- and no
    special qualifications required to make that pronouncement
    other than doing your own homework."

    "Conversely, if someone without formal credentials
    consistently makes trenchant, insightful observations, he
    or she has earned the right to be taken seriously,
    regardless of background."

    "One of the great things about the blogosphere is that it
    has made it possible for a number of people meeting that
    second condition to gain an audience. I don’t care
    whether they’re PhDs, professors, or just some guy with
    a blog-- it’s the work that matters."


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