<DIV>In this witty, accessible, and revealing book, Deirdre McCloskey demystifies economic theory and practice to show that behind the economist's claim to certainty is the ancient art of storytelling. <I>If You're So Smart</I> will engage, enlighten, and empower anyone trying to evaluate the experts who...</i></div>

This essential book collects together, for the first time, the writings of Deirdre McCloskey on economic history and the rhetoric of economics. The essays have been presented to show McCloskey’s evolution over time: from economist to critic, positivist to postmodernist, conventional economist...

The article reviews theoretical approaches and methods of conventional economics and economic history to address the fundamental question of why the world's economy has experienced unprecedented growth rates only after 1800, following millennial relative stagnation. The intellectual challenge...

Economists can to some extent enlighten policymakers and the public and influence public policy. That enlightenment is achieved more by concrete policy work and application of basics than by fancy models and fancy statistical significance. There is a trade-off between relevance/importance and...