Catherine Rampell (link):
Yesterday saw the release of a letter, signed by 370 economists, denouncing Donald Trump and his tendency to promote “magical thinking and conspiracy theories over sober assessments of feasible economic policy options.” Several weeks earlier, a group of 305 economists had signed a separate letter denouncing Hillary Clinton’s “ill-advised economic agenda.”
I was curious about the overlap between these lists, and economists’ endorsements from prior elections. For example, how many of the 673 economists who endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012 were now turning against the 2016 Republican nominee?
A few findings:
• Of the 673 economists who signed a letter endorsing Romney in 2012, about 200 have signed onto the anti-Clinton letter this time around.
• Of the 673 economists who endorsed Romney in 2012, exactly one signed yesterday’s anti-Trump letter. That is Mario Rizzo, of New York University.
• In a separate letter signed only by Nobel laureates, however, Robert Lucas Jr. of the University of Chicago affirmatively endorsed Hillary Clinton; he had signed the pro-Romney letter in 2012. In August, the Wall Street Journal also reported on the candidate preferences of previous Council of Economic Advisers members. Several of those who said they oppose Trump had previously signed the 2012 pro-Romney letter (Martin Feldstein, William Poole, Jerry Jordan, Greg Mankiw). Thanks to readers who pointed out these omissions who hadn’t been on the anti-Trump letter. Let me know if there are other prominent pro-Romney/anti-Trump names I’ve missed, and I’ll continue to update the post.
• There is also exactly one person who signed both the anti-Trump letter and the anti-Clinton letter this year. That is also Mario Rizzo, of New York University. ...
By the way, I’ve so far been unable to find a similar, comprehensive list of economists endorsing Barack Obama in 2012, so am unable to see how many Obama endorsers signed either the anti-Trump or anti-Clinton letters. ...
These results seem consistent with the motivations of many voters. Are you more anti-Trump or anti-Clinton?
