Pursued Economy

Afterword

I take economics, the science of everyday life, very seriously because I believe many human tragedies could have been averted if economists had correctly understood what was happening around them and recommended appropriate policies. Indeed, people's well-being often depends on how economic policy makers at the time perceive the world around them.

If economists are to an economy what medical doctors are to the human body, they bear a huge responsibility. But unlike medical science, which has made huge strides over the years, economics, a very young science, continues to grapple with silly notions and fads that are not only outdated and useless, but often detrimental to understanding and managing the economy.

Whenever I confronted such notions that I felt were detrimental in understanding the economy, I felt it was my duty as an economist to write papers and books to share my concerns with the public. That was made possible largely because I had the good fortune to work for Nomura Research Institute (NRI),¹ a think-tank that started out as the research department of Nomura Securities, the largest investment bank in Japan. It is a unique institution where researchers are fully exposed to the discipline of the market because they must present their views to investors and fund managers around the world, just like economists and analysts at Wall Street investment banks. But at the same time, they are expected to think independently of any positions that Nomura Securities ...