Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims. Here is Sargent last year commenting on the 2009 stimulus package"

In early 2009, President Obama’s economic advisers seem to have understated the substantial professional uncertainty and disagreement about the wisdom of implementing a large fiscal stimulus. In early 2009, I recall President Obama as having said that while there was ample disagreement among economists about the appropriate monetary policy and regulatory responses to the financial crisis, there was widespread agreement in favor of a big fiscal stimulus among the vast majority of informed economists. His advisers surely knew that was not an accurate description of the full range of professional opinion. President Obama should have been told that there are respectable reasons for doubting that fiscal stimulus packages promote prosperity, and that there are serious economic researchers who remain unconvinced.

update: Another quote, from a graduation address:

“Everyone responds to incentives, including people you want to help. That is why social safety nets don’t always end up working as intended.”