He also forgets that a large part of the federal reserve is, essentially, a research institution. That does research, publishes and critiques papers, and then takes those papers into account when drafting policy.

The question was around whether Economics professors are influential outside of academia.

The answer is unequivocally yes.

You seem to have changed the discussion to something else.

The question is around Economics Professors and their effects on society and how well-connected they tend to be. Many Econ professors at business schools are former bankers. Many bankers are former Econ profs (banks have a ton of staff in research roles).

You’ve changed the argument to… i don’t even know?

The question is whether Economics Professors are influential outside of academia and if they’re well connected. The answer is obviously yes. The top professors (i.e. MIT Profs, Harvard Profs, Yale, etc.) are extremely influential far beyond academia.

It’s anazing how ignorant HN is outside of the narrow circle of programming.

Some business school professors are accomplished former businessmen. Some are just lifelong academics. The ones with power are because of their non-professor credentials and connections.

Schools, business schools especially, like to hire influential people as professors. So there are many powerful professors. But that's not why they are powerful.

Since that's not why they are powerful, there's no reason to bring it up.

Again, wrong.

Reread the thread to see why.