on jeffrey sachs

On Jeffrey Sachs

A student emails me a query about my erstwhile colleague Jeffrey

Sachs:

Professor Mankiw,

I have been debating with a friend of mine (we are both graduate

students in economics) about Jeff Sachs. To me he seems to ignore

the power of incentives--an unforgivable error for an economist.

The article you recommended on your website shows this lamentable

trait. Sachs blames Africa's problems chiefly on "the lack of aid

promised 36 years ago and repeatedly since by rich nations." That

isn't the real problem is it? Perhaps you would comment on Sachs'

ideas on your blog.

[name withheld]

P. S. Like many others, I have high praise for your textbooks, from

which I have profited greatly.

Development is not my field of specialty, but I do follow the debate

from afar. Here is my take, as an outsider.

I have long admired Jeff for his energy and idealism. I believe that

he is truly working hard to make the world a better place for the

least fortunate among us.

Nonetheless, I often find myself skeptical about Jeff's prescriptions

and the confidence he places in their success. The article on Jeff I

cited yesterday in a previous post said:

Jeffrey Sachs is at once a scientist and a preacher in the field of

economics.

As a description of Jeff's career, that sounds about right. Jeff

delivers his policy advice with so much zeal that I am frequently

knocked off my feet, as if I were listening to a particularly forceful

fire-and-brimstone sermon.

But consider: Are these two roles compatible? Don't scientists and

preachers have very different approaches to life? Scientists

understand that much knowledge is tentative; they are always open to

doubt. Preachers take much on faith; they approach the world with

certitude. When I hear Jeff talk, I hear more preacher than scientist,

and that makes me apprehensive. Unlike Harry Truman, I like two-handed

economists. I don't often hear Jeff start a sentence "On the other

hand,...."

I am sympathetic to Bill Easterly's critique of Jeff's work. Bill's

approach has a compelling humility and eclecticism. In light of how

little we know about economic development and how divided the

economics profession is on the key issues, I am suspect of those who

are extraordinarily confident in their views, as Jeff is. I wonder if

Jeff is on the wrong side of the rhetorical Laffer curve: If he pushed

his opinions less forcefully, he might be more persuasive.

Finally, I cannot help but mention Jeff's greatest asset: his wife,

Sonia Ehrlich. Sonia is a doctor, and for many years she was my

children's pediatrician. In that capacity, I got to know her fairly

well, and I can attest that she is one of the most wonderful people I

have ever met. The best thing I can say about Jeff is that he had the

good sense to marry Sonia.

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