Economists direct their research mainly to the technical frontiers of thediscipline. But the actual decisions of political economy are made not byexperts but by... » 

Economists direct their research mainly to the technical frontiers of thediscipline. But the actual decisions of political economy are made not byexperts but by ordinary public officials and voters the Everyman.However the task of educating the Everyman is neglected sometimes evendenigrated by academic economists.Daniel Klein has here gathered essays of 9 great economists of this century Friedrich Hayek Ronald Coase Thomas Schelling Gordon Tullock IsraelKirzner Frank Graham William Hurt Clarence Philbrook and D. McCloskey addressing the existential issue for economists How do we contribute tohuman betterment?The authors express their esteem for economic research firmly rooted in publicissues and that contributes to public discourse. Some suggest that the academicfocus on technical refinement not only diverts economists from efforts atpublic edification but might even mislead economists in their ownunderstanding of economic affairs. «