Re: "why do economists earn more than mathematicians?"
- From: Bob Kolker <nowhere@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 05:36:24 -0500
sinister wrote:
From http://arielrubinstein.tau.ac.il/papers/freak.pdf
The chapter is inspired by Freakonomics’ discussion of the question of why “the typical prostitute earns more than the typical architect” (106). The comparison between architects and prostitutes can be applied to mathematicians and economists: the former are more skilled, highly educated and intelligent. Moreover, just as Levitt has never encountered a girl who dreams of being a prostitute, I have never met a child who dreams of being an economist. Like prostitutes, the skill required of economists is “not necessarily ‘specialized’” (106), so why do economists earn so much more than mathematicians? Here, I offer a new explanation for the salary gap between mathematicians and economists: many economists are hired to justify a viewpoint. In contrast, I have never heard of mathematicians who proved a theorem to satisfy their masters.
That is because mathematical research (the theoretical kind) is jealously peer reviewed. There are mathematicians waiting Out There, their knives sharpened to a keen edge, just ready to slice and dice an error. Theoretical mathematicians play to a small, but very tough audience. Applied mathematicians are hired to produce a practical result. It is in their interested to do it right, else the man writing the paychecks will stop writing them.
Bob Kolker
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