How much do entry-level economists actually know?

http://www.nytimes.com/news/politics/p...1/0437006.html

Look, the article admits the sample size is tiny, but still... it’s like these people live in a total bubble. It’s honestly mind-blowing how someone can grind through sixteen years of American schooling just to end up this clueless 😲

I can't even decide if this person should be fired or just given a massive raise

Maybe they should've just polled for opinions on Elon Musk or Paris Hilton instead? 🤷

Raymond Cruz42 said:http://www.nytimes.com/news/politics/p...1/0437006.html

Look, the article admits the sample size is tiny, but still... it’s like these people live in a total bubble. It’s honestly mind-blowing how someone can grind through sixteen years of American schooling just to end up this clueless 😲

I can't even decide if this person should be fired or just given a massive raise

Maybe they should've just polled for opinions on Elon Musk or Paris Hilton instead? 🤷

Go ahead, type Vlasta Sakar into Google... what comes up? Absolutely nothing.
What is she even known for?

Raymond Cruz42 said:http://www.nytimes.com/news/politics/p...1/0437006.html

Look, the article admits the sample size is tiny, but still... it’s like these people live in a total bubble. It’s honestly mind-blowing how someone can grind through sixteen years of American schooling just to end up this clueless 😲

I can't even decide if this person should be fired or just given a massive raise

Maybe they should've just polled for opinions on Elon Musk or Paris Hilton instead? 🤷

I'm not even surprised at this point... ignorance is just the reality these days.

I can’t say I’m surprised by the results. I’m finishing up my economics degree right now, and I could swear there are people in my classes who wouldn't be able to define inflation if their lives depended on it. It makes you wonder how they actually manage to graduate. You have one group that just memorizes enough to pass the exam, understands absolutely nothing, and forgets it all by tomorrow, and then you have the others 🙂... the ones you see mentioned in those sensationalist stories over at Bloomberg and such.

Based on my age—though certainly not my profession—I fall into that specific demographic, and frankly, the data is pretty alarming, even if it doesn't come as much of a shock to me.
Since I find myself interacting quite frequently with middle and high schoolers these days, I get a front-row seat to their level of general knowledge. To be blunt, given where they stand right now, I suspect future generations might struggle even more, despite the fact that any piece of information in existence is usually just a few clicks away.

John Allen5 said:Go ahead, type Vlasta Sakar into Google... what comes up? Absolutely nothing.
What is she even known for?

Her name is... as far as I recall, Vlatka... so I suppose journalists could probably conduct a similar little investigation if they felt inclined.

As for her personally... I don't know her on a first-name basis, but I am aware she worked in international auditing. Apparently, she started her own firm after that, and it seems she’s just looking to share the expertise she's gathered over the years.

This just goes to show how broken the higher education system is across the board. It’s a total joke.
And it isn't just happening here in the States.

People don't care about anything anymore. Everyone wants the easy life, instant gratification, and a fat paycheck without actually putting in the work.
Too much mindless reality TV, probably...
It’s just not happening.

This article is useless.

Out of five different assessments meant for economists, they decided to focus on the least important one—general culture—and blew it way out of proportion.

I’d much rather see how people performed on the core economic principles, accounting, English proficiency, or Excel skills, which were barely even mentioned. That’s where you actually see if an economist knows their stuff.

Instead, we get this nonsense about who George Bush is. I don't care about politics, so this whole thing is a waste of my time.😁

I honestly don't see the point in making an economist take a job assessment that tests their knowledge of auditing terminology like they're sitting for some high-stakes trivia night.

Honestly, things were even more chaotic back when we were dealing with the technical side of things... 😂

That’s actually pretty concerning 🤣

To be honest, speaking as someone who actually grew up in that generation, I’d say at least 70% of us don't really have much in the way of general culture... it just isn't there most of the time...

Jason Jones2 said:This article is useless.

Out of five different assessments meant for economists, they decided to focus on the least important one—general culture—and blew it way out of proportion.

I’d much rather see how people performed on the core economic principles, accounting, English proficiency, or Excel skills, which were barely even mentioned. That’s where you actually see if an economist knows their stuff.

Instead, we get this nonsense about who George Bush is. I don't care about politics, so this whole thing is a waste of my time.😁

Man, anyone can answer questions about Bush, but what about things like Federal Reserve policy or Wall Street history?...

The piece even mentions they're even worse when it comes to the actual technical stuff.

I don't really get why economists even need general humanities classes either.
Don't worry, they have stuff like that at all universities 🙂 Besides, most of what you actually need to know is learned on the job, not in a classroom 🙂

Richard Lewis16 said:To be honest, speaking as someone who actually grew up in that generation, I’d say at least 70% of us don't really have much in the way of general culture... it just isn't there most of the time...

I don't get why people stopped caring about reading either. Even back then, most kids weren't into it, let alone finishing their required school books. But hey, who am I to judge, I guess.
I know basically nothing about football or sports, which counts as general knowledge, so I'd probably look pretty clueless myself. 🤷

Raymond Cruz42 said:http://www.nytimes.com/news/politics/p...1/0437006.html

Look, the article admits the sample size is tiny, but still... it’s like these people live in a total bubble. It’s honestly mind-blowing how someone can grind through sixteen years of American schooling just to end up this clueless 😲

I can't even decide if this person should be fired or just given a massive raise

Maybe they should've just polled for opinions on Elon Musk or Paris Hilton instead? 🤷

They don't know a thing.

It's a total joke.jot.

A perfect snapshot of what happens when you let fund managers play with other people's money without any oversight or actual consequences.

We basically watched them tank an entire year's worth of contributions in a single season.

hiddenhawk3 said:I don't really get why economists even need general humanities classes either.
Don't worry, they have stuff like that at all universities 🙂 Besides, most of what you actually need to know is learned on the job, not in a classroom 🙂

Does this mean we can conclude that Bloomberg is a natural-born economist?🤣>

Exactly my point.

Business programs are chronically short on hands-on experience and small group work. But when you're dealing with a massive corporate machine that cares way more about its bottom line than its students, these kinds of results aren't even surprising.

If this kind of survey had been conducted anywhere else in the USA, we’d already be looking at five pages filled with nothing but mocking emojis and people making fun of how clueless Americans can be ☕

Oh, come on now, let's be real... I’m pretty sure 90% of people could point to France on a map if they had to😁

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teM4T3TylFc

and then everyone will be crying about it when the nukes actually start flying here in the States