Dan Klein and Charlotta Stern have recently published an article in PUBLIC CHOICE that surveys the views of economists from the American Economic Association. I’ve seen similar studies in the past but it never ceases to amaze me. Most economists surveyed supported anti-discrimination laws, environmental protection laws, workplace safety and FDA regulations, monetary and fiscal fine tuning of the economy, redistribution of wealth, public schools, foreign aid, prohibition of drugs, prostitution, and gambling, the use of the militaryoverseas to impose democracy and the rule of law, and the MINIMUM WAGE! The majority opposed tariffs and tighter boarder controls and they were against the government running industrial enterprises. Only 2.7% consider themselves Libertarian politically.
How could you be an economist and support all this nonsense? The minimum wage?
