Comment of the Day: DLM: Dan Drezner (2014): WHAT NICK KR...

Comment of the Day: DLM: Dan Drezner (2014): WHAT NICK KRISTOF DOESN'T GET ABOUT THE IVORY TOWER: "Having now completed the sinful trifecta (academic -> govt -> private, in econ rather than foreign policy) I think Drezner is pretty spot on. Understanding the policy making process and the facts on the ground that will complicate negotiations is a legit strength of beltway types...

...This was good:

Academics are the best at playing Whac-a-Mole with the unending analogies.... Beltway and market folk like to disdain theories as abstract and unrealistic. Of course, these tribes then go on to articulate their own implicit theories... ���analogies��� or ���rules of thumb��� or ���granular analysis��� or ���projections.���

Maybe it was the rarefied air of the particular federal agency I spent time in and the groups I interacted with, but I generally found the beltway's implicit theorizing to be more aware (though not necessarily better) than the private sector's...."