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Opinion
An Economist Ahead of His Time
Honoring Martin Weitzman.

David Leonhardt
By David Leonhardt
Opinion Columnist

Sept. 6, 2019

ImageA demonstrator held a banner during a climate protest in Germany in July.

A demonstrator held a banner during a climate protest in Germany in
July.CreditCreditAxel Heimken/DPA, via Associated Press
This article is part of David Leonhardt’s newsletter. You can sign up here to
receive it each weekday.

One of the giants of climate economics, Martin Weitzman, died last week, and I want
to honor him by talking about a major way in which he was ahead of his time.

To do so, it’s worth mentioning a new book called “The Economists’ Hour,” by my
colleague Binyamin Appelbaum, a member of The Times editorial board. In the book,
Binya talks about a profound shift over the past half-century: The ideas of
economists, especially the importance they put on market incentives and efficiency,
have become much more influential.

This shift can claim some big accomplishments. By adopting more of a market
economy, China, India and other countries have helped lift millions of people out
of poverty. But the shift has also had some very big downsides (as Binya explained
on the latest episode of “The Argument”).

Sign Up for Debatable

Get the big debates, distilled. This comprehensive guide will put in context what
people are saying about the pressing issues of the week.

SIGN UP
Large parts of our economy are now built around the idea of maximum efficiency — or
at least what seems like maximum efficiency in a theoretical model — with much less
concern for the distribution of economic benefits or for the unpleasant side
effects of economic activity. The clearest example, and the focus of Binya’s book,
is the sharp rise of income and wealth inequality — and with it, the stagnation of
living standards for most people.

Weitzman’s seminal work focused on some of the other problems caused by the purest
version of market economics. He argued that economists should favor higher taxes on
carbon emissions than many economic models called for, because of the terrible
uncertainties associated with climate change. “If ever there was an example where
there was uncertainty, this is it,” as he once told me. To put it bluntly, reducing
the risk that Miami becomes uninhabitable is worth paying an extra 10 cents a
gallon for gas.

Weitzman also argued that many of his fellow economists were too obsessed with
taxes as the optimal solution to climate change, rather than simple limits on
pollution. As Justin Gillis, a longtime climate writer and Times contributor, wrote
on Facebook:

“For decades, economists had leaned toward controlling pollution and other socially
harmful economic activities with special taxes … The stiff taxes on cigarettes are
a familiar example. Lay people tended to think instead: if you want less of it,
just regulate it. Weitzman broke with his profession in 1974 and said: economists
really have no solid theoretical grounds for their preferences for taxes over
volume limits.”

Weitzman’s work suggests that much of what ails economics can be cured by
economists themselves. To do so, they need to engage even more with evidence from
the real world. There are signs, fortunately, that the field is moving in this
direction (as Binyamin discusses on the podcast). Call it the Weitzman direction.

“Even as some economists were building a brave new world of inequality and
corporate power, others were working to make it fairer, more equal and more
sustainable,” Bloomberg Opinion’s Noah Smith wrote. “Weitzman was one of them.”

Editors’ Picks

25 Years Later, It Turns Out Phoebe Was the Best Friend

His Family Had Money. Mine Didn’t.

Why ‘Friends’ Won’t Get Rebooted

Gillis concluded: “To my mind he was the most important environmental economist in
the world.”

A postscript

Like many others, I was shocked to hear that Weitzman committed suicide, making him
the second prominent economist to do so this year.

For anyone who wants to know what resources are available to people contemplating
suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) and the website
Speaking of Suicide have suggestions.

William Styron’s 1989 Vanity Fair article, “Darkness Visible,” remains a canonical
piece about depression.

Amy Barnhorst, a psychiatrist, wrote an Op-Ed this year about how to improve
suicide prevention efforts at a time when it’s a rising cause of death. The article
inspired many comments and letters from readers.

The Times, Washington Post and Economist have published obituaries of Weitzman.

If you are not a subscriber to this newsletter, you can subscribe here. You can
also join me on Twitter (@DLeonhardt) and Facebook.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and
Instagram.

David Leonhardt is a former Washington bureau chief for the Times, and was the
founding editor of The Upshot and head of The 2020 Project, on the future of the
Times newsroom. He won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, for columns on the
financial crisis. @DLeonhardt • Facebook

David Leonhardt
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Opinion
An Economist Ahead of His Time
Honoring Martin Weitzman.

David Leonhardt
By David Leonhardt
Opinion Columnist

Sept. 6, 2019

ImageA demonstrator held a banner during a climate protest in Germany in July.

A demonstrator held a banner during a climate protest in Germany in
July.CreditCreditAxel Heimken/DPA, via Associated Press
This article is part of David Leonhardt’s newsletter. You can sign up here to
receive it each weekday.

One of the giants of climate economics, Martin Weitzman, died last week, and I want
to honor him by talking about a major way in which he was ahead of his time.

To do so, it’s worth mentioning a new book called “The Economists’ Hour,” by my
colleague Binyamin Appelbaum, a member of The Times editorial board. In the book,
Binya talks about a profound shift over the past half-century: The ideas of
economists, especially the importance they put on market incentives and efficiency,
have become much more influential.

This shift can claim some big accomplishments. By adopting more of a market
economy, China, India and other countries have helped lift millions of people out
of poverty. But the shift has also had some very big downsides (as Binya explained
on the latest episode of “The Argument”).

Sign Up for Debatable

Get the big debates, distilled. This comprehensive guide will put in context what
people are saying about the pressing issues of the week.

SIGN UP
Large parts of our economy are now built around the idea of maximum efficiency — or
at least what seems like maximum efficiency in a theoretical model — with much less
concern for the distribution of economic benefits or for the unpleasant side
effects of economic activity. The clearest example, and the focus of Binya’s book,
is the sharp rise of income and wealth inequality — and with it, the stagnation of
living standards for most people.

Weitzman’s seminal work focused on some of the other problems caused by the purest
version of market economics. He argued that economists should favor higher taxes on
carbon emissions than many economic models called for, because of the terrible
uncertainties associated with climate change. “If ever there was an example where
there was uncertainty, this is it,” as he once told me. To put it bluntly, reducing
the risk that Miami becomes uninhabitable is worth paying an extra 10 cents a
gallon for gas.

Weitzman also argued that many of his fellow economists were too obsessed with
taxes as the optimal solution to climate change, rather than simple limits on
pollution. As Justin Gillis, a longtime climate writer and Times contributor, wrote
on Facebook:

“For decades, economists had leaned toward controlling pollution and other socially
harmful economic activities with special taxes … The stiff taxes on cigarettes are
a familiar example. Lay people tended to think instead: if you want less of it,
just regulate it. Weitzman broke with his profession in 1974 and said: economists
really have no solid theoretical grounds for their preferences for taxes over
volume limits.”

Weitzman’s work suggests that much of what ails economics can be cured by
economists themselves. To do so, they need to engage even more with evidence from
the real world. There are signs, fortunately, that the field is moving in this
direction (as Binyamin discusses on the podcast). Call it the Weitzman direction.

“Even as some economists were building a brave new world of inequality and
corporate power, others were working to make it fairer, more equal and more
sustainable,” Bloomberg Opinion’s Noah Smith wrote. “Weitzman was one of them.”

Editors’ Picks

25 Years Later, It Turns Out Phoebe Was the Best Friend

His Family Had Money. Mine Didn’t.

Why ‘Friends’ Won’t Get Rebooted

Gillis concluded: “To my mind he was the most important environmental economist in
the world.”

A postscript

Like many others, I was shocked to hear that Weitzman committed suicide, making him
the second prominent economist to do so this year.

For anyone who wants to know what resources are available to people contemplating
suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) and the website
Speaking of Suicide have suggestions.

William Styron’s 1989 Vanity Fair article, “Darkness Visible,” remains a canonical
piece about depression.

Amy Barnhorst, a psychiatrist, wrote an Op-Ed this year about how to improve
suicide prevention efforts at a time when it’s a rising cause of death. The article
inspired many comments and letters from readers.

The Times, Washington Post and Economist have published obituaries of Weitzman.
If you are not a subscriber to this newsletter, you can subscribe here. You can
also join me on Twitter (@DLeonhardt) and Facebook.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and
Instagram.

David Leonhardt is a former Washington bureau chief for the Times, and was the
founding editor of The Upshot and head of The 2020 Project, on the future of the
Times newsroom. He won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, for columns on the
financial crisis. @DLeonhardt • Facebook

David Leonhardt

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Erin Schaff/The New York Times

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Sept. 7

Damon Winter/The New York Times

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9h ago

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Sept. 7

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Opinion: The Republicans Are Dropping Like Flies
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Subscribe to The New York Times.
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Opinion
An Economist Ahead of His Time
Honoring Martin Weitzman.

David Leonhardt
By David Leonhardt
Opinion Columnist
Sept. 6, 2019

ImageA demonstrator held a banner during a climate protest in Germany in July.

A demonstrator held a banner during a climate protest in Germany in
July.CreditCreditAxel Heimken/DPA, via Associated Press
This article is part of David Leonhardt’s newsletter. You can sign up here to
receive it each weekday.

One of the giants of climate economics, Martin Weitzman, died last week, and I want
to honor him by talking about a major way in which he was ahead of his time.

To do so, it’s worth mentioning a new book called “The Economists’ Hour,” by my
colleague Binyamin Appelbaum, a member of The Times editorial board. In the book,
Binya talks about a profound shift over the past half-century: The ideas of
economists, especially the importance they put on market incentives and efficiency,
have become much more influential.

This shift can claim some big accomplishments. By adopting more of a market
economy, China, India and other countries have helped lift millions of people out
of poverty. But the shift has also had some very big downsides (as Binya explained
on the latest episode of “The Argument”).

Sign Up for Debatable

Get the big debates, distilled. This comprehensive guide will put in context what
people are saying about the pressing issues of the week.

SIGN UP
Large parts of our economy are now built around the idea of maximum efficiency — or
at least what seems like maximum efficiency in a theoretical model — with much less
concern for the distribution of economic benefits or for the unpleasant side
effects of economic activity. The clearest example, and the focus of Binya’s book,
is the sharp rise of income and wealth inequality — and with it, the stagnation of
living standards for most people.

Weitzman’s seminal work focused on some of the other problems caused by the purest
version of market economics. He argued that economists should favor higher taxes on
carbon emissions than many economic models called for, because of the terrible
uncertainties associated with climate change. “If ever there was an example where
there was uncertainty, this is it,” as he once told me. To put it bluntly, reducing
the risk that Miami becomes uninhabitable is worth paying an extra 10 cents a
gallon for gas.

Weitzman also argued that many of his fellow economists were too obsessed with
taxes as the optimal solution to climate change, rather than simple limits on
pollution. As Justin Gillis, a longtime climate writer and Times contributor, wrote
on Facebook:

“For decades, economists had leaned toward controlling pollution and other socially
harmful economic activities with special taxes … The stiff taxes on cigarettes are
a familiar example. Lay people tended to think instead: if you want less of it,
just regulate it. Weitzman broke with his profession in 1974 and said: economists
really have no solid theoretical grounds for their preferences for taxes over
volume limits.”

Weitzman’s work suggests that much of what ails economics can be cured by
economists themselves. To do so, they need to engage even more with evidence from
the real world. There are signs, fortunately, that the field is moving in this
direction (as Binyamin discusses on the podcast). Call it the Weitzman direction.

“Even as some economists were building a brave new world of inequality and
corporate power, others were working to make it fairer, more equal and more
sustainable,” Bloomberg Opinion’s Noah Smith wrote. “Weitzman was one of them.”

Editors’ Picks

25 Years Later, It Turns Out Phoebe Was the Best Friend

His Family Had Money. Mine Didn’t.

Why ‘Friends’ Won’t Get Rebooted

Gillis concluded: “To my mind he was the most important environmental economist in
the world.”

A postscript

Like many others, I was shocked to hear that Weitzman committed suicide, making him
the second prominent economist to do so this year.

For anyone who wants to know what resources are available to people contemplating
suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) and the website
Speaking of Suicide have suggestions.

William Styron’s 1989 Vanity Fair article, “Darkness Visible,” remains a canonical
piece about depression.

Amy Barnhorst, a psychiatrist, wrote an Op-Ed this year about how to improve
suicide prevention efforts at a time when it’s a rising cause of death. The article
inspired many comments and letters from readers.

The Times, Washington Post and Economist have published obituaries of Weitzman.

If you are not a subscriber to this newsletter, you can subscribe here. You can
also join me on Twitter (@DLeonhardt) and Facebook.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and
Instagram.

David Leonhardt is a former Washington bureau chief for the Times, and was the
founding editor of The Upshot and head of The 2020 Project, on the future of the
Times newsroom. He won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, for columns on the
financial crisis. @DLeonhardt • Facebook

David Leonhardt

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Sept. 5

Brexit Rebels Have a Problem

Sept. 4

Hurricanes Are Getting Worse

Sept. 3
More in Opinion

Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Christopher Hooks
Something Strange Is Going On With All Those Retiring Texans
Sept. 7

Damon Winter/The New York Times

Tera W. Hunter
The Power of Serena Williams
9h ago

Clara Vannucci for The New York Times

Clara Vannucci and Arlene Adams
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Sept. 7

Grace Han
The Editorial Board
End Legacy College Admissions
Sept. 7

Ben Wiseman
Frank Bruni
The Republicans Are Dropping Like Flies
Sept. 7

Nicholas Konrad
Nicholas Kristof
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Sept. 7
Editors’ Picks

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On TV, You Can Go Home Again. But It’s Weird.
Sept. 3

Akasha Rabut for The New York Times

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Sept. 3

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Sept. 2
Most Popular
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A Presidential Storm Leaves Forecasters Rebuked
The Planets, the Stars and Brad Pitt
Bianca Andreescu Wins the U.S. Open, Defeating Serena Williams
Opinion: I Killed My Partner. It Saved My Life.
When the Quarterback Earns a Degree and Switches Colleges
Opinion: Something Strange Is Going On With All Those Retiring Texans
Opinion: The Republicans Are Dropping Like Flies
Opinion: Even Physicists Don’t Understand Quantum Mechanics
Opinion: The ‘Political Anarchist’ Behind Britain’s Chaos
Subscribe to The New York Times.
SUBSCRIBE

Help Times journalistsuncover the next big story.

Subscribe to The New York Times.

SUBSCRIBE NOW
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LOG IN
Opinion
An Economist Ahead of His Time
Honoring Martin Weitzman.

David Leonhardt
By David Leonhardt
Opinion Columnist

Sept. 6, 2019

ImageA demonstrator held a banner during a climate protest in Germany in July.

A demonstrator held a banner during a climate protest in Germany in
July.CreditCreditAxel Heimken/DPA, via Associated Press
This article is part of David Leonhardt’s newsletter. You can sign up here to
receive it each weekday.

One of the giants of climate economics, Martin Weitzman, died last week, and I want
to honor him by talking about a major way in which he was ahead of his time.

To do so, it’s worth mentioning a new book called “The Economists’ Hour,” by my
colleague Binyamin Appelbaum, a member of The Times editorial board. In the book,
Binya talks about a profound shift over the past half-century: The ideas of
economists, especially the importance they put on market incentives and efficiency,
have become much more influential.

This shift can claim some big accomplishments. By adopting more of a market
economy, China, India and other countries have helped lift millions of people out
of poverty. But the shift has also had some very big downsides (as Binya explained
on the latest episode of “The Argument”).

Sign Up for Debatable

Get the big debates, distilled. This comprehensive guide will put in context what
people are saying about the pressing issues of the week.

SIGN UP
Large parts of our economy are now built around the idea of maximum efficiency — or
at least what seems like maximum efficiency in a theoretical model — with much less
concern for the distribution of economic benefits or for the unpleasant side
effects of economic activity. The clearest example, and the focus of Binya’s book,
is the sharp rise of income and wealth inequality — and with it, the stagnation of
living standards for most people.

Weitzman’s seminal work focused on some of the other problems caused by the purest
version of market economics. He argued that economists should favor higher taxes on
carbon emissions than many economic models called for, because of the terrible
uncertainties associated with climate change. “If ever there was an example where
there was uncertainty, this is it,” as he once told me. To put it bluntly, reducing
the risk that Miami becomes uninhabitable is worth paying an extra 10 cents a
gallon for gas.

Weitzman also argued that many of his fellow economists were too obsessed with
taxes as the optimal solution to climate change, rather than simple limits on
pollution. As Justin Gillis, a longtime climate writer and Times contributor, wrote
on Facebook:

“For decades, economists had leaned toward controlling pollution and other socially
harmful economic activities with special taxes … The stiff taxes on cigarettes are
a familiar example. Lay people tended to think instead: if you want less of it,
just regulate it. Weitzman broke with his profession in 1974 and said: economists
really have no solid theoretical grounds for their preferences for taxes over
volume limits.”

Weitzman’s work suggests that much of what ails economics can be cured by
economists themselves. To do so, they need to engage even more with evidence from
the real world. There are signs, fortunately, that the field is moving in this
direction (as Binyamin discusses on the podcast). Call it the Weitzman direction.

“Even as some economists were building a brave new world of inequality and
corporate power, others were working to make it fairer, more equal and more
sustainable,” Bloomberg Opinion’s Noah Smith wrote. “Weitzman was one of them.”

Editors’ Picks

25 Years Later, It Turns Out Phoebe Was the Best Friend

His Family Had Money. Mine Didn’t.

Why ‘Friends’ Won’t Get Rebooted

Gillis concluded: “To my mind he was the most important environmental economist in
the world.”

A postscript

Like many others, I was shocked to hear that Weitzman committed suicide, making him
the second prominent economist to do so this year.

For anyone who wants to know what resources are available to people contemplating
suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) and the website
Speaking of Suicide have suggestions.

William Styron’s 1989 Vanity Fair article, “Darkness Visible,” remains a canonical
piece about depression.

Amy Barnhorst, a psychiatrist, wrote an Op-Ed this year about how to improve
suicide prevention efforts at a time when it’s a rising cause of death. The article
inspired many comments and letters from readers.

The Times, Washington Post and Economist have published obituaries of Weitzman.

If you are not a subscriber to this newsletter, you can subscribe here. You can
also join me on Twitter (@DLeonhardt) and Facebook.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and
Instagram.

David Leonhardt is a former Washington bureau chief for the Times, and was the
founding editor of The Upshot and head of The 2020 Project, on the future of the
Times newsroom. He won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, for columns on the
financial crisis. @DLeonhardt • Facebook

David Leonhardt

‘Steve Bullock Is the Most Important Person on the Planet’

Sept. 5
Brexit Rebels Have a Problem
Sept. 4

Hurricanes Are Getting Worse

Sept. 3
More in Opinion

Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Christopher Hooks
Something Strange Is Going On With All Those Retiring Texans
Sept. 7

Damon Winter/The New York Times

Tera W. Hunter
The Power of Serena Williams
9h ago

Clara Vannucci for The New York Times

Clara Vannucci and Arlene Adams
I Killed My Partner. It Saved My Life.
Sept. 7

Grace Han
The Editorial Board
End Legacy College Admissions
Sept. 7

Ben Wiseman
Frank Bruni
The Republicans Are Dropping Like Flies
Sept. 7

Nicholas Konrad
Nicholas Kristof
These Newborn Babies Cry for Drugs, Not Milk
Sept. 7
Editors’ Picks

HGTV
On TV, You Can Go Home Again. But It’s Weird.
Sept. 3

Akasha Rabut for The New York Times

Linda Hamilton Fled Hollywood, but ‘Terminator’ Still Found Her
Sept. 3

Mamadi Doumbouya for The New York Times

Ram Dass Is Ready to Die
Sept. 2
Most Popular
The Last of the Dunk Tank Clowns
A Presidential Storm Leaves Forecasters Rebuked
The Planets, the Stars and Brad Pitt
Bianca Andreescu Wins the U.S. Open, Defeating Serena Williams
Opinion: I Killed My Partner. It Saved My Life.
When the Quarterback Earns a Degree and Switches Colleges
Opinion: Something Strange Is Going On With All Those Retiring Texans
Opinion: The Republicans Are Dropping Like Flies
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