Thread by @Noahpinion

Here is my @bopinion tribute to Alan Krueger:

bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

Krueger's whole approach to economics set him apart.

Krueger was one of the pivotal figures in the "credibility revolution" that is making economics more scientific.

Krueger helped put natural experiments at the core of economic methodology.

economics.mit.edu/files/18

Krueger's most famous paper was a study of minimum wages (with David Card), in which he found that a minimum wage hike didn't cause employment to fall - as textbook econ models said it must.

davidcard.berkeley.edu/papers/njmin-a…

Minimum wage studies - which mostly confirm Krueger's finding - have become a test case for whether economics is a real science. Whether it can change its core theories in response to empirical findings.

So far, the empiricists are winning.

But this was only one of Krueger's many, many contributions.

One of his primary interests was how to raise wages and employment. He cared strongly about working people.