Thread by @JakeVigdor

In light of the recent suicides of Alan Krueger and Martin Weitzman, economists & other professionals at risk of aging might find insight in this recent letter penned by Princeton professor emeritus Avinash Dixit.

Thread follows.

Dixit's letter was written in response to @ArthurBrooks' recent @TheAtlantic essay, which is itself a must read for any professional at risk of aging:
theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…

@arthurbrooks @TheAtlantic There's a mental trap to be wary of. We might call it the life=work trap. Not exclusively a risk for economists or academics more broadly, but a significant one.

There's the old joke: "academics are the only people who retire so they can get some work done."

@arthurbrooks @TheAtlantic The nature of the trap is as follows: your happiness is tied to your professional success. But for every level of success you attain, there is a higher one that eludes you.

Moreover, when you attain success you immediately begin to worry about becoming a "has-been."

@arthurbrooks @TheAtlantic And you dare not retire.

For if life=work then retirement=death.

Dixit's letter makes clear that there's an escape from the trap, that indeed life>>work. You just walk right out of it.

That doesn't mean quit your job, rather you allow other priorities to take precedence.

@arthurbrooks @TheAtlantic As simple as this is, we see precious few examples of academic economists choosing to take a less prestigious job, or a pay cut, because other things (family, hobbies, just sheer novelty) matter in their life.

In part that reflects the norms & values of our discipline.

@arthurbrooks @TheAtlantic I can't claim that this perspective explains the cases of Krueger and Weitzman.

It's just something for the rest of us to consider as we ponder whether there is any deeper meaning in those cases. /end.