Thread by @DurRobert

People do not trust economists, we hear that all the time.

For instance, Esther Duflo recently argued that “economists have lost most of their credibility” citing YouGov data from 🇬🇧 media.eur.nl/Mediasite/Play…

However, slightly newer data give rise to some optimism!

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The newer data are also from YouGov in the UK, collected in April 2017, and commissioned by @economics_net and @ing_economics.

Full report: economicsnetwork.ac.uk/research/under…

The questionnaire contains more detailed questions about what people think about economists and economics.

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The first bit of good news is that trust in economists is somewhat higher (35%) than in Esther’s data (25%).

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Strikingly, trust in economists is much higher among young people.

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Next question is whether the government should listen to the advice of economists?

Quite remarkably – given the bad press economists have had – a sizeable majority says yes!

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There is also hardly any doubt about the relevance of economics.

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And there is broad support for teaching economics in school.

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And many people have a desire to understand economics better.

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And here is *how* they would like to become better informed, mainly through podcosts/videos and tv documentaries.

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Podcast and documentary makers, what are we waiting for?

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The most recent data about people's trust in economists is here: economicsnetwork.ac.uk/research/under… HT @economics_net

In 2019, 70% of people feel that the government should listen to the advice of economists.

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