Thread by @JustinWolfers

I'm seeing little eddies of discontent about economics v. epidemiology.

I've been party to *tons* of economics discussions over recent weeks, and this really isn't a thing.

Economists have been reading epi, we're trying to understand epi models, we're using epi insights as inputs into our models, and we're exploring where economics can add something.

With few exceptions (yes, there are a handful), there's enormous respect for epi within economics.

Of course, we economists don't always help ourselves. We're too blunt, sometimes obnoxious, often over-confident, and we love to argue.

I'll concede we're not uniformly strong on soft skills. As a result we're often perceived to be more confrontational than we intend.

Where there is a real divide is between social scientists (including both econs and epis) and elements of the business community.

The "open the economy" argument isn't coming from econs or epis, but from (mainly) bankers and billionaires (and a few libertarians).

Business is often driven by self interest.

Economics isn't about supporting business, or "the economy." It's about maximizing human flourishing. Understanding self-interest is part of that, as is understanding that self-interest can lead people to do enormous harm to others.