Economic History | How & How NOT to Do Economics with Robert Skidelsky

In this tenth lecture in INET’s “How and How Not to Do Economics,” Robert Skidelsky argues that there are two main reasons why economists should study history. The first is to make history better. The second is to make economics better. If history is the study of the particular, and economics of the general, the value of history to economics is to enable them to make their generalizations more concrete and admit their limits. INET sincerely thanks the Julis-Rabinowitz Family for their generous support, who named this series to honor the spirit of a great educator and economic thinker, Uwe Reinhardt. For nearly 50 years, the late Uwe Reinhardt was a beloved economist and professor at Princeton University. Known best for helping to shape critical discourse around healthcare markets, his biting wit and intellect challenged students, colleagues, and policymakers alike to follow the data and to check all assumptions at the door. INET also thanks Rethinking Economics for their voices and contributions.