You dont have to be a great writer to produce good economics writing. The narrative of economic expertise, both published by the university of chicago press. An executive summary deirdre mccloskey university of iowa the main cause of bad writing in economics is that economists dont read good writing. Somewhere around 1980, deirdre mccloskey undertook a decisive break with her intellectual past. I do not think they do much harm they way they are used in this report but i would have preferred to see the argument made in a different way. Economical writing by deirdre n mccloskey, 9781577660637, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Your choices for the two writing priorities columns may differ from each other since you may already do a good job of meeting some of what you consider to be dr. On april 21, deirdre mccloskey and don boudreaux discussed mccloskey s new book. Mccloskey people foundation for economic education. Diedre mccloskeys trickleout economics by wendell cox 10142016 economics, history, english and communications professor diedre n. A wellknown economist and historian and rhetorician, she has written 17 books and around 400 scholarly pieces on topics ranging from technical economics and statistical theory to transgender advocacy and the ethics of the bourgeois virtues. The quality of your economic logic is what counts, not big words or complicated sentences. Salant also gave some advice to improve economists writing.
Economical writing mccloskey 1985 economic inquiry. I sat down recently with the eminent economist and historian deirdre mccloskey on the occasion of the publication of bourgeois equality, the third volume of her trilogy celebrating the bourgeois. Mccloskeys most popular book is economical writing. Students and young professionals who care about direct, clear expression should read this lucid, delightful gem by an author who practices what she advises. The economist deirdre mccloskey, in her provocative short guide economical writing, explains the idea nicely. I was at gmu for my own talk to a graduate seminar about my book, but the professor who invited me suggested i go. Thirtyfive rules for clear and persuasive prose, deirdre n.
The man in the street favors his mistaken opinions about free trade, and will not listen to professional argument. Rewrite and edit your first draftand your second one, too. Deirdre mccloskey is an adequate writer, which is to say, a better writer than almost all economists. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. In this revised second edition, deirdre mccloskey demonstrates how economic discourse employs metaphor, authority, symmetry and other rhetorical means of. Mccloskey was born donald mccloskey and lived as a man until the age of 53. She had a phd in economics from harvard, having trained under the legendary economic historian alexander gerschenkron and was a tenured professor at. Economical writing should be read by anyone practising economics be they an undergraduate student writing their first speculative essay, a graduate student composing a thesis, or a professional whose writing requires vigour. Mar 04, 2015 i agree with stephen ziliak and deirdre mccloskey in their criticism of pvalues. Request permission export citation add to favorites track citation. Mccloskey the university of iowa the length of the acknowledgments here testifies to an unexplored feature of the rhetoric of economics, the role of the audience. Mccloskey is distinguished professor of economics, history, english, and communication at the university of illinois at chicago. Most people who write a lot, as do economists, have an amateurish atti tude towards writing.
Her thirtyone rules, offered with wit and delightful brevity, include the essential warning that though rules can help, bad rules hurt. Most writing handbooks are exactly what they most admonish. Mccloskey, donald, economical writing, economic inquiry, 23. Sweet talk with deirdre mccloskey communicating economics. Oct 09, 2017 mccloskey is at heart an advocate that ideas, not reality, are what matter. Eleanor birch, thomas borcherding, ross eckert, anthony english, clifford geertz, albert hirschman, linda kerber, charles kindleberger, meir kohn, david landes, much of the mccloskey family laura, helen, and joanne, joel mokyr, erin newton, much. Mccloskey, donald, economical writing, economic inquiry, apr. A valuable short guide for mastering the craft of academic writing. Then, on may 4, mccloskey and george will talked about the book. The great enrichment came and comes from ethics and rhetoric deirdre nansen mccloskey university of illinois at chicago gothenburg university many people said before 1991 that india would never develop economically, that hindu culture was hopelessly otherworldly and would always be hostile to markettested improvement. First, the discourse is often mathematical, with lots of formulas, lemmas, and proofs. Mccloskey, of the university of illinois, chicago offers a unique interpretation of economic history that is well summarized in the subtitle of her book, bourgeois equality. Buy a cheap copy of writing of economics book by deirdre n. I attended a lecture at george mason university last night by deirdre mccloskey.
Mccloskey has 36 books on goodreads with 9254 ratings. Anyone who cares about direct, clear expression should read this lucid, delightful gem by an author who practices what she advises. Donald mccloskey department of economics and of history, university of iowa. Economical writing, third edition university of chicago press. If youre so smart will engage, enlighten, and empower anyone trying to evaluate the.
If your thoughts do not proceed in a logical sequence, no elegance or grace of language will make your writing clear. Buy a cheap copy of economical writing book by deirdre n. Mccloskey economic writting other things equal economical. Total factor productivity figures are from nakajima et al. The main cause of bad writing in economics is that economists dont read. Deirdre mccloskeys economical writing, originally aimed to help economists write better, is in this second edition clearly a book that should be read by. Deirdre nansen mccloskey born september 11, 1942 in ann arbor, michigan is the distinguished professor of economics, history, english, and communication at the university of illinois at chicago uic. Economical writing by deirdre mccloskey stephen kinsella. She is also adjunct professor of philosophy and classics there, and for five years was a visiting professor of philosophy at erasmus university, rotterdam. There are plenty of reasons to be against mccloskey based on statistics, facts. If economists would read jane austen or george orwell, or even adam smith or themas schelling, in bulk, daily, habitually, they would. Total factor productivity comparisons between japanese firms that export and invest abroad vs.
I think his philosophy of reality denial is doing terrible things, and his own body is a physical manifestation of his ideology. Publication date 2000 topics english language rhetoric problems, exercises, etc, economics authorship problems, exercises, etc, academic writing problems, exercises, etc publisher waveland press. Per capita growth estimates were calculated from figures given in scott and sproat 1977, 22. How ideas, not capital or institutions, enriched the world university of chicago press. Deirdre mccloskey s economical writing, originally aimed to help economists write better, is in this second edition clearly a book that should be read by scholars in every field.
I bought the book because i thought the original article was fantastic. Economically speaking, she writes, the production function for thinking cannot be written as the sum of two subfunctions, one. Absolutely no one is impressed by a sentence they cannot understand. Mccloskey is emerita distinguished professor of economics and of history, and professor of english and of communications, university of illinois at chicago, and author of bourgeois equality. Corporate governance in the early nineteenth century, journal of economic. Understanding that irony well, mccloskey has imbued economical writing with just enough wit and excursus to make it pleasurable. According to mccloskey, rhetoric is widely used in economics many examples are listed in rhetoric of economics, but it is unanalyzed. Deirdre nansen mccloskey taught at the university of illinois at chicago from 2000 to 2015 in economics, history, english, and communication. In the first of a series of interviews, we speak to deirdre mccloskey, professor of economics, history, english and communication as well author of several books, including one specifically on writing for economists.