What do economists do? This is a question that raises its head every once and again in Ireland and elsewhere. In Ireland, a speech by President Higgins a couple of months ago, given at a reception for TASC, criticised not just the field of economics as being obsessed with growth but also economists as hopelessly “neoliberal”. This included a criticism of what the President perceives to be how economics is taught at universities.  In particular, the President railed against what he believes to be prevailing concepts in economic discourse – he singled out “globalisation”, “productivity”, “efficiency”, “innovation” and “economic growth”…

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