Who would economists vote for?

Analysis by on September 17, 2008 at 9:04 pm

Not that I needed any more reasons to love Scott Adams, but this is truly an undertaking after my own heart.

Scott Adams recently funded his own study to see what economists really thought about the economic policies of the two presidential candidates. He introduces the study with these lines:

I found myself wishing someone would give voters useful and unbiased information about which candidate has the best plans for the economy. Then I realized that I am someone, which is both inconvenient and expensive.

The full summary is here: http://dilbert.com/dyn/ppt/Draft-report—9-3-08.ppt

The data leans towards Obama, but isn’t incredibly conclusive. The declared Democrats heavily favor Obama and the Republicans McCain. Independents leaned towards Obama. I personally find the data on how independent economists reacted to be the most interesting. On the top three issues (as determined by the economists):

  1. Education: 50% Obama, 18% McCain
  2. Health Care: 56% Obama, 25% McCain
  3. International Trade: 16% Obama, 63% McCain
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