Economists are horrible, horrible people. So says science
Why does the invisible hand want to slap you across the face? Because it belongs to a douchebag, apparently.


BOSTON — Why does the invisible hand want to slap you across the face?

Because it belongs to a douchebag.

That's the conclusion, anyway, of a provocative blog post in Psychology Today by Wharton professor Adam Grant making the rounds across planet internet.

But before all you econ majors get your demand curves in a twist, hear what the good professor has to say.

Citing research by Cornell professor Robert Frank, Grant makes the compelling case that economists are neither generous, nor cooperative. And that's because they've swallowed one of Adam Smith's main tenets: people act out of rational self-interest.

Emphasis here on the self.

In short: economists don't feel bad about acting in their self-interest because — well — the economic theories tell them that they should be selfish.

To help make his case, Grant points to three key data points.

First, economics professors give less money to charity than those in other academic fields, such as literature, history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, education, physics, chemistry and biology.

"More than twice as many economics professors gave zero dollars to charity than professors from the other fields," Grant adds.

Second, economics students are more likely to engage in deceptive behaviors when they believe they stand to gain, as this study in Germany shows.

Finally, economics majors — echoing that old Wall Street hero Gordon Gekko — are more likely to believe that greed is good.

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