Brian Albrecht

Some news?

I’m writing a book for @stripepress 🎉

THE PRICE CODE is (shockingly) about price theory and teaches the power of rigorous economic reasoning.

The book will explain how prices move, what they reveal about the world, and why most popular explanations are just empty

As a methodologically interested theorist, I was greatly influence by Bob Aumann's "What Is Game Theory Trying to Accomplish?"

"What does it tie together, where does it lead?"

Utility maximization has lead to many insights. The Posner Conjecture as well faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/giyer/phd269c/…

I don't think people appreciate how powerful a theorist Richard Posner was.

In my little tribute, I try to draw out what made him unique and how we should all be a bit more Posnerian
economicforces.xyz/p/the-great-ec…

I completely agree economists should do means-ends analysis. See Albrecht (2017).

But take support for a policy. Is that their goals (ends), or really their beliefs about how to achieve a different goal (means-ends connection).

Eg do people like price controls for their own sake, or because they expect affordable groceries?

In her book, Weber treats criticism of Harris’s price-gouging ban and Mamdani’s rent control as failures to defend democratic ends.

My contention is, for the most part, people want affordable-available groceries, and people fail to understand the means ends connection.

Hence we need the opposite of dethroning economics. We have a role for economics to understand that.

It’s an empirical debate.