What is the (real) purpose of economics? The debate between Nobel laureate Esther Duflo and the Governor of the Bank of France, François Villeroy de Galhau
Interview: False science, single-minded thinking… The discipline, often criticized, is nevertheless essential to understanding reality and reducing social inequalities, as agreed here by the Nobel laureate and the governor of the Bank of France.
Interview by Claude Soula
Esther Duflo and François Villeroy de Galhau share the same conviction: economics is not an abstraction. FRANÇOIS BOUCHON/FIGAROPHOTO-RENAUD KHANH/ABACA
“In my opinion, the figures were rigged!” In August, US President Donald Trump reacted with his usual bad faith when the Bureau of Employment Statistics published a report he didn't like. This distrust of economic science, particularly prevalent in populist rhetoric, also exists in France. “I prefer the common sense of the butcher in Tourcoing” to the surveys of the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), declared Gérald Darmanin in 2021, when he was Minister of the Interior.
This raises questions for those most directly involved, whether they are researchers or practitioners in economics, such as the Governor of the Bank of France, François Villeroy de Galhau , and Nobel Prize winner in economics Esther Duflo, professor at the Collège de France and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology…
This article is for subscribers only.
Log inWant to read more?
All our exclusive content with unlimited access
Or
Topics related to the article
Le Nouvel Observateur
