Where were economists when the global recession hit? Or rather, where were their forecasts in the years before? This column argues that clearly some of the models were at fault. To correct this, it proposes a ‘comparative approach’ to macroeconomic analysis where models compete for the right to be taken seriously. The failure of economists to predict the Great Recession of 2008–09 has rightly come under attack. The areas receiving most criticism have been economic forecasting and macroeconomic modelling. Distinguished economists – among them Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman – have blamed developments in macroeconomic ... (full story)