Economics Is on the Verge of a Golden Age

Randy Lyhus for The Chronicle Review

By Diane Coyle

Progress in any science depends on a combination of improved observation, measurement, and techniques. The cheap computing of the past two decades means there has been a tremendous increase in the availability of economic data and huge strides in econometric techniques. As a result, economics stands at the verge of a golden age of discovery.

You might be surprised by that statement, especially if you've been following the general debate about the role the discipline has played in the