What economists should know about public policymaking?

Economists maintain that the study of public policymaking falls outside the scope of their discipline. How and why public policies are made should be studied by political science. Policy debates in economics take place within a generally agreed framework referred to in the paper as the 'optimisation paradigm'. There are two central assumptions: 1) there is a 'technocratic' relationship between economists and policymakers based on a separation of functions: policymakers provide the objectives of policy and economists the best instruments of policy; 2) public policymaking is and ought to be 'rational'. A detailed examination of both assumptions reveals that the optimisation paradigm has serious shortcomings. This conclusion is reinforced by the accounts of many economists who have had active involvement in public policymaking. The economist's policy paradigm is in need of revision, which will inevitably require a collective effort. We recommend a return to the 'political economy' approach in which economists will participate in policymaking as 'positive political economists' rather than technical experts 'divorced' from politics.