Intellectual Capabilities, Travels, and Worldview of Influential Economists

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Influential economists' intellectual capacities are difficult to comprehend, and their experiences of travel and worldliness influenced their thinking. John Stuart Mill traveled extensively, while Friedrich Hayek lived in diverse locations, likely impacting his perspectives. Additionally, the unexplored possibilities of a young John Maynard Keynes' trip to India and the hypothetical influence on his economic theories are intriguing. Furthermore, the cultural impact on Hayek's life during his time in Arkansas remains a mystery, as does the effect of his experience in World War I on his worldview.

Who is the greatest economist of all time? In Tyler Cowen's eclectic view, you need both breadth and depth, macro and micro. You can't have been too wrong--and you need to be mostly right. You have to have had a lasting impact, and done both theory and empirical work. If you meet all these criteria, you may just be history's greatest economist. Listen as Cowen talks about his new and freely accessible book GOAT with EconTalk's Russ Roberts. Along the way to crowning a winner, Cowen offers original insights into what shaped the theories and worldviews of the greatest economists of all time. Cowen and Roberts also talk about the evolution of economics from a field concerned mainly with ideas to one that mostly grapples with empirical challenges.