We viewed our job as describing how market economies work, when they fail, and how well-designed policies can enhance efficiency. We analyzed trade-offs between competing objectives (say, equity versus efficiency), and prescribed policies to meet desired economic outcomes, including redistribution.
美国剑桥—曾几何时，我们经济学家与政治井水不犯河水。在我们看来，我们的职责是描述市场经济如何运行、什么时候会失灵，精心设计的政策如何能够增进效率。我们在竞争性将目标（比如公平和效率）之间做权衡分析，为所欲的经济结果（包括再分配）开政策药方。接不接受我们的建议是政客的事情，实施它们则是官僚的事情。