Economists Spotlight Cards
13 cards (intro + 12)
Economist Spotlight
Economists
From Adam Smith's invisible hand to Steve Keen predicting the 2008 crash: the minds who decoded money, markets, and power.
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Economist Spotlight
Adam Smith
The father of modern economics. Wrote the book that launched capitalism, literally.
The Wealth of Nations
The founding text of modern economics
Books in TWoN
A sweeping treatise on markets, labor & trade
Years of Influence
Still the most cited economist in history
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Economist Spotlight
John Maynard Keynes
Rewrote the rules of economics during the Great Depression. Governments still follow his playbook.
General Theory Published
Revolutionized macroeconomic thought
Nations at Bretton Woods
He designed the post-war financial order
King's College Endowment
Grew Cambridge's fund through his investing
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Economist Spotlight
Karl Marx
Love him or loathe him, his critique of capitalism shaped the modern world.
Das Kapital Published
The definitive critique of capitalist production
People Under Marxist States
At the ideology's peak global influence
Volumes of Das Kapital
Engels edited the final two posthumously
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Economist Spotlight
Milton Friedman
The champion of free markets. Convinced the world that inflation is always a monetary phenomenon.
Nobel Prize in Economics
For consumption analysis & monetary history
Episodes of Free to Choose
PBS series that popularized free-market ideas
Years at Chicago
Built the Chicago School into a powerhouse
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Economist Spotlight
Friedrich Hayek
The intellectual godfather of libertarianism. Warned that central planning leads to tyranny.
Nobel Prize in Economics
For work on money & economic fluctuations
The Road to Serfdom
A warning against collectivism that still resonates
Books Published
Inspired Thatcher, Reagan & modern libertarianism
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Economist Spotlight
Joseph Schumpeter
Coined 'creative destruction.' Saw capitalism as an evolutionary force, not a stable system.
Capitalism, Socialism & Democracy
His magnum opus on economic evolution
Paradigm-Shifting Concept
'Creative destruction' changed business theory
Careers
Finance minister · bank president · Harvard prof.
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Economist Spotlight
Hyman Minsky
Ignored for decades, then vindicated by the 2008 crash. The prophet of financial instability.
The 'Minsky Moment'
His theory explained the global financial crisis
Stages of Debt
Hedge → Speculative → Ponzi financing
Years Ahead of His Time
Mainstream economics finally caught up
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Economist Spotlight
Thomas Piketty
Proved with data what many suspected: capitalism naturally concentrates wealth at the top.
Copies Sold
Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2013)
His Famous Inequality
Returns on capital outpace economic growth
Years of Tax Data Analyzed
Spanning 20+ countries worldwide
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Economist Spotlight
Steve Keen
Predicted the 2008 crash when almost no one else did. Economics' most persistent rebel.
Predicted the GFC
One of just 12 economists to see it coming
Revere Award Winner
Voted economist who best foresaw the crisis
Years Challenging Orthodoxy
Debunking Economics is his manifesto
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Economist Spotlight
Nassim N. Taleb
Former trader turned philosopher of randomness. Taught the world to fear the Black Swan.
Copies of Black Swan Sold
One of the most influential books of the 2000s
Books in the Incerto
A philosophical investigation of uncertainty
Languages Translated Into
A truly global intellectual phenomenon
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Economist Spotlight
Nouriel Roubini
They called him Dr. Doom. Then 2008 happened and everyone wished they'd listened.
Warned of Housing Crash
IMF speech predicting the crisis in detail
Wall Street Nickname
Earned by relentless bearish macro calls
Steps He Predicted
Outlined the exact sequence of the 2008 collapse
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Economist Spotlight
Daron Acemoglu
Proved that institutions, not geography or culture, determine why nations succeed or fail.
Nobel Prize in Economics
For research on institutions & prosperity
Most Cited Economist
Top of the RePEc rankings for over a decade
Academic Papers
Spanning labor, growth, inequality & AI
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13 cards · economists