The Appalled Economists (in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Économistes atterrés''The French term ''atterré'' translates as "appalled", "shocked", "dismayed") is an association created by

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

s who "resist the

neoliberal Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...

orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

" in order to "publicly promote" their "collective works and proposals."

Establishment

On 24 September 2010, economists Philippe Askenazy of the

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...

; Thomas Coutrot of ATTAC; André Orléan, president of the French Association for Political Economy; and Henri Sterdyniak of the

Observatoire Français des Conjonctures Économiques The Observatoire Français des Conjonctures Économiques (), often referred to by its acronym OFCE, is a prominent French economic policy think tank in Paris. It is mostly government-funded and hosted by the Sciences Po higher education organizat ...

signed a common

manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

that aimed to "denounce and refute" the so-called dominant orthodoxy in economic policy across Europe. Following the popular reception of the manifesto and various public interventions by its signatories, the Appalled Economists were formed in 2011.

Views

Since its creation, the association has criticized French governments of not challenging the "German-shaped, established European order" in economics. In their publications, the association stands in opposition to what they call the "

doxa Doxa (; from verb ) Liddell, Henry George, and Robert Scott. 1940.δοκέω" In ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', edited by H. S. Jones and R. McKenzie. Oxford. Clarendon Press. – via Perseus Project. is a common belief or popular opinion. In ...

". They reject "

globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

in the service of finance", criticize a "Europe where employment and social protection have become factors of adjustment to the insensitive profit motive of shareholders," and denounce the "instrumentalization of public debt" as well as the policies of a "fiscal counterrevolution" that ostensibly serves only society's "richest". They propose a drastic reduction in

tax loophole Tax break also known as tax preferences, tax concession, and tax relief, are a method of reduction to the tax liability of taxpayers. Government usually applies them to stimulate the economy and increase the solvency of the population. By this fis ...

s, the creation of new income

tax bracket Tax brackets are the divisions at which tax rates change in a progressive tax system (or an explicitly regressive tax system, though that is rarer). Essentially, tax brackets are the cutoff values for taxable income—income past a certain poin ...

s, and the introduction of a European fiscal snake (i.e. to have variable and fluctuating VAT levels within a certain range). The crisis in Europe, according to the association, is "systemic." They suggest that the problem should not be viewed as that of a "winning" Germany opposed to southern countries which are in default. The association's economists suggest that both

Eurozone The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...

's north and south of the eurozone should take steps: the north towards increasing domestic demand and the south against tax evasion and corruption.

Criticism

The positions adopted by the Appalled have come under attack from many quarters. Labor market economists

Pierre Cahuc Pierre Cahuc (born January 18, 1962) is a French economist who currently works as Professor of Economics at Sciences Po. He is Program Director for the IZA Institute of Labor Economics's programme "Labour Markets" and research fellow at CEPR. H ...

and :fr:André Zylberberg accuse them of denying the consensus in economics, a discipline that should be treated, according to them, as a science like

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

Notes

References

External links