Economists’ petitions

Dan Klein, Carrie Milton, and David Hedengren are starting a new project, namely a study of petitions signed by economists.  Their list is here, can you add to it?  This is part of a longer-term project to understand the behavior of economists and to treat us as rational, maximizing agents, not just disinterested truth-seekers.

I wonder why institutions bother to generate petitions signed by economists.  Is it to influence the world?  To signal which economists are on their side?  To cultivate better connections with economists and create an excuse to contact them and affiliate with them?  Something else?

I've signed petitions once or twice but in general I don't like doing it, in part because I don't understand the game I am playing in doing so.

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