Republican Economists Who Aren't Supporting McCain's Economic Plan

Felix Salmon writes:

The Economic Policy of John McCain: The more substantive news, in my view, is the list of 300 economists who claim to "enthusiastically support John McCain's economic plan". Would most of them sign their name to the economic plan of any Republican nominee, no matter how vague it was? Possibly. But there are undoubtedly some very heavy hitters on there, including five Nobel laureates and four former presidents of the American Economic Association. (Gary Becker, for these purposes, counts twice.) An arguments from authority can never be particularly convincing, but in this case it's stronger and more compelling than a promise buried in a position paper. It's one thing to say that McCain has no idea what he's talking about: it's another thing entirely to say that the same thing must go for every economist on the list...

I agree: it is disappointing. But there is good news: a lot of economists who you would expect to have signed on--subcabinet appointees in past Republican administrations, et cetera--have not. One would expect, based on political loyalties and willingness to serve in Republican administrations, to see Greg Mankiw, Paul Wonnacott, Dick Schmalensee, Michael Mussa, Thomas Moore, Gary Seevers, Marina von Neumann Whitman, Kristin J. Forbes, Katherine Baicker, Matthew J. Slaughter, Andrew Samwick, and others on the list. They are not there. That is good news.