Chapter Nine

A difficulty with the science of economics that Wheelan makes a point of in chapter nine is the fact that we don't have one defining and sure method of determining the health or success of an economy. We can measure GDP, income inequality, or poverty, but we can't come up with a unified system for ultimately measuring an economy. Part of the problem is that there is no sure way to measure happiness. The science of economics can offer a method of predicting how people may feel or react to changes in the economic environment but human emotion is not always rational and cannot be measured with numbers. There is controversy as to whether the methods we have of measuring economic growth and health are worthwhile, but Wheelan points out that we notice failures to prevent recessions more than we notice successes and it is likely that the work of economists does have an effect.