About Us > Blog > A day in the life of an economist … Correcting the Information Asymmetry That Plagues Our Profession

Upon hearing the word, “economist,” most people conjure images of an older gentleman in a sports coat, pondering unique mathematical equations from his book-lined university office and lecturing crowds of three hundred students (a good portion of whom may be asleep).  Acknowledging that a few economists of this breed do exist, for the most part economists actually work in a variety of settings and are not defined by such narrow demographics. 

As economists ourselves, we believe this misconception to be the result of an economic concept called “information asymmetry” – where one party may not only have more information than another, but also more accurate information. Information asymmetry is such a fundamental economic concept and the foundation of other important economic models (moral hazard and adverse selection models, for instance) that three economists have won Nobel Prizes for the concept. 

 Buying a used car is a perfect real-world example of information asymmetry.  The salesman knows how many prior accidents the car has been in, any damage or malfunctions, and information about previous owners.  The buyer must either trust that the seller is entirely forthcoming, or abandon the transaction altogether.  With enhancements in search functions, the internet has become as a staunch safeguard against information asymmetry, making information readily available to all (although we admit the argument could be made that too much information could potentially make information asymmetry worse).  Solution to the used car problem?  Carfax.com…. and proof of economic concepts happening in real life.

Our intent in this series of posts is to use the social media age to correct some of this information asymmetry as to how the world views economists by telling you about who we are and what we do.  So, we start with this post on the demographic impressions of economists – yes, we mean debunking the common, stogy professor image of economists. 

Here’s the low-down.  We’re not all men.  Edgeworth boasts a good mix of males and females in our offices.  We’re definitely younger than that stogy professor.  Most of us are in our twenties and thirties with our elders reaching a ripe old age in their early forties.  We are from diverse backgrounds, ranging from recent top-tier college grads to seasoned professionals.    

We are dedicated to community service both as a company and individually.  Edgeworth serves the community through various pro bono economic analyses and philanthropy.  Our President and CEO is on the board of Appleseed – a nonprofit network of public interest justice centers and Edgeworth provides economic analysis on their projects.  Edgeworth economists also serve the community in their personal time, with a particular focus on education.  Many of our junior economists are “tutor dudes,” teaching math and science to GW and D.C. public high school students.  Our senior economists teach economics and math courses and lectures at Georgetown and public and private high schools in the region. 

We believe in hard work and giving back … but we also believe in playtime.  We have a soccer team – Blue Magic – on which many Edgeworth employees play regularly.  We’ve taken the entire office golfing and go-kart racing (and yes, we do the typical corporate events as well – who doesn’t love the Washington Nationals!).  We believe in using all your vacation time.  

Hopefully, the stogy professor image has morphed somewhat now.  Stay tuned for more posts on “… a day in the life of an economist” to learn more about the fundamentals of our work as economists and what the average work day of an economist entails.