“Murray Weidenbaum has brought solid economic understanding and a talent for clear expression to analyses of a wide range of public and private policy problems. Written over the course of a remarkable and varied career as a scholar, official, and participant in varied businesses, this collection of concise essays is full of insights and lessons as fresh and relevant to issues of today as to the time they were written.” —The Honorable Paul A. Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve System

"'One-Armed Economist' could easily have been titled 'Intellectually Honest Economist,’ or 'Clear-Eyed Economist,' or 'Literate Economist.' Murray Weidenbaum is all of those things, as these essays, spanning his career, as professor, corporate planner, and top White House official, elegantly make clear. In a non-dogmatic, non-doctrinaire, clear-headed and clearly written fashion, Weidenbaum ranges over the widest range of issues involving business, government and economics. He is that rare person who can write for an audience of experts and specialists while still being able to reach a larger audience. People in business, government and academia, as well as those in corner shops and on factory floors, can benefit from his insights and experiences."—Norman Ornstein, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute

"Murray Weidenbaum is a triple threat: a wise, witty, and one-armed economist. This wonderful selection of his professional writing displays impressive public policymaking insights based on an extraordinarily rich set of experiences in the public and private sector; a refreshingly puckish and self-deprecating humor; and a most welcome willingness to say exactly what he thinks."—Thomas E. Mann, W. Averell Harriman Chair and Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution

“Murray Weidenbaum’s One Armed Economist: On the Intersection of Business and Government is must-reading for students and scholars of economic policy. A blend of theory, history and practice, this collection of essays provides important and enduring insights into subjects as diverse as government regulation of business, tax reform, the military and presidential advising from the invaluable perspective of an academic who has also been inside business and government. Highly recommended.”—Michael J. Boskin, T.M. Friedman Professor of Economics, Hoover Institution Senior Fellow and Former Chairman, President’s Council of Economic Advisors

“With this book we all have available to us the perceptivity and wisdom of a distinguished American economist. It is good that these pieces were brought together in one package.” —Paul W. McCracken, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Business Administration, Economics, and Public Policy, University of Michigan Business Schools

One-Armed Economist represents a personal, if eclectic, approach to public policy. Weidenbaum avoids doctrinaire positions, be they Keynesian or monetarist or supply side or libertarian. This distillation of Weidenbaum’s wide range of writings on public policy issues over the last four decades draws on his practical experience in government and business as well as his academic research over that extended period.

The volume covers six major clusters of policy issues: economic policy, government programs, business decision-making, government regulation, the defense sector, and the international economy. There are chapters on how to achieve a cleaner environment, how to fundamentally overhaul the tax and health care systems, and a defense of Reaganomics. The work examines how public sector activities impact the performance of the national economy. Its coverage includes the role of government as a buyer, a seller, a provider of credit, and a source of subsidy and support.

Drawing heavily on his experience as economist for a major military contractor, Weidenbaum shows that the defense industry is the most heavily regulated sector of the American economy and discusses ways to modernize the arcane and wasteful process of procuring weapon systems. He also draws on his work on the hidden costs of regulation on the consumer, showing how to improve the regulatory process so as to achieve national objectives while minimizing the burdens of compliance. The last section is devoted to the international economy, with chapters on the role of the overseas enterprises.

One-Armed Economist is a lucid analysis of major public policy issues of our time. As such it will be of special interest to organizations involved in public policy, think tanks, and government policymaking groups, as well as readers interested in fresh perspectives on a broad range of policy issues.

Murray Weidenbaum has been an economist in three arenas—business, government, and academia. He chaired President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers; served as economist for The Boeing Company; and now holds the Mallinckrodt Professorship at Washington University. He founded the Center for the Study of American Business (renamed the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy).