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We asked economist Roger Koppl, author of Expert Failure, to share his thoughts on how this concept applies to and impacts the current pandemic.
In Part 1, Koppl explored the structural problems with expertise arising from the division of labor. This poses challenges when thinking about the trade-offs between slowing the spread of the virus and shutting down the economy.
In Part 2, Koppl revisits the "silos" of expertise referenced previously, and considers their tendency toward uniformity of opinion. This "enforced orthodoxy" is particularly dangerous in times of crisis such as this when questions of pubic policy are at the forefront.
Finally, in Part 3, the tension between expertise in medicine and economics that preclude flexible thinking is contrasted with the practice of questioning. Says Koppl, "The knowledge we need in normal times and crisis times alike is distributed. It’s out there in thee and me and in all our habits practices and experience. It is not a set of instructions and doctrines coming from on high. It arises of its own from our many decentralized interactions."
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