Crisis-fixing economists stood to profit directly from adopting their recommended policy tools.

Evidence

[Ausubel and Cramton] hope to convince officials that not only does a reverse auction work, but, in the event the Treasury conducts one, to run it off their patented software platform … Ausubel and Cramton own two auction-services companies, Power Auctions and Market Design, each of which handle the back end of auctions for companies and foreign governments. They’ve already helped the French government sell electricity off its grid and Dutch energy companies auction off natural gas. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 867

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Economists ran crisis institutions, not just theorized about them — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 498; Economists involved in financial innovation disappear their own roles when narrating crises — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 571

Broader Connections

• Economists ran crisis institutions, not just theorized about them #expands (0.82) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 498
• Economists involved in financial innovation disappear their own roles when narrating crises #complicates (0.72) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 571