Andrew Lilico, a British economist, has an interesting discussion of the economic aspects of global warming politics over at ConservativeHome. This is particularly illuminating:
Now the Stern Review has been subjected to extensive methodological criticism, and I think it’s fair to say that the position amongst economists is something like the following:
- If we want to do any work on environmental economics for any government agency, we take the results of the Stern Review as given and unquestionable.
- When we are down the pub, or chatting in meetings with other economists, almost no-one takes any of its results seriously.
Confirmation bias is alive and well in Her Majesty’s Government.