In an interview I gave to a Swedish newspaper last week, I said that Sweden could consider new responses to the refugee crisis. My comments were prompted by conversations with several Swedes who remain committed to the principle of helping people in need but are convinced that familiar strategies are not working. They said that some of the refugees who have been admitted into Sweden are frustrated by life on the margin of society.

Dear Professor Romer, I am writing you about your recent working paper The Trouble with Macroeconomics that generated lots of reactions. I have simple question. I am a graduate student in economics. I am going to begin a PhD program in economics next year. I always loved macro, and I will probably specialize myself in this field. My question is: Shall I see all the critics made to the macro field as a signal that there will be massive developments and evolutions, which makes it pretty exciting?

My new working paper, The Trouble with Macroeconomics, has generated some interesting reactions. Here are a few responses: Why Name Names? One suggestion is that it would have been better if I had written one of those passive-voice “mistakes were made” documents that firms issue after a PR disaster. I name names because this is how science works. The standard practice calls for an individual to put his or her reputation behind a claim; to listen to the claims that others make; and to admit that the claim is false when this is what the evidence shows.

I just learned that a rough version of a paper that I am working on called “The Trouble with Macroeconomics” was posted on a server and has been making the rounds. The version here, dated Sept. 14, is cleaner and better organized. If you are interested,take a look at this one: The Trouble With Macroeconomics If I revise, I’ll put the updated version on this page.

I lived with a surgeon for 25 years. From the decisions Ginny made, I learned that doctors are better than economists at balancing the costs and benefits of delay. Economists teach that time is money, but we never specify the exchange rate. If delay costs $x per day per person, the total cost scales with the number of people. In my lifetime, the most important lesson economists have learned is that in countries of all sizes–small ones like Singapore, medium-sized ones like South Korea, large ones like China and India–better policy can lift people out of poverty more quickly than we dared hope.