Beckermann's Berlin Brief

In the second semester of the Hertie degree, students take a class called "States and Markets". The class follows a semester crash course of macro and micro economics and this semester we are presumably applying much of the theoretical concepts we have learned last year to concrete policy issues.

Now I know what some of my former classmates at Carleton are thinking: "I hated economics in undergrad, you couldn't pay me to take economics again". Believe me, I felt much the same way at the start of the last term, especially reminiscing about my C+ in International Monetary Problems despite countless hours of preparation and studying.

But now, having gone over many of the concepts again, slower, and less in-depth/mathematically technical as I did before - I have a general appreciation (definitely not love) for the subject - I certainly know that it has an important role in policy discussions, which is why the "States and Markets" class will be a good balance to the theoretical knowledge we Hertie first years have gained.

Thus far this semester (mainly after our last class on "Theories of Growth") I've learned one thing - there is a lot that economists don't know about the economy - like how best to measure growth, or define and measure unemployment, or help the poor and impoverished countries.

Needless to say yesterday's discussion and eventual conclusion by my professor on how much economists don't know was somewhat vindicating - because let's face it there is a lot that I don't know about economics either - and apparently, most of the time, economists are just as lost as I am!