ABSTRACT
Heaven forbid that I pick a fight with a member of the editorial advisory board of Challenge. But a recent comment by Robert M. Solow cannot pass uncontested. In a New York Times review he flatly announced that “nobody but a professional would read economics for pleasure or for mere understanding.” No statistics, sample surveys, or theoretical underpinnings were offered in support of this assertion. Accord ingly I shall also omit all references to theory and research, and proceed with the discussion.
