They are heard every day in the media. And yet: who knows what economists actually do? Frequently interviewed on the news, they are rarely questioned about their profession, so the reality of their profession remains unknown. How do they work? What is the purpose of their work? In short: what is an economist?
In this video, Éric Monnet shares his experience working as an economist at the Banque de France. His work involves producing economic forecasts, writing policy decision memos, taking part in international conferences and carrying out research in his area of expertise, economic history, including the history of national central banks. Thanks to his wide range of activities, he is able to meet many economists, policy makers and academics in France and abroad.
This interview, held following a conference organised as part of the Économie aux Rendez-vous de l’histoire event in Blois, France, gives us the chance to really discover what working as an economist at a national central bank implies. Citéco also met two other economists to ask them the same questions: Nadia Jacoby et Olivier Passet.
Source: Banque de France – Citéco/la Cité de l’économie et de la monnaie
Language: french, subtitled in english
You can also find information on our conference on the profession of economist at the Rendez-vous de l’histoire 2016, the interviews (in french) of secondary school students from the Orléans-Tours education authority on how they perceive the profession of economist, as well as our interactive timeline on the history of economic thought and our 4 cross-interviews videos "Words of economists" (in french).
Published on 05 April 2017. Updated on 12 September 2019