Description
Uncertainty, pluralism of evidence, politicisation of knowledge and distrust in expertise are constant companions to contemporary policy-making. Even after years of academic study and practical experience, the assessment of the impact and effects of policies is a difficult and demanding process. While agreement among experts might be far greater than realised by the general public, at times, there might also be legitimate disagreement which raises doubts over the legitimacy of the evidence at hand. Rising distrust in science and policy advice can result from this uncertainty.
Because individual citizens cannot invest the effort required to determine the best available evidence to support policies or assess policy consequences, policy-making must rely on experts. This conclusion, which is at the heart of democratic and evidence-informed policy-making, has fallen into deep question in recent years.
Since the 2008 financial crisis, and compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed an erosion of citizens’ trust in experts and expertise. Europe has seen populist movements rejecting expert knowledge on a range of issues, from debt, growth, migration and trade to vaccines.
Many who denounce academic experts and mistrust their advice choose instead to follow their own (often self-proclaimed) 'experts'. The multiplication and accessibility of information sources has blurred the lines between the expertise, perception and reach of experts and those of individuals, often with profoundly negative political, democratic and economic consequences.
There might be good reasons to distrust some experts, since they may err, but rejecting expert knowledge per se is calamitous for society and democracy. It is thus crucial for decision-makers and citizens to be evidence-sensitive and -literate and to be able identify reliable experts. For the latter, it is important to restore lost credibility in their research and expertise. Our interdisciplinary research cluster aims to discover the key reforms and mechanisms needed to accomplish this goal. An important part of the cluster’s work is therefore to investigate means of rendering expert knowledge ever more representative, accurate, and pertinent.
The cluster hosts monthly seminar sessions with speakers from disciplines spanning, but not limited to, law, philosophy, natural science, and statistics. Speakers and participants are particularly invited to discuss the interdisciplinarity of their work, focusing on the relevance of knowledge and expertise across fields and domains.
Interviews
We held a series of discussions with academics on their insights about bridging technical competence and political compromise. Watch the Experts Crisis Interviews Series.
Events Archive (February 2020 - June 2021)
Monthly seminar series
In our monthly seminar series, invited speakers present some research on the topic of expertise. Take a look at our event recordings.
This is a proposal for a novel approach to microeconomics teaching, a class that we would call "The skeptical economist".