Both David and Romer said the Kennedy School's emphasis on applied policy will be a welcome balance to the academic side of economics.

According to Christina Romer, the advantage of teaching at the Kennedy School is that those who learn economics there are likely to become political decision-makers in the future.

"People we teach at the Kennedy School are likely to matter," she said.

The Romers' conviction that it is important to have public policy makers who are well-versed in economics ties in with their current research.

Christina Romer said the pair is currently working on a historical work examining instances when economic difficulty has stemmed from a misunderstanding by politicians of the information and theory available to them.

"There are a lot of examples where countries make serious mistakes because the people in charge don't know enough economics," David Romer said.

David Romer said he has discussed teaching courses on macroeconomics for students not specializing in economics. Christina Romer said she has discussed teaching an introductory-level economics course for graduate students throughout the University.

Critical Mass

Many scholars who have been recruited by the Kennedy School this year said they believe the school is reaching a "critical mass" of public policy scholars, making it increasingly attractive to them.

Rodrik said that over the last few years, the Kennedy School has used recruitment of top scholars to broaden its focus and put itself on the map as the premier institution for public policy both in the United States and the world.

"The fact that so many high quality offers have gone out at same time has made it more attractive for people to come in expectation that a lot of like-minded people would be joining the faculty," Rodrik said.

Christina Romer said she has seen a big change in economic scholarship at the Kennedy School, particularly that a great many younger economists have been joining the faculty.

"A lot of the people we heard are coming are people we admire a lot," she said. "It makes the Kennedy School seem like an exciting place.