Even if you jettison most of the orthodox economic theory surrounding them, you still need reliable econometric indicators if you're going to do industrial policy and economic planning and want it to work.

It is possible that you can't get reliable information on the structure and development of the economy by mining price data. But we won't know that until we've tried to do it - preferably in a way that wouldn't make Shannon turn over in his grave.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.