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Economists do in fact qualify pretty clearly and probably more so than any other group, CBO budget analysts, not so much. Think tank, nonprofit, and NGO researchers also clearly qualify. As do the legal scholars and scientists living in the area.
Economists though are leading intellectuals right now. This has been the case since the enlightenment (Karl Marx, Adam Smith, Keynes, Friedman, etc). DC has more economists per capita than any other city. The most influential intellectuals in history are economists.
I would not call a Federal Reserve, CBO, DOL or Treasury economist an "intellectual" any more than I would an economist working for Moody's or Goldman. If we were talking about someone like Gary Becker or Susan Strange, then you'd have a point, but these people are not advancing the field of economics in any way.
I think the fact that the discussion has descended into attempts to create a definitive ranking undermines the case for Washington having much intellectualism at all.
The left hemipshere would be more DC. NYC would be more of a balance.
I would not call a Federal Reserve, CBO, DOL or Treasury economist an "intellectual" any more than I would an economist working for Moody's or Goldman. If we were talking about someone like Gary Becker or Susan Strange, then you'd have a point, but these people are not advancing the field of economics in any way.
I am talking more about the economist working for think tanks, ngos, and nonprofits. More akin to those working at Brookings, and the Urban Institute, and advancing the field through research. Not the CBO or Treasury. DOL serves an important purpose, but it's not intellectualism, and they hire more statisticians than economists, and this is being familiar with people who work there. They more provide the data than analyze it. Most economists in the area though do not work for the government.
With that being said the Federal Reserve being the exception to the list you provided. The federal reserve does quite a bit of research that does in fact advance the field of economics.
I am talking more about the economist working for think tanks, ngos, and nonprofits. More akin to those working at Brookings, and the Urban Institute, and advancing the field through research. Not the CBO or Treasury. DOL serves an important purpose, but it's not intellectualism, and they hire more statisticians than economists, and this is being familiar with people who work there. They more provide the data than analyze it. Most economists in the area though do not work for the government.
You mean Nobel prize winning economists who've written for Brookings but don't live or teach in DC?
Paul Krugman (teaches at CUNY, lives in Manhattan)
Joseph Stiglitz (runs his own think tank in Manhattan)
Daniel McFadden (Professor at Cal Berkeley)
Gary Becker (deceased, Chicago School of Economic Theory)
Robert Solow (M.I.T.)
Lawrence Klein (Wharton)
The most influential economists who've written for Brookings are based out of institutions elsewhere.
Harvard University - 153
Columbia University - 101
University of Cambridge - 91
University of Chicago - 91
UC Berkeley - 70
New York University - 36
Johns Hopkins - 36
University of Pennsylvania - 28
Georgetown University - 2
We clearly see where the transformative ideas are coming from.
San Francisco's particular influence is more technology/engineering so it shouldn't make the top 3. San Francisco would rank better for nerdiest cities, perhaps.
we need engineers far more than additional people overanalyzing the Presidential race
Nobody argues that. I just took issue with the notion that New York is dominated by the financial industry. DC is dominated by the legal industry to a greater extent than New York is by the financial industry.
NYC Metro Financial Analysts + Financial Managers + Securities and Commodities Agents + Brokerage Clerks
199,015 (2.05% of civilian workforce)
DC Metro Lawyers and Paralegals
76,055 (2.39% of civilian workforce)
I think it may be more of an issue of how the phrase 'dominated by' is being interpreted. The NYC area is not dominated by finance in the sense that the majority (or even plurality) of people work in the finance sector. That said, it could be argued that the NYC area is dominated by finance in the sense that many (if not most) of the movers-and-shakers, top philanthropists, those buying the $20M+ apartments, expensive jewelry, etc. are working in finance.
If someone asked me if NYC was dominated by finance, I might say yes but my answer would best be interpreted as the latter as opposed to the former.
Maybe for people who work for the feds, they think they're sooooooo intellectual, but that's about it.
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