23 Nobel laureates can't be wrong about Trump

Economists mostly shun politics in favor of policy. We prefer to be aloof soothsayers giving voice to data and research rather than our own beliefs. A luminary in the profession once told me that "the only political party economists support is whichever is willing to be smart," before adding, "and a smart economist would never join a political party."

- KATHRYN ANNE EDWARDS

And yet, in a stunning turn—at least for us in the profession—23 Nobel Prize-winning economists, from Columbia University professor Joseph Stiglitz to Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Daron Acemoglu, released a letter endorsing Kamala Harris for US president.

"Simply put, Harris's policies will result in a stronger economic performance, with economic growth that is more robust, more sustainable, and more equitable," the Nobel laureates wrote in the letter. Donald Trump's policies, they added, would "lead to higher prices, larger deficits, and greater inequality."

As for Ms. Harris, they wrote that she "has emphasized policies that strengthen the middle class, enhance competition, and promote entrepreneurship."

Individuals can struggle to sort out the nuance of their own economic experience over the past eight years in weighing Ms. Harris versus Mr. Trump, but professional economists of all stripes have little to be torn about. It's not a toss-up: Mr. Trump's policy agenda gives much for economists to condemn. Any one of these policies on their own would be enough to disqualify a candidate, but that Mr. Trump has proposed them all is a clear enough indicator of just how much the economy would be at risk if he were reelected.