Same Story in Other Areas Similar reports came from economists employed by manufacturers, among them companies that make paper, lumber, steel, chemicals, cars and other consumer products.

"I always thought there were clear signs of the system coming apart," said Stephen J. Rose, an economist employed by the State Senate in Washington who helped lead the discussion.

Formalizing and testing Williamson's intuitive insights has kept many economists gainfully employed.

Most are economists employed at brokerage houses, banks and corporations, and their forecasts are churned out for customers and top management.

But I would be hard pressed to think of a single economist not actually employed by an anti-environmental lobbying operation who believes that the United States should protect the environment less, not more, than it currently does.

Some MMOG companies even have economists employed full-time (for example, CCP Games with Eve Online) to monitor their in-game economic systems.

"As in bankruptcy procedure in the United States, the Russian companies are getting a breather," said David Lipton, an American economist employed as an adviser to the Gaidar team.

"An independent economist employed by the commission said the commission had not done its homework," Mr. Green said.

His father was an economist employed by Unilever who worked during the World War II as economic adviser for the Dutch government in exile.

So do many economists employed by the Federal Reserve Board, the Congressional Budget Office and some other Government agencies.