Consensus or Agreeing to Disagree? The Importance of Scientific Synthesis in Economic Policy

Discussions in the field of economics can take different forms to reach consensus or dissent among those involved. According to which rules and procedures is it possible to reach a consensus in economic policy advice? And in which cases is an all-round consensus undesirable? Based on a panel discussion at the annual conference of the Verein für Socialpolitik in Regensburg in September 2023, the following two articles reflect on consensus building and “agreeing to disagree” in the context of the work of two statutory policy advisory bodies in Germany, the German Council of Economic Experts and the Joint Economic Forecast Project Group.