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Paul Krugman Challenged to Nerdiest Bet Ever

Remember when you were bored back in college, and you would bet your friends that they wouldn’t do idiotic things, like eat dog food or run around campus naked in the dead of winter? No? Neither do we. But imagine for a moment that you had an experience like that. Now think of a bet that falls on the complete opposite end of the sophistication spectrum. That would describe the wager thrown down by Harvard economist Greg Mankiw for Paul Krugman.

Apparently, these two hellions are having some kind of exceedingly wonkish back-and-forth about the Obama administration’s GDP forecast: Mankiw thinks they’re being too optimistic, Krugman disagrees. We’re not really equipped to untangle the actual merits of their positions — when Krugman used the term “Okun’s law,” we blacked out and woke up 30 minutes later in a cold sweat. But Mankiw has had enough with arguing; he’s challenging Krugman to put “some of that Nobel money” behind his GDP growth numbers. Will Krugman accept? Possibly dozens of economy nerds await his response.

Wanna bet some of that Nobel money? [Greg Mankiw’s Blog]

Paul Krugman Challenged to Nerdiest Bet Ever