“Bentley’s Second Law of Economics: The only thing more dangerous than an economist is an amateur economist!” has been cited in print since at least 2002. There is no evidence who “Bentley” is or if he/she ever had a “first law of economics.” The joke means that almost everyone qualifies as an “amateur economist,” a person who makes even more errors than a professional economist does.
 
“Bentley’s second law” has been accompanied by another law since at least 2002: “Berta’s Fundamental Law of Economic Rents: The only thing more dangerous than an amateur economist is a professional economist.”
     
 
Economics Jokes
Bentley’s second Law of Economics: The only thing more dangerous than an economist is an amateur economist!
 
Financial and Economical Jokes
Bentley’s second Law of Economics: The only thing more dangerous than an economist is an amateur economist!
     
WebmasterWorld.com
lawman
7:07 pm on Feb 14, 2002
Bentley’s second Law of Economics: The only thing more dangerous than an economist is an amateur economist!
Berta’s Fundamental Law of Economics: “The only thing more dangerous than an amateur economist is a professional economist.”
   
Google Groups: alt.philosophy
Newsgroups: alt.philosophy, alt.politics.greens, alt.anarchism, alt.politics.libertarian
From: “Immortalist”

Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 15:57:19 -0700
Local: Tues, Apr 27 2004 5:57 pm
Subject: Re: On American Imperialism
 
Bentley’s second Law of Economics: The only thing more dangerous than an economist is an amateur economist!
Berta’s Fundamental Law of Economic Rents.. “The only thing more dangerous than an amateur economist is a professional economist.”
     
Google Books
The Hollowing of America:
America’s flight from manufacturing into a perilous world of economic fantasy
By James A Cunningham
Saratoga, CA: Number Thirteen Pub. Co.
2006
Pg. 193:
The only thing more dangerous than an amateur economist is a professional economist. — Berta’s law of rents.
 
BeateniA
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Today’s Word of Advice
“The only thing more dangerous than an economist is an amateur economist.”
Bentley’s Second Law of Economics
         
Times Online (London)
From The Sunday Times
November 16, 2008
Doctor Gordon and Mr Brown: a mystery
Martin Ivens
(...)
According to Bentley’s second law of economics – nobody knows his first one – the only thing more dangerous than an economist is an amateur economist. So I merely point out that, despite talk of “consensus”, disagreements about the effects of a fiscal stimulus are legion.
     
Bogleheads
larryswedroe
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:54 am
There is something called Bentley’s second law of economics: The only thing worse than an economist is an amateur economist. Investors should ignore all economic forecasts as they have no been demonstrated to have value. “Naive” forecasts work just as well
   
An Amateur Approach to Development Economics
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Bentley’s Second Law of Economics
The law states, “The only thing more dangerous than an economist is an amateur economist.”
   
FT.com
Dear Economist: Supply and demand, yes. But polygamy?
By Tim Harford
Published: July 31 2010 00:38 | Last updated: July 31 2010 00:38
I live in a place where polygamy is allowed, but generally avoided. One of my friends has two wives. When asked why, he once quipped “more suppliers means more competition and better service for the customer”. Now I know, both intuitively and through observation, that people with two wives seldom lead “peaceful” lives. As an economist, how would you explain that?
Mohsin, Pakistan
 
Dear Mohsin,
Your friend is demonstrating the truth of the old saying that the only thing more dangerous than an economist is an amateur economist.