Samwick on Internships

Economist Andrew Samwick, Dartmouth professor and a former colleague of mine at the CEA, writes on his blog:

One of my regrets after my year at CEA was that I did not go work there as an intern or research assistant 15 years earlier while I was in college. It would have made me a better economist.

I agree with the implicit advice that Andrew is offering. I recommend that every student planning a career as a professional economist try to spend a summer, or even a year, working at a place like the CEA, CBO, or the Fed.