ECONOMISTS measure their influence by looking at their publication count. They obsess over their RePEc (“research papers in economics”) ranking, a list topped by heavyweights who inspire awe among PhD students and blank stares everywhere else. In an effort to gauge clout outside the ivory tower, The Economist asked Appinions, a startup that analyses influence online, to look at a list of 500 economists—the 450 atop the RePEc list, plus some we chose ourselves. Appinions tracked how much attention was paid to their utterances in the mainstream media, the blogosphere and in social media over a 90-day period up to December 11th 2014. That produced an alternative influence ranking (see table).

Our winner was Jonathan Gruber, an expert in health policy who advised on Obamacare. Comments made by Mr Gruber on the sausage-making behind the health-care law became the centre of a political firestorm last autumn, propelling him up the list. His elevation is a reminder that the news cycle is also an imperfect measure: in any other quarter, he would not have troubled the ranking.