Who Are The Most Influential Economists Alive?

INFLUENTIAL TO WHOM?

• Economists influence each other.
• Economists influence other academics.
• Economists influence policy makers.
• Economists influence members of the financial system
• Economists influence business and industry leaders
• Economists influence the interested public.

The group of economists who influence each group varies considerably.  In fact those who influence each other are very different from those who influence policy and society. 

Unfortunately, the economists who write for newspapers are the most influential outside of academia.  Within academia, influence is largely determined by citations, as someone else in this thread has stated.

THE ECONOMIST MAGAZINE
Which economists are the most influential?
Contains opinions by economists themselves.

https://www.quora.com/Who-are-the-most-influential-economists-alive