The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 5 letter word ADAM SMITH
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
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More clues leading to the result ADAM SMITH
- Economist with German husband supporting second president
- Famous economist – the first man’s story to be listened to
- Economist with German husband joining second president
- Economist a forger, eating bananas up
- A mother’s going to American university meeting Harvard’s foremost economist
- Economist's answer blocks merriment, right away
- Pah! Tim’s mad – angry, reactionary, grasping Scottish economist
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Economist/," is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case economist/, = adam smith.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.