Economists in high demand

This article in US New and World Report is interesting, posted on Mankiw’s blog. I wonder if there are any other crisis-related phenomena in other academic fields? For example, after the devastation of WWII, were theologians and philosophers in higher demand in Germany because of the vacuum of meaning that was created? Helmut Thielicke’s popularity at the time can be partly attributed to this. But I suspect that only certain fields are such that demand responds to the times, however justifiably.