The Importance of Communicating Confidence in Economic Findings

In recent years, there’s been a strong push to elevate the use of data in public decision-making by using evidence-based policymaking. Not everyone is enamored of the idea. In a 2019 essay for Chicago Booth Review, Lars Peter Hansen, of Chicago Booth and the University of Chicago, said the notion of evidence-based policymaking was “a misleading portrayal of academic discourse and the advancement of understanding.” In this episode, Hansen and his Chicago Booth and University of Chicago colleague Kevin Murphy to discuss the issue.