Sally Kohn: I'm not sure economists are- You know, we were having this discussion. There's a spectrum of mistakes. Some of it has to do with specification searches and that sort of thing,. But you know, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Joshua Angrist of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the craft of econometrics--how to use economic thinking and statistical methods to make sense of data and uncover causation. Angrist argues that improvements in research design along with various econometric techniques have improved the credibility of measurement in a complex world. Roberts pushes back and the conversation concludes with a discussion of how to assess the reliability of findings in controversial public policy areas.