People I (Mostly) Admire 70. You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Experiment
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Apr 9, 2022 
Joshua Angrist, a Nobel Prize-winning economist from MIT, dives into the fascinating world of natural experiments. He discusses how the draft lottery and military conscription during the Vietnam era provide unique insights into economic outcomes. Angrist also shares his research on educational policies in Israel, revealing unexpected findings about class size and student achievement. Listeners will be intrigued by creative strategies for buying homes in competitive markets and how psychological factors play a key role in negotiations.
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Natural Experiments
- Natural experiments offer a valuable way to understand cause and effect.
- They resemble randomized experiments but occur in real-world settings.
West Point Electronics Study
- Josh Angrist cites a study by Kyle Greenberg at West Point about electronics in classrooms.
- The study found a negative impact of electronics on learning, supporting Angrist's classroom policy.
Draft Lottery as a Natural Experiment
- The Vietnam-era draft lottery provided a natural experiment for studying military service effects.
- Angrist used instrumental variables to isolate the causal impact of serving in the military.