Policymaking Is Not a Science — Yet (Update)
Episode
45 min
Read time
2 min
Topics
Science & Discovery, Economics & Policy
AI-Generated Summary
Key Takeaways
- ✓Why do successful research programs fail when scaled up?
- ✓What causes "voltage drop" in program effectiveness at scale?
- ✓How can implementation science improve policy outcomes?
What It Covers
Economists John List and Dana Suskind examine why evidence-based interventions that work in research settings often fail when scaled up to real-world policy implementation.
Key Questions Answered
- •Why do successful research programs fail when scaled up?
- •What causes "voltage drop" in program effectiveness at scale?
- •How can implementation science improve policy outcomes?
Notable Moment
List's Parent Academy program showed dramatic results in Chicago Heights but completely failed in London because no parents signed up for the scaled version.
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