In technology, we spend so much time experimenting, fine-tuning, getting the absolute cheapest way to do something - so why aren't we doing that with social policy?
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the need to apply the same innovative and cost-effective strategies used in technology to the development of social policies.
Esther Duflo highlights a critical observation that while technology thrives on experimentation and optimization to reduce costs and improve efficiency, similar methodologies are often lacking in the realm of social policy. She advocates for a more scientific approach to addressing social issues, encouraging policymakers to adopt rigorous experimentation and fine-tuning to enhance the effectiveness and accessibility of social programs.
In practice
In a speech addressing future innovations in welfare systems.
And there is a lot of idiosyncrasy. But there are also regularities and phenomena. And what the data is going to be able to do - if there's enough of it - is uncover, in the mess and the noise of the world, some lines of music that actually have harmony. It's there, somewhere.
The poor get bored the same as the rest of us. Their happiness might be as important to them as their health.
For millions of girls around the world, motherhood comes too early. Those who bear children as adolescents suffer higher maternal mortality and morbidity rates, and their children are more likely to die in infancy.
Part of me always wanted to do something useful for the world. It came from my mother. She is a paediatrician and she was active in a small NGO for the child victims of war.
There is no such thing as information overload, just bad design. If something is cluttered and/or confusing, fix your design.
A newspaper is complete. It is finished, sure of itself, certain. By contrast, digital news is constantly updated, improved upon, changed, moved, developed - an ongoing conversation and collaboration. It is living, evolving, limitless, relentless.
Good information architecture makes users less alienated and suppressed by technology. It simultaneously increases human satisfaction and your company's profits. Very few jobs allow you to do both at the same time, so enjoy.
SPAM is taking e-mail, which is a wonderful tool, and exploiting the idea that it's very inexpensive to send mail.
Being flooded with information doesn't mean we have the right information or that we're in touch with the right people.
The whole notion of passwords is based on an oxymoron. The idea is to have a random string that is easy to remember. Unfortunately, if it's easy to remember, it's something nonrandom like 'Susan.' And if it's random, like 'r7U2*Qnp,' then it's not easy to remember.
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