Noah Smith, Columnist

Hey, Look! Federal Bureaucrats Are Backing Off

Academic researchers are getting more room to conduct experiments free of meddlesome review. That's great for social science.

March 22, 2017 at 11:00 AM UTC

By Noah Smith

Noah Smith is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He was an assistant professor of finance at Stony Brook University, and he blogs at Noahpinion.

Most science isn't like this.
Source: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

When I was an academic economist, I sometimes did lab experiments. These would usually involve a simulated financial market, where a room full of students would trade made-up assets for an hour or so. Made-up money was the prize, with successful traders getting more of it.

Nobody was put in medical, ethical or psychological peril. Participants showed up, had some educational fun, and went home.