Statistics for Public Policy

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A highly overdue guide to making policy work, quantitatively. In the creation of public policy, statistics are both an essential tool and a frequent antagonist. Statistics for Public Policy is a short, prose-forward crash course in wielding these unruly tools for maximum impact and clarity in the making and evaluating of public policies. Former White House economist Jeremy Weber offers an accessible voice of experience and empathy for the challenges of this work, with particular focus on six core practices: Thinking big-picture about statistical analysis-where it's helpful, where it's irrelevant, and where can be decisive Critically engaging with data, with particular focus on its origins, purpose, and generalizability-not necessarily whether it is representative Understanding the strengths and limits of the simple statistical methods that dominate most policy discussions Recognizing the limits of statistical significance and effect size-and the surprising power of using the right adjectives and knowing your audience Distinguishing correlation from causation (and in doing so, avoiding the traps of phantom problems-or applying phony solutions to real problems) Maintaining credibility by being right or at least respectfully wrong in every setting Brief, accessible, and deeply practical, Weber offers an essential resource for all students and professionals working at the intersections of data and policy interventions. Statistics for Public Policy dispenses with the opacity and technical language that have long made other books in this space impenetrable. This book is all signal, no noise"--