Jens Ludwig, University of Chicago - Hidden Aggregation as Information Destruction

Title: Hidden Aggregation as Information Destruction: An Illustration from Education

Abstract: Economics is about how people make decisions. These decisions frequently involve a hidden step: data aggregation. For example, in education we administer standardized tests to students that capture a wide range of concepts and then collapse all of that information down to a single scalar. By doing this, are we throwing away data? Of course --- that's statistics. But in this paper we show that this data aggregation step, usually ignored in the hope that its consequences are innocuous, is also throwing away information that is important for both education practice and education research.

Presenter:  Jens Ludwig, University of Chicago

If you would like to subscribe to the Melbourne Institute Seminar Series email list, please contact us.