Knowing what works

Every bit of this piece by Steven Hamilton makes me ache for what we lost when Bill English's investment approach was thrown out with the change in government. 

But I do have one idea I think could raise our productivity, economic growth, and living standards – all within the confines of this incremental system. And that is, simply, to figure out which policies actually work.

This may come as a shock but, in many areas, we have no idea. 

Read the whole thing. Tons of good stuff that goes beyond data and analytics. A lot of it applies here too:

So, in the first instance, we need more academics to work on Australian policy questions. Which is tough because the incentives are currently geared towards the US, which at least in economics is the centre of the academic world. (An attendee at a US talk I once gave asked: “Who gives a f$%# about Australia?” )

If we want academics to work on Australian policy questions, we need to adjust the incentives. There are many ways to do so, but we could start with root-and-branch reform of the way the Australian Research Council functions. And specific government departments could directly incentivise creation of the evidence of interest to them.