Kevin Drum points out that social science research, writ large, tends to show that almost no attempted social science policies that try to indirectly change behavior work long term That's from a newly published article where Stevenson makes two claims about interventions that initially seem successful: If you test them with a randomized controlled trial, the gold standard of experimental assessments, they almost always fail. If they succeed, they almost always fail when someone tries to replicate them. Also worth a note: Stevenson points out that plenty of simple, direct interventions work fine. If you give people food, they'll be less hungry. The failures arise for less obvious, more indirect questions. For example, does having more food affect graduation rates or make people less likely to steal stuff? Nothing works. Now with proof! - Kevin Drum
