The value of having numbers - data - is that they aren't subject to someone else's interpretation. They are just the numbers. You can decide what they mean for you. Emily Oster More Quotes by Emily Oster More Quotes From Emily Oster The key to good decision making is evaluating the available information - the data - and combining it with your own estimates of pluses and minuses. As an economist, I do this every day. Emily Oster data keys decision The most active period of the witchcraft trials coincides with a period of lower than average temperature known to climatologists as the "little ice age"...In a time period when the reasons for changes in weather were largely a mystery, people would have searched for a scapegoat in the face of deadly changes in weather patterns. 'Witches' became target for blame because there was an existing cultural framework that both allowed their persecution and suggested that they could control the weather. Emily Oster ice weather average Prenatal testing is a complicated decision for many women, forcing us to confront concerns about a disabled child and risks of miscarriage. Emily Oster miscarriage decision children Because economics is all about optimising, doing the best you can with what you have - it's usually the first place you should look for answers if you want to maximise your happiness. Emily Oster answers want looks For many women - myself included - pregnancy brings on tremendous anxiety and confusion, along with the joy. Emily Oster confusion joy pregnancy All's fair in love and purchasing. Emily Oster fairs purchasing Talking to women about birth can be polarizing. Emily Oster polarizing birth talking Good household decision-making often relies on thinking about your household like a firm. Emily Oster thinking-about-you firm decision Even if you are planning a birth with an epidural, the evidence suggests that a doula can help make things go much more smoothly. Emily Oster doulas planning helping Adhering to budgeting rules shouldn't trump good decision-making. Emily Oster budgeting trump decision In short, humans are programmed to get bored. Emily Oster bored humans There is some risk to increase birth defects if you do a lot of outdoor gardening when you are pregnant. That can increase rates of toxoplasmosis. Emily Oster birth-defects gardening risk Economists actually disagree about whether there are significant economic returns from attending an elite college versus a less-selective one. Emily Oster economic return college As people do a task, they improve at it. Emily Oster tasks people Being pregnant was a lot like being a child again. There was always someone telling you what to do. Emily Oster pregnant being-pregnant children When I meet people on airplanes and they find out I'm an economist, they usually ask about stock tips. Emily Oster economist airplane people Education campaigns ... may not be enough, at least not alone. If people have no incentive to avoid AIDS on their own, even if they know everything about the disease, they still may not change their behavior. Emily Oster motivation inspiration people I think we've moved to thinking of parenting and pregnancy as something in which you should lose yourself. Emily Oster losing-yourself pregnancy thinking I travel a fair amount, read on the plane, and I read fast. Emily Oster amount fairs planes One of the big take-aways from a lot of economic theory is that people should engage in consumption smoothing. Emily Oster economic theory people
