[This blog is a repost of a blog that first appeared at davidroodman.com. It is republished here with permission from the author.]
My employer, Open Philanthropy, strives to make grants in light of evidence. Of course, many uncertainties in our decision-making are irreducible. No amount of thumbing through peer-reviewed journals will tell us how great a threat AI will pose decades hence, or whether a group we fund will get a vaccine to market or a bill to the governor’s desk.
Replication studies play a crucial role in economics by ensuring the reliability, validity, and robustness of research findings. In an era where policy decisions and societal interventions heavily rely on economic research, the ability to replicate and validate research findings is important for making informed decisions and advancing knowledge. Replications in economics became more mainstream after the 2016 influential paper by Colin Camerer, Anna Dreber, and others published in Science.