Topic Details (Notes format)

Goodhart’s Law

Subject: Economy

Description

Goodhart’s Law states that when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. Once people manipulate the metric, its effectiveness diminishes. Example: If banks are incentivized to meet specific capital ratios, they may manipulate accounting methods, undermining the measure’s reliability.

Summary

Goodhart’s Law warns that turning measures into targets can invalidate them.