April 2, 2012
Stat of the Week Competition Discussion: March 31-April 6 2012
If you’d like to comment on or debate any of this week’s Stat of the Week nominations, please do so below!
If you’d like to comment on or debate any of this week’s Stat of the Week nominations, please do so below!
Am rather well-trained in probability and
mathematical statistics. [So much so, being an old man, that: I mainly do all my own calculations in such fields, rather than rely on
packages. Do use Mathematica at need, though].
Just learned about this site from The Press letter of the excellent Dr Eric Crampton, U of Canterbury.
And ominate him for B S of the Week, for this sensible contribution.
Will return to see what else is on offer round here.
SWS
13 years ago
I like Nick’s nomination. Very similar issues there to the prior piece on pokies and crime, noted here a couple years ago:
http://offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.co.nz/2010/09/reporters-do-not-understand-causality.html
I’d need to see the original study though.
13 years ago
I’m not saying in my nomination that there are no “truly causal alternatives.” All I’m saying is that the article implication that putting in a liquor store doubles crime rates within 900m of that store is wrong. My argument takes the teeth out of their argument.
I do believe that putting in shops, flats, celltowers, motorways, etc changes the nature of neighbourhoods and eventually changes their population composition. Probably liquor stores do attract criminals. But the notion that a single store doubles the crime rate is absurd.
13 years ago