Just a Correlation!

芝加哥大學經濟教授 Casey Mulligan 說選共和黨的話，男女平均收入會比較接近。也就是說，若你希望男女平等的話，你就應該支持共和黨當選。但這是真的嗎?

有一個部落格願意解釋這個現象:

Given the Republicans' strong anti-equality record, Mulligan's finding that Republican presidents increase pay equity for women surely demands an explanation. What is the causal mechanism here? But curiously, Mulligan is entirely silent on this point. He offers no explanation for these findings -- not even the usual blather about how Republicans let the magic of the market do its thing.

.....It's not that Republican economic policies help women all that much. It's that they hurt the working class, especially working class men. A lot.

也就是說，不是女性的薪資上漲，而是男性的薪資在共和黨的執政下被往下壓縮了。

近幾年經濟學時常只是提供一個有趣的 correlation 而沒有做太多的解釋。這不是一個好現象!