Trade-offs between epistemic and moral values in evidence-based policy

Khosrowi, Donal

Abstract

Proponents of evidence-based policy (EBP) call for public policy to be informed by high-quality evidence from randomized controlled trials. This methodological preference aims to promote several epistemic values, e.g. rigour, unbiasedness, precision, and the ability to obtain causal conclusions. I argue that there is a trade-off between these epistemic values and several non-epistemic, moral and political values. This is because the evidence afforded by standard EBP methods is differentially useful for pursuing different moral and political values. I expand on how this challenges ideals of value-freedom and -neutrality in EBP, and offer suggestions for how EBP methodology might be revised.

Citation

Khosrowi, D. (2019). Trade-offs between epistemic and moral values in evidence-based policy. Economics and Philosophy, 35(1), 49-78. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0266267118000159

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Mar 31, 2019
• Deposit Date: Apr 25, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 23, 2019
• Journal: Economics and Philosophy
• Print ISSN: 0266-2671
• Electronic ISSN: 1474-0028
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 49-78
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0266267118000159
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1699872