Ideological bias in the production of research findings, 2026, Borjas et al

[Dolphin]

[I wasn't sure which sub forum to post this in]

https://x.com/i/trending/2008250458037481685

Researchers' Immigration Views Shape Welfare Study Results

Last updated 2 hours ago

"In a study published in Science Advances, 158 researchers across 71 teams analyzed 1985-2016 data from European countries to see if immigration affects public backing for programs like health care and unemployment benefits. Pro-immigration teams found positive effects, while anti-immigration ones saw negative impacts, with model choices like data measures and country selections explaining most of the gap. Harvard economist George J. Borjas and sociologist Nate Breznau highlight how these subjective decisions reveal ideology's role in science, sparking calls for more transparency and diverse viewpoints."
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Valerio Capraro
https://x.com/ValerioCapraro
@ValerioCapraro


"This is deeply troubling.Researchers are more likely to choose statistical models whose results align with their ideological priors.Seventy-one research teams independently analyzed the same dataset on the effect of immigration on public support for social welfare programs.Teams composed of pro-immigration researchers were more likely to conclude that the effect was positive. Teams composed of anti-immigration researchers were more likely to find a negative effect.Let me repeat: they analyzed literally the same dataset.Full paper in the first comment."

https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/sciadv.adz7173

 

[forestglip]

Ideological bias in the production of research findings

Borjas, George J.; Breznau, Nate

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Abstract
When studying policy-relevant topics, researchers’ policy preferences may shape analytical decisions and results interpretations. Detecting this bias is challenging because the research process is not normally part of an observed experimental setting.

Our study exploits an opportunity to observe 158 researchers working independently in 71 teams during an experiment. After being asked their position on immigration policy, they used the same data to answer the same empirical question: Does immigration affect public support for social welfare programs? The researchers estimated 1253 alternative regression models, and the estimated impacts ranged from strongly negative to strongly positive.

We find that teams composed of pro-immigration researchers estimated more positive impacts of immigration on public support for social programs, while anti-immigration teams estimated more negative impacts.

The differences arise because different teams adopted different model specifications. The underlying research design decisions are the mechanism through which ideology enters the process of producing parameter estimates.

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