Why people recommend it
The Voltage Effect by John A. List is a behavioral economics book that investigates why certain successful ideas successfully scale while others fail miserably. The book was prominently featured on Freakonomics Radio, where the host announced its publication and launched a special book club edition dedicated to exploring List's insights. Throughout the episode, John List explained that his writing aims to reframe failures to scale as fundamental failures of common sense rather than mere bad luck. The host read various passages from the text, including an analysis of a pharmaceutical sleep medication failing in randomized trials and a critique of former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick for making poor leadership choices at scale. On People I (Mostly) Admire, Steve Levitt discussed the book with List, contrasting it with their earlier 2013 collaboration, The Why Axis. List shared that while his first book showcased early field experiments, The Voltage Effect represents the reflective back nine of his academic career. Reginald Dwayne Betts also referenced List's work on the same podcast when discussing the practical challenges of scaling a prison library project. Across these podcast episodes, speakers praised List's analytical framework, using the book's core concepts to decode why scalable success requires specific economic conditions and rigorous testing rather than just a good initial concept.
Who recommended it
- Reginald Dwayne Betts Discussed
- Steve Levitt Discussed
- John List Discussed
Reginald Dwayne Betts — 1 mention
“I think one of your colleagues wrote vage effect sure yeah John list”
Steve Levitt — 1 mention
“the first book you wrote back in 2013 was called the y-axis with Y spelled w-h-y in your most recent book is the voltage effect the y-axis it's a great book”
John List — 1 mention
“we wrote the y-axis in part to Showcase my early field experiments and why the world should use field experiments and the voltage effect is really what I would call the back nine of my career”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 7
“What my book is trying to claim about is that all of our failures to scale—and the world is replete with failure after failure after failure—I want that to be viewed as a failure of common sense.”
“Here's another passage from the book: a pharmaceutical company develops a promising new sleep medication in its lab, but the drug doesn't live up to its promise in randomized trials.”
“In your book, John, you write, 'I don't believe Travis Kalanick is a bad person; he's a good person who made several bad calls at scale.'”
“Here's an example from The Voltage Effect.”
“But in your book, you've introduced the phrase 'optimal quitting.'”
“His new book is called The Voltage Effect.”
“the experimental economist John list who's been on the show before has just published a book called the voltage effect how to make good ideas great and great ideas scale next week we'll hear from it and him in a special edition of the Freakonomics radio book club”