Abstract
Goodhart observes that control regimes built on a statistical regularity tend to break that regularity once the statistic is treated as the policy target — the origin of what Club doctrine names Goodhart’s Law.
Goodhart, C. A. E. (1984). Problems of monetary management in the United Kingdom. In P. M. Jackson (Ed.), Monetary theory and practice (pp. 91–121). Macmillan.
Key findings
- Target distortion — Once a monetary aggregate is the control target, agents adapt and the prior relationship to policy goals weakens.
- Indicator ≠ objective — Useful indicators fail when they are forced to do the job of goals.
- Generalisation seed — Later popularisations extend the warning beyond money to organisations and personal dashboards.
Application
When a Club lag score becomes the week’s only win condition, reopen Goodhart’s Law and prefer lead behaviours you can train today.