James Kwak writes about how bad data and mismeasurement in almost any field of endeavor leads to not only bad decisions but misaligned incentives and bad behavior. Whether it’s for productivity, employee performance, baseball, or the macroeconomy, measure matters. Our abilities using computers and the net are (mis)leading us in many perverse ways.  Just because we have the data, doesn’t mean it’s right or that we should do what it first implies.

http://baselinescenario.com/2011/02/13/bad-data/.http://baselinescenario.com/2011/02/13/bad-data/