#DataDrivenParenting

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To put it mildly, I'm not crazy about the implication that pregnant women are incapable of deciding for themselves.

- Emily Oster

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Being pregnant was a lot like being a child again. There was always someone telling you what to do.

- Emily Oster

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Lovingly crafted and super-creative cupcakes are not exactly on tap in my household after a full day at work, and I do not blame my mother for a second that they were not on tap in hers, either.

- Emily Oster

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My first summer in college I worked in a fruit fly lab where I had two jobs: dissect the fruit fly larvae brains and incinerate the old tubes of flies.

- Emily Oster

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The basic idea that incentives can be used to motivate behavior is a powerful one. It works for employees, and it has a clear place in parenting, as anyone who has tried to potty-train a recalcitrant toddler with sticker rewards knows.

- Emily Oster

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Economists typically think that your happiness goes up as you get more money, but the more you have, the less each additional dollar matters. This means that you value money most in times when you have less income and more expenses.

- Emily Oster

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Almost every woman I have spoken to about pregnancy has a story about her doctor giving her a hard time with her weight. Later in my pregnancy, it felt like all of my time with my doctor was focused on how fat I was getting - so fat!

- Emily Oster

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Because economics is all about optimizing, doing the best you can with what you have - it's usually the first place you should look for answers if you want to maximize your happiness.

- Emily Oster

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The value of having numbers - data - is that they aren't subject to someone else's interpretation. They are just the numbers. You can decide what they mean to you.

- Emily Oster

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There is some risk to increase birth defects if you do a lot of outdoor gardening when you are pregnant. That can increase rates of toxoplasmosis.

- Emily Oster

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Feminists of my mother's generation argued that both mom and dad should work a little less and each does some of the household chores. My parents, for example, split everything 50/50. Even though my father is a terrible cook, he still made dinner exactly half the time.

- Emily Oster

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As people do a task, they improve at it.

- Emily Oster

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If you have a traditional view of economics, you're probably thinking of Ben Bernanke making Fed policy, or the guys creating financial derivatives at Goldman Sachs.

- Emily Oster

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Good household decision-making often relies on thinking about your household like a firm.

- Emily Oster

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Prenatal testing is a complicated decision for many women, forcing us to confront concerns about a disabled child and the risks of miscarriage.

- Emily Oster

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I travel a fair amount, read on the plane, and I read fast.

- Emily Oster