Economists concede that so-called natural experiments are rarely truly natural.

Evidence

Rosenzweig and Wolpin (2000) acknowledge the problem with the label by introducing the phrase “natural ‘natural experiments’” to distinguish supposedly more natural arrangements, such as the differences among twins separated at birth—never merely a natural event. — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2009

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the contested coinage “natural ‘natural experiments’” used in the development-economics methodology critique.
• CANDY: The self-undermining double phrase “natural ‘natural experiments’” is a witty, shareable nugget about academic hedging.
• XREF: connects to: Economists’ natural experiments depend on infrastructure built by real-world projects — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 1940; Economic ‘natural experiments’ depend on prior policy programs, not nature — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 1985