ISSN (print) - 0131-7652

ISSN (online) - 2686-7605

Vol. 56 No. 1 (2026)
DEBATES

A Deceptive Goal. On Goodhardt’s Law

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  • Yu.P. Voronov
Yu.P. Voronov
Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering, SB RAS
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30680/ECO0131-7652-2026-1-255-268

Published 2026-01-29

Keywords

  • Goodhardt’s law; monetary regulation; assessment of scientific achievements; publications; impact factor; planned economy; regional policy

How to Cite

1.
Voronov Ю. A Deceptive Goal. On Goodhardt’s Law. ECO [Internet]. 2026 Jan. 29 [cited 2026 Jan. 30];56(1):255-68. Available from: https://ecotrends.ru/index.php/eco/article/view/4948

Abstract

Goodhart’s law (paradox) states that when a metric becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. The paper discusses the manifestation of this principle in various areas of activity: monetary regulation, centralized planned economies, the evaluation of scientific achievements, and regional policy. It shows that the absence of market elements in a planned economy leads to a gap between supply and demand, that linking budget financing to target scientometric indicators or indicators of socio-economic development results in a decline in the quality of scientific research, a deterioration in the structure of investment in the region, staff turnover in the budget sector, etc. In conclusion, the author considers a set of techniques for accounting for the effect of Goodhart’s law in management and scientific economic research.
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