Policymakers' originality fetish

Politicians and policy wonks often prize novelty over proven effectiveness, chasing headline‑worthy experiments (robot taxes, new jobs guarantees) even when existing programs could be scaled or adapted to the problem. This bias creates adoption of administratively complex, politically toxic policies when incremental fixes would be cheaper and more implementable. — If novelty bias shapes policy responses to AI and other systemic shocks, it will skew public debate toward feel‑good ideas rather than cost‑effective implementation, raising the risk of wasted resources and policy failure.