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2022 Oscar Nominee Reviews'WeCrashed' ReviewWhat to Watch This MonthBest Books
of the Month7 Books on Ukraine & RussiaBest Books of 2021




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‘THE VOLTAGE EFFECT’ REVIEW: DO WE HAVE A WINNER?


THE FORMER CHIEF ECONOMIST AT UBER HAS SOUND ADVICE FOR INNOVATORS WHO, AFTER
MODEST SUCCESS WITH AN IDEA OR PRODUCT, WOULD ‘GO BIG’ WITH IT.


Photo: Alamy Stock Photo
By Allison Schrager
March 27, 2022 4:35 pm ET

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John List’s “The Voltage Effect” is marketed as a generic business title on how
and whether to scale up an idea or product. Mr. List, an economics professor at
the University of Chicago, explores why some ideas attain “voltage” and catch
fire while others die out. This angle suggests that it will be another book
about how to turn that great invention in your garage into the next
Hewlett-Packard. But Mr. List is far too thoughtful to write something gimmicky
or simple.

Scaling up can mean taking a product that appeals to a niche, local market and
making it commercially viable to the masses. It can also apply to a belief or
set of values, or a policy aimed at a small group of people that has the
potential to work on a wider level. Mr. List has run many small-scale policy
experiments, in particular with education. He knows that what makes a small
charter school in the Chicago area succeed doesn’t always work when taken
nationally. He also knows what products can scale—he was the chief economist at
Uber and Lyft and has consulted with major corporations.

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