Law, in short, is a flawed tool for measuring scandal, just as it is often a clumsy tool for righting wrongs.

ECONOMIST: Al Gore falls to earth

Sentiment analysis is a commonly used tool for measuring what people are saying about a particular company or brand, but it has issues.

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But, as John Yinger, of Syracuse University, points out in the JEP symposium, regression analysis has drawbacks as a tool for measuring discrimination.

ECONOMIST: Race, sex and the dismal science