--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My dad is an economist who does global…" description: "\"My dad is an economist who does global development research. What he practices is a kind of quantifiable empathy: trying to empathize with systems rath..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/leslie-jamison-8628_compassion_my-dad-is-an-economist-who-does-global-d_1839558.jpg" --- # My dad is an economist who does global development… ![“My dad is an economist who does global development research. What he practices is a kind of quantifiable empathy: trying to empathize with systems rather than people.” quote by Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/leslie-jamison-8628_compassion_my-dad-is-an-economist-who-does-global-d_1839558.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/leslie-jamison-8628_compassion_my-dad-is-an-economist-who-does-global-d_1839558.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db6/leslie-jamison-8628_compassion_my-dad-is-an-economist-who-does-global-d_1839558.jpg) > “My dad is an economist who does global development research. What he practices is a kind of quantifiable empathy: trying to empathize with systems rather than people.” [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Quantifiable empathy means understanding systems as if they were people, applying data‑driven compassion. **In simple terms:** Empathizing with systems using data. Key Takeaway Use data to inform compassionate decisions. Themes economics global development empathy Mood analytical empathetic Type theoretical practical When to use this quote - policy design - development projects - research methodology Key Concepts systems thinking quantitative analysis Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure data respects individual stories? - What limits arise when empathy is quantified? A Different Perspective Data may miss human nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Dad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dad/) [Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) ## Related quotes > [It is true that I am one of the co-authors of 'Nudge,' and I am a behavioral economist, but it does not mean that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-thaler/it-is-true-that-i-am-one-of-the-co-authors-of-nudge-and-i-am-a/) [Richard Thaler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-thaler/) > [Government spending? I don't know what it's all about. 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Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Cinematography speaks to everything that women do inherently well: It's multitasking, it's empathy, and it's channeling visuals into human emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-morrison/cinematography-speaks-to-everything-that-women-do-inherently-well-it/) [Rachel Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-morrison/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [I have a lot of empathy, and I think that's where mothering starts. You are there to empathise and facilitate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/i-have-a-lot-of-empathy-and-i-think-that-s-where-mothering-starts-you/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) ## More by Leslie Jamison > [When people ask what kind of nonfiction I write, I say 'all kinds,' but really I mean I don’t write any kind at all:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/when-people-ask-what-kind-of-nonfiction-i-write-i-say-all-kinds-but/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [It's one of the most liberating things I experience in writing - letting yourself get rid of a gesture or character or plot point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/it-s-one-of-the-most-liberating-things-i-experience-in-writing/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [The pain is what you make of it. You have to find something in it that yields. I understood my guiding imperative as: keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/the-pain-is-what-you-make-of-it-you-have-to-find-something-in-it-that/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I needed people to deliver my feelings back to me in a form that was legible. Which is a superlative kind of empathy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-needed-people-to-deliver-my-feelings-back-to-me-in-a-form-that-was/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [In my own life as a reader I experience real moments of alienation when a writer feels too perfect, or like even the flaws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/in-my-own-life-as-a-reader-i-experience-real-moments-of-alienation/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I'm happy not knowing. Most of the time (except when I'm a neurotic mess about uncertainty) I feel glad that the horizon is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-m-happy-not-knowing-most-of-the-time-except-when-i-m-a-neurotic/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I do like arranging things. I like order. I basically like all these things that are the opposite of what people associate with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-do-like-arranging-things-i-like-order-i-basically-like-all-these/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [I used to believe that hurting would make you more alive to the hurting of others. I used to believe in feeling bad because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-used-to-believe-that-hurting-would-make-you-more-alive-to-the/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [Whatever we can’t hold, we hang on a hook that will hold it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/whatever-we-can-t-hold-we-hang-on-a-hook-that-will-hold-it/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“I obsessed, and told myself this obsession was empathy. But it wasn't, quite. It was more like inpathy. I wasn't expatriating myself into another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/i-obsessed-and-told-myself-this-obsession-was-empathy-but-it-wasn-t/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [Post-wounded women know that postures of pain play into limited and outmoded conceptions of womanhood. Their hurt has a new native language spoken in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/post-wounded-women-know-that-postures-of-pain-play-into-limited-and/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [12-step recovery is very focused on abstinence, and that's bled into the broader understanding of treatment. It would be most useful to have multiple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/12-step-recovery-is-very-focused-on-abstinence-and-that-s-bled-into/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [We don't want to be wounds ("No, you're the wound!") but we should be allowed to have them, to speak about having them, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/we-don-t-want-to-be-wounds-no-you-re-the-wound-but-we-should-be/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“Empathy means realizing no trauma has discrete edges. Trauma bleeds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/empathy-means-realizing-no-trauma-has-discrete-edges-trauma-bleeds/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“Empathy isn't just listening, it's asking the questions whose answers need to be listened to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/empathy-isn-t-just-listening-it-s-asking-the-questions-whose-answers/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) [Explore all 79 Leslie Jamison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) Segun Magbagbeola > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) Talib al Habib > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My dad is an economist who does global development research. 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