ClaimsTyler Cowen

“For before March 07 it is running about 25 percent.”

Tyler Cowen, blogger 10 April 2006 Will we attack Iran? (Marginal Revolution) archived copy

Factual Other global risks

On TradeSports around April 2006, the implied probability of a US or Israeli attack on Iran before March 2007 was about 25 percent.

Unresolvable The public record could not settle it.

Factual: Statements about the present or the past, checked against the record: did they hold up?

What would count as true or false

True: TradeSports contract prices around 10 April 2006 for a US or Israeli air strike on Iran before March 2007 imply a probability of about 25% (roughly 22–28%). Mostly true: the price was within about 20–30%, or the contract wording or expiry date differs slightly from the claim. Mixed: the relevant contracts show conflicting prices, some around 25% and others well away from it. Mostly false: the figure was well away from 25% (for example 15–19% or 31–40%), or it relates to a materially different contract. False: the price was far from 25%, or no such contract existed on TradeSports at that time.

Set before the research began.

Evidence (1)

  1. E1 A mini-interview with Dr. Robert Hanson, crowd prediction data expert Steve Petersen, Reporter's Notebook (Assignment Zero, hosted at mason.gmu.edu) · 4 April 2007

    “Apparently, Tradesports users were less concerned about potential military action against Iran since they collectively wagered a 20.5% chance that an air strike would occur by the end of this year.”

Reasoning

E1 reports a 20.5% TradeSports price for an air strike on Iran "by the end of this year", which is a different contract from the one the claim names (before March 2007). E1's date is also ambiguous: it is listed as 2007-04-04, but the URL suggests April 2006. The evidence doesn't show what the before-March-2007 contract was trading at around 10 April 2006. A lower price for an earlier deadline would fit a roughly 25% figure but doesn't confirm it.

Cite this claim

Tyler Cowen, “On TradeSports around April 2006, the implied probability of a US or Israeli attack on Iran before March 2007 was about 25 percent.” (said 10 April 2006). Verdict: unresolvable. Reliability API, claim c_75a3b2cc6571, method 0.1.0+c876030c, dataset release v1.1.2. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_75a3b2cc6571

This claim is in dataset release v1.1.2, with the same verdict.

Reply to this claim

For Tyler Cowen, or someone speaking for them: a correction or counter-evidence. Replies are read before anything is shown; an approved reply shows your name, role, date, statement and link. Your email address is never shown and is deleted 30 days after the decision (privacy).

More factual claims by Tyler Cowen

  1. Mostly true Factual 10 April 2006
    “the implied probability of a U.S. or Israeli attack before December is running about 20 percent”

    On TradeSports around April 2006, the implied probability of a US or Israeli attack on Iran before December 2006 was about 20 percent.

  2. Resolved true Factual 10 April 2006
    “Daniel Drezner offers commentary as well.”

    Daniel Drezner offered commentary on the possibility of a US attack on Iran.

  3. Resolved true Factual 30 March 2026
    “I appear on the Conversations with Coleman podcast:”

    Tyler Cowen appeared on the Conversations with Coleman podcast, published by 2026-03-30.

  4. Mostly true Factual 26 March 2026
    “My new "generative book," fully written by me”

    Tyler Cowen published a new "generative book" that he says was fully written by himself.

  5. Resolved true Factual 25 March 2026
    “My excellent Conversation with Paul Gillingham,”

    Tyler Cowen held a Conversations with Tyler episode with Paul Gillingham, published by 2026-03-25.

All of them

Verdicts are made automatically; how verdicts are made.