Economist disputes claim that GTA VI launch will cost U.S. economy $1 billion
publishers 60articles 79first reported 6 Oct, 18:16 UTCdeveloping since 7 Oct · 26 editions
A widely circulated estimate that the Nov. 19 launch of “Grand Theft Auto VI” could cost the U.S. economy $1 billion in lost productivity is being challenged by an economist.
The estimate, cited by the International Business Times and other outlets, predicts that about 1.5 million U.S. workers will miss work to play the game. Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has also said he expects “a lot of people” to call in sick on release day. BambooHR told Money that leave requests for Nov. 19 were running 9% to 17% above those for a typical third Thursday in November, although the company said the increase could reflect workers using paid leave more freely.
Fortune reported that the $1 billion figure has been attributed to José García Montalvo, an economist at Pompeu Fabra University, but that it does not come from a published study. Victor Matheson, an economist at the College of the Holy Cross, disputed the estimate and said such calculations often overlook the substitution effect: workers taking planned leave on launch day may simply use one fewer vacation day later.
Matheson said any immediate reduction in output would therefore probably be recovered over time rather than becoming a permanent economic loss. The available leave-request data indicate unusual interest in the release date, but do not establish that 1.5 million employees will be absent or that the economy will lose $1 billion.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 6 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 366 h after the record first saw the story; the editor revised it.
- Publishers
- 60
- Source articles
- 79
- Given to the writer
- 8, 6 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8
- This version written
- 366 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- revised
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and changed it before publication. Struck words were in the draft; underlined words are its corrections.
WHAT IT FLAGGED editor revise: Change the unsupported plural references to a singular economist. - "Economists dispute claim that GTA VI launch will cost U.S. economy $1 billion": The sources identify only one economist, Victor Matheson, as disputing the estimate. - "is being challenged by economists": The sources identify only one economist as challenging the estimate.
THE DRAFT AND THE CHANGES
EconomistsEconomist disputedisputes claim that GTA VI launch will cost U.S. economy $1 billion
A widely circulated estimate that the Nov. 19 launch of “Grand Theft Auto VI” could cost the U.S. economy $1 billion in lost productivity is being challenged by economists.an economist.
The estimate, cited by the International Business Times and other outlets, predicts that about 1.5 million U.S. workers will miss work to play the game. Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has also said he expects “a lot of people” to call in sick on release day. BambooHR told Money that leave requests for Nov. 19 were running 9% to 17% above those for a typical third Thursday in November, although the company said the increase could reflect workers using paid leave more freely.
Fortune reported that the $1 billion figure has been attributed to José García Montalvo, an economist at Pompeu Fabra University, but that it does not come from a published study. Victor Matheson, an economist at the College of the Holy Cross, disputed the estimate and said such calculations often overlook the substitution effect: workers taking planned leave on launch day may simply use one fewer vacation day later.
Matheson said any immediate reduction in output would therefore probably be recovered over time rather than becoming a permanent economic loss. The available leave-request data indicate unusual interest in the release date, but do not establish that 1.5 million employees will be absent or that the economy will lose $1 billion.
Written by a language model from the sources above, then checked by a second model that may only cut, attribute or correct. How it works →