Could be...yes. "Decline effect" could also be mostly due to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replication_crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replication_cri

Could be...yes. "Decline effect" could also be mostly due to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replication_crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replication_crisis Goodhart's Law starts out as effective and the social system it purports to measure adapts (some might say 'distorts'), till the measure not longer serves its original purpose.