Krugman is right about the economy and the people are wrong nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Happy birthday to Albert Hirschman, who would be 109 today.

Hirschman—anti-fascist, resistance hero, later a development economist—may be the most interesting person to ever take up the profession.

🧵 and blog post on his remarkable life and work.

I’m mystified. Why is it bad or some kind of danger when experts and nonexperts are reminded of the limits of our current knowledge? More precisely, it is worthwhile to be reminded that even well-intentioned and highly informed experts make erroneous predictions.

Wait: I thought Nixon needed a pardon to preclude the possibility he’d be charged for his biggest known infractions … the cover-up of the Watergate crimes.

By 'failing' do you mean 'failing to find a significant effect of the tested treatment'? If so, I think we differ on the goal and scientific rationale for a randomized controlled trial.

Bob Solow was a true intellectual giant with pathbreaking work on growth, macro fluctuations, and wage setting. He was generous, incisive, and insightful and taught me both micro and macro theory at MIT. I never stopped learning from him. May his memory be a blessing.

Note: Primary schooling became mandatory in Massachusetts in 1852; in New York State in 1853. By 1918, elementary schooling was compulsory in all 48 states.

It seems doubtful Biden had anything to do with it.

… though that is hardly the case in 2023 USA. (You can look it up in plenty of credible household surveys.)

Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and F.D. Roosevelt were all clearly better and more consequential than Biden IMHO.

To be sure, it's early innings. Biden is blindingly superior to Trump and W. But better than Obama? Explain, please.

W/ Biden and Trump both courting auto workers in MI today, a quick refresher on auto industry jobs created/month under recent presidents.

*Clinton: 1,800
*Bush: -5,800
*Obama: 2,800
*Trump (pre-Covid): 600
*Trump (total): -200
*Biden: 4,000

Would up cutting this for length but it surprised me that LA didn't do better on the best-food-in-US lists.

A great thread.

Though, to be sure, former US President John Tyler sided with the Confederacy, which sought by violence to break up the United States.

My bottom line for inviting you to be dedicated to the economics profession like I have, it's extremely rewarding, and we need you.

Look at the world we live in, it needs a lot of support from people who have a great empathy for humans, said Mary C. Daly.

There's nothing substantive to admire about Senator Tuberville. But the real problem here isn't him. It's an ossified legislative body in which one eccentric member can blockade hundreds of needed government appointments. nytimes.com/2023/07/10/us/…

Finished Of Boys and Men by Richard V. Reeves. Just excellent and so necessary. Covers some of the themes I wrote about in my book.

1/ The bottom line: the left is missing the crisis happening w men today and we need to talk about it openly and without fear.

Rebuttal:

1) DCA is an astoundingly convenient airport. Part of DCA’s high ticket prices is explained by that convenience.

2) The DC area has two other (and physically much larger) airports—IAD & BWI. If you don’t want to pay DCA’s higher ticket prices, go to one of those.

The title may sound a tad ambitious for a talk that lasts just 15 minutes, but nonetheless this talk is well worth hearing:
'How to solve the education crisis for boys and men' (Richard Reeves | TED2023) ted.com/talks/richard_… via TED Talks

He should have clarified for those unfamiliar with Breezewood: “And thank God for that.”

Ugh. Awful news. The world will miss Bill’s dedication and good humor. He was a lovely guy who made a difference in many students’ lives over the years.