We rarely think of economics as scandalous, but maybe we should. Sam Bowles, in conversation with Steven N. Durlauf & Ethan BdM, argues that a core assumption in the field impedes moral reasoning about wealth redistribution. Watch the full panel → bit.ly/3Yj4F3B

It’s Lula

This post has generated enough activity to appear in Today's news on x.com. A few reactions (partially as I did not respond to Sam on this observation in the discussion since it was peripheral to broader question from which the snippet was taken.) First, as

Patrick Mokre You are right, but I think the problem runs deeper: economists generally avoid making (well-founded) statements about morality, & aren't really able to do so either (even though they always make normative statements, even when they think what they're doing is positivistic).

Econometrica Volume 94, Issue 1 (January 2026) is now online econometricsociety.org/publications/e…

Itai Sher Sam of course also knows this stuff! His point, as I understand it, is that economics overly emphasizes the non-commensurability of utility.

Ótimo livro sobre Exército brasileiro no Império. Argumento: a partir de 1850, carreira militar se tornou mais técnica e meritocrática. Oficiais tenderam a conflito com elite da monarquia, sobretudo após guerra do Paraguai e campanha por abolição.

Interessante Probleminhas de econometria

This is still how you get a job in pretty much any industry

Hmmm, consequências interessantes se informar uma pessoa (como em campanhas de saúde) muito bem é melhor do que ensinar muitos medianamente

Coming soon: JPIPE 7(1).

“Quando a reportagem da Folha entrevistava a testemunha, um policial se aproximou e jogou spray de pimenta no rosto das duas, mesmo com a jornalista identificada com o crachá e tendo avisado previamente que estava ali trabalhando.”

Economists get all the credit for doing neoliberalism, but it’s the “lawyer who knows a little economics” who actually deserves it. Go down a rabbit hole in financial policymaking and you find the whole world is built around a couple of these people in a room.

Recently accepted by #QJE: “A Theory of How Workers Keep up with Inflation,” by Afrouzi, Blanco (andres blanco), Drenik (Andres Drenik), and Hurst: doi.org/10.1093/qje/qj…

I see more concern than excitement about the powerful new models, but think of the progress! If research findings are useful beyond a zero-sum game, human welfare is about to benefit immensely. Exciting times. We will also reorient toward impact - "clever" is no longer a signal.

Price competition within government procurement can exacerbate fraud by selecting on low-cost, fraudulent firms, with new evidence from Medicare durable medical equipment, from Renuka M. Diwan, Paul J. Eliason, Riley League, Jetson, Ryan McDevitt, and James W. Roberts

Isso parece insano... Daora.