Rich democracies are doing better than ever across many broad measures. While there are genuine concerns about democratic capitalism, it is hardly an obstacle to human flourishing, argues @michaelrstrain.bsky.social. bit.ly/49RnEcn

In the latest FT Swamp Notes newsletter (and before the seizure of Maduro), I asked @constelz.bsky.social, @michaelrstrain.bsky.social, @sohrabahmari.bsky.social, Lauren Fedor and Rebecca Katz to offer some guidance to the year ahead in US politics as.ft.com/r/faed7e98-5...

🧵 The rot on America’s political right runs deep. Perhaps because of their growing numbers and influence, some on the right apparently seem to believe that the political success of the Republican party requires playing footsie with racists, bigots and antisemites. What are conservatives to do?

The battle for the right’s post-Trump future has begun-The writer is director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. www.ft.com/content/9adf... @michaelrstrain.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

🧵We live in a populist age. Widespread discontent has swept unlikely politicians to the top of both political parties, and those politicians are pursuing unorthodox policies to respond to the concerns of the American people, with a particular focus on workers. #econsky

@michaelrstrain.bsky.social and I recently published a narrower paper using CPS data to understand the role of minimum wages in shaping wage gains over 12-month intervals (reflecting the limits of what one can do in CPS data): onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

The centenary of Margaret Thatcher's birth received remarkably little attention, offering yet another reminder of how far the right has strayed, @michaelrstrain.bsky.social writes. bit.ly/47YR2ej

How does employer access to prisoners’ labor through work release impact the well-being of those workers & of free workers? New working paper by Sue Helper, Suresh Naidu, Akseli Palomaki, Adam Reich, + me provides evidence, focus on auto manufacturing in AL #EconSky papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

The cost of health care is one of the biggest problems facing the US government. But extending the expiring subsidies will make health care more expensive, not less, observes @michaelrstrain.bsky.social. bit.ly/3JdNBrU

Michael sits down with Dr. @michaelrstrain.bsky.social to challenge the idea that the American Dream is out of reach. Is homeownership essential to success? Does hard work still pay off? And are our expectations part of the problem? Listen to the #podcast here 🎧➡️ loom.ly/7l3hQnE

@michaelrstrain.bsky.social explored this topic in a recent column for VoxEU. He argues US manufacturing is not in crisis and manufacturing jobs do not deserve special attention. A trade war is likely to decrease employment in the sector rather than increase it. cepr.org/voxeu/column... #EconSky

The Federal Reserve's case for beginning a monetary-easing cycle this month rests on three judgments. But it is off base on all three, writes @michaelrstrain.bsky.social of the American Enterprise Institute. bit.ly/3VnFsnf

I enjoyed talking yesterday with @jdickerson.bsky.social on CBS Evening News Plus about the jobs report, the overall economy, and the Fed. www.cbsnews.com/video/95-cbs... #econsky @cbseveningnews.bsky.social

Trump is hostile to the Fed’s independence. He wants to bend the central bank to his will. He is willing to threaten officials with criminal prosecution to get his way. We are in dangerous territory. My @nationalreview.bsky.social column. www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-s... #econsky

Summarising his chapter from a CEPR book on the economic consequences of the 2nd Trump administration, @michaelrstrain.bsky.social‬ argues that American #manufacturing is not in crisis and the #trade war is likely to decrease manufacturing employment. cepr.org/voxeu/column... #EconSky

What to make of the latest news that the US government is converting its billions in grants to Intel into equity shares? @novasafo.bsky.social has the story @marketplace.org with comments from me @michaelrstrain.bsky.social and others. www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...

Trump’s decision to take an equity stake in Intel is astonishing and troubling. His recent deal with Nvidia and AMD suggests security concerns are being used by the president as a fig leaf for rank corporate shakedowns. My @financialtimes.com column. Link: www.ft.com/content/2ddb... #econsky

I'm proud to work with WorkRise and I am proud of the work WorkRise is doing to advance economic mobility for low-wage workers. Please take a minute for this survey. Link: urban.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... #econsky

Take a moment to read this by @michaelrstrain.bsky.social on BLS yes, but also on integrity. www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/t... #EconSky

The chaos of Trump's sticks, coupled with the absence of carrots, is not on track to set up a manufacturing renaissance, reports @greenhousenyt.bsky.social, with comment from @michaelrstrain.bsky.social @drodrik.bsky.social Ann Harrison , Sue Helper, and me. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

"The Bureau of Labor Statistics shall also collect, collate, report and publish at least once per month full and complete statistics on the volume of and changes in employment, as indicated by the number of people employed, the total wages paid, and the total hours of employment." US law--1913, 1930

1/ On @marketplace.org, I argue that private-sector data are a valuable compliment to government data, but are *not* a substitute for government data, like those produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0... #econsky

Donald Trump should think twice before attempting to install a lackey at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, because undermining trust in government data could have cascading effects throughout the US economy, @michaelrstrain.bsky.social argues.

Trump fired the official in charge of collecting basic statistics about the US economy. He's risking material harm to the economy by politicizing routine data reports, @michaelrstrain.bsky.social tells me. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Dr. Erika McEntarfer has devoted her career to public service. She has conducted herself as BLS Commissioner with great integrity. There is no evidence whatsoever that BLS data are politically biased. #econsky

Even if Donald Trump doesn’t make good on his threat to fire the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, his actions could significantly erode the central bank’s independence. Read more in a new PS Big Picture, with @michaelrstrain.bsky.social, Harold James, and others. bit.ly/3U8OKmr

Strain said maintaining the quality and integrity of federal economic data “is something that I am very concerned about. High-quality government data is extremely important to financial markets, business decisions, households’ decisions.” www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0... #econsky

3/ My friends, the American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It)! Read about why: www.amazon.com/American-Dre... #econsky

1/ I really enjoyed this conversation with Ipsos Ipsos in US about the American Dream. As I told Mr. Carmichael, my belief in the health of the American Dream has only strengthened in recent years. #econsky

"Why Is Fertility So Low in High Income Countries?" Melissa Kearney and Phillip Levine present important evidence on their research question, but also on economic methodology. See below for issues all empirical economists should be thinking about. Link to paper: www.nber.org/papers/w33989 #econsky

Great @martinsandbu.ft.com column: "The economic consequences of Donald Trump’s second coming" Link: www.ft.com/content/0892... #econsky

@michaelrstrain.bsky.social argues that the #trade war will likely decrease the number of #manufacturing jobs in the US and that increasing US manufacturing employment is not even a particularly important or desirable goal to begin with. cepr.org/publications... #EconSky

13/ Autor, Dorn, and Hanson (2013) find an average reduction in manufacturing employment of 90,000 jobs per year from 1990 to 2007. But in a typical month, five million workers separate from their employers. In the manufacturing sector, typical monthly separations are 351,000. #econsky

🚨🚨 My new paper, "The (non) effect of tariffs on manufacturing employment" is hot off the presses. A 🧵 Link: www.aei.org/wp-content/u... #econsky

🚨🚨 My new paper, "The (non) effect of tariffs on manufacturing employment" is hot off the presses. A 🧵 Link: www.aei.org/wp-content/u... #econsky

"The U.S. is giving up on taxing inheritances," by @jeffstein.bsky.social. Link: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

6/ Heckman's "incest coefficient" table. One-third of papers published in the QJE had at least one coauthor with a Harvard PhD. #econsky

Amid this upheaval, might the administration’s appetite for disruption be harnessed to modernize #federalstatistics? Nancy Potok and I have a new editorial (May 29) in Science Magazine, from @aaas.org. Check it out here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🧵According to Professor Heckman, the ‘tyranny of the top five journals’… 1. …centralizes power in the hands of a select number of editors in a way that can be unhealthy. 2. …contributes to balkanization of the profession and enclaves, and stifles creativity. #econsky

1/ To be clear, Monday’s de-escalation does not merit uncorking the champagne. The economy is not out of the woods — the average effective US tariff rate is still higher than it has been since the Smoot-Hawley era of the 1930s. My @financialtimes.com column. www.ft.com/content/c0ae... #econsky

"Leo XIV occupies the Chair of Saint Peter at a time when the moral foundations of free markets are under attack." As a Roman Catholic, @michaelrstrain.bsky.social has many hopes for the new Pope, not least that he offers strong support for free markets – as most of his predecessors did.

2/ My latest column discusses my hopes for the Holy Father and Church teaching on economics. www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/l...

1/ Leo XIV proclaimed his desire for the Church always to try “to be close especially to those who suffer.” It is a worthy goal, and one that can best be achieved by promoting the most effective anti-poverty tool in history: free enterprise. www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/l... #econsky

As the Supreme Court prepares to consider the question of birthright citizenship, John Yoo and Robert Delahunty make the originalist case for its constitutionality. nationalaffairs.com/publications... #econsky

. @jaredb-econ.bsky.social: "Like Strain (though from a different denomination), I’m happy to listen to Buddhist monks critique materialism. I’m extremely unwilling, and I suspect I’m not alone, to listen to billionaire crypto scammers do so." econjared.substack.com/p/our-gold-p... #econsky