I read @itsafronomics.bsky.social new book “The Double Tax” this afternoon. It’s engaging and one of the best popular ways to bring social science to the public and policy that I’ve read in a long while. Black women are uniquely disadvantaged in our economy. 😍 she gave Janelle James her flowers!

Saying the quiet part out loud, again.

Please join me in signing and sharing:

For Day 2 of our celebration of work using the Census Tree we highlight @lukestein.com & co's work on the gendered impacts of perceived skin tone. They find that among African Amer. sisters, women perceived to be darker-skinned were disadvantaged. *They also cite a great QJE pub by Lisa Cook et al*

Worth a read if you don't already follow Phil. TLDR:

what gif pops up when you type your name?

"Young political vigilantes" have historically been very useful to dictatorships--from Berlin to Beijing--because they gleefully engage in mass violent destruction of social institutions whose value and purpose they do not understand. Ex: Mao's Red Guard: www.theguardian.com/world/2023/j...

i understand the american people on average not reading history books what with the failing education system etc but what the fuck is the university leadership's excuse

📝New @cepeo-ucl.bsky.social working paper Why are students from elite high schools much more likely to go to high ranked university courses than equally qualified students from the state sector? 🤔 w @opmc1.bsky.social @lindseymacmillan.bsky.social & Jo Blanden econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:ucl:ce...

When an English person shares how they feel about good news: "I feel, um, unnecessarily emotional about it." from Thames Water documentary. Worth a watch.

This 👇

Recognising the growing difference between predicted grades and achieved grades over time, UCAS are piloting personalised reports to schools These will show schools how their UCAS predicted grades compare to achieved results www.ucas.com/corporate/ne...

Author of "One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps" 👇

Great article on school lunch debt relief www.huffpost.com/entry/utah-s...

Yesterday, @carlbergstrom.com presented his course "Modern-day Oracles or BS Machines? How to thrive in a ChatGPT world". Neat way to make students aware of the capacities and limitations of LLMs👇🎰 Recording: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZC0... Course: thebullshitmachines.com @unswbabs.bsky.social

Is it better to have standardised exams or teacher assessments? Myself and my colleague @opmc1.bsky.social have read the literature so you don't have to. Our @iza.org world of labour summarises below #econsky

This study by MIT authors shows students using LLMs exhibit decreased cognitive activity. I admit that it is a small sample and confirms my priors. Lots of crazy shit happening atm, but this still worries me a lot as an educator and when thinking about the future. www.brainonllm.com

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

This is the third story I've read in a month about how AI chatbots are leading people into psychological crises. Gift link

I wonder what this guy is thinking as he takes a potshot at a journalists. Where do they find people happy to violate their oath?

If I have time I'll put together a more detailed thread tomorrow, but for now, I think this new paper about limitations of Chain-of-Thought models could be quite important. Worth a look if you're interested in these sorts of things. ml-site.cdn-apple.com/papers/the-i...

I am happy to share a 3-year postdoc opening. My fantastic colleagues @kailirimfeld.bsky.social and Dan Anderberg recently won a grant to work on youth mental health at the intersection of psychology, genetics, and education. It is open to economics PhDs, among other fields. #EconSky #econ_ra

This is such a great demonstration of how LLMs function.

Above the fold at The Guardian: Ukraine launches major drone attack against Russian bombers Wall Street Journal: Breaking FBI Investigating Possible Terror Attack in Boulder, Colorado New York Times:

Sadly, after showing meager results for close to three years, these sort of campaigns might start working. The disappointment with the West is growing in Ukraine and for many, it becomes increasingly harder to find a source of hope.

I worry the same is going to happen with coding. Learning coding with AI is like learning the streets of a city through using Google Maps directions.

Who came up with the bright idea to alter how rhubarb grows ("forced") and turn something delicious into something with no flavor? Is this crime committed anywhere else besides the UK?

📢 WE are hiring a Professor in Labor Economics at JKU Linz! Come and join us! We are a young and active department with a strong focus in applied econ. Link: tinyurl.com/jkulabor Please help us spread the word and RT.

The administration is moving the rule. Official public (that's us!!) comment period is open. Friends of BLS has resources making it super easy & efficient for you to: 1) submit evidence to the official record & 2) communicate to your federal reps #econsky www.friendsofbls.org/updates/2025...

Grateful for @hakeemjefferson.bsky.social voice. Excellent piece. I no longer have the patience he has for responding to these incredulous arguments about the qualifications and aptitude of non-White people.

This message is not just for researchers! Advocates and practitioners use government statistics all the time Relevant if you use the Digest of Education Statistics or NAEP or the College Scorecard or

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski says the quiet part out loud: “We are all afraid… I am oftentimes very anxious about using my voice because retaliation is real.”

President Bukele posted about Cecot concentration camp: "Let all the 'human rights' NGOs know that we are going to wipe out these bloody murderers and their collaborators, we will put them in prison and they will never get out" Trump plans to send US citizens here with no due process.

total clarity here from @edwardluce.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/4c4b...

I cannot unsee the videos of Trump laughing with Bukele (and others) about rendering US citizens and residents to a concentration camp in El Salvador with impunity. This is the unambiguous moment to rally around. Bring Kilmar home (and all the others!)

The rest of the world understands what happened yesterday. Do Americans? www.ft.com/content/4c4b...

If you find talk of bond and forex markets hard to track, this graph does an amazing job illustrating what's going on.

I don't think people realize that in important respects tariffs are now higher & more inflationary than what was announced on last Wednesday. Since then we've gone from 54% to 125% on China, our 3rd largest trading partner. That outweighs delaying the increases on 70+ others.

"the infinite stairwell between integers" is a very nice one

London peeps! On Saturday, April 5th, we're taking to the streets to fight back with a clear message: Hands off! 🚨 📍 Where: Trafalgar Square, London, UK 📅 When: 3-5pm BST April 5, 2025 This event takes place at from ​3pm - 5pm BST I'll be there

If you're a university employee, speak up now. Don't wait until this administration comes for you (and don't think you can appease them into not coming for you).

Today's cool young researcher #econtwitter #econsky is @karsha at Imperial College London who works on topics related to gender + labor markets in LMICs - particularly sexual harassment + gender segregation

I’m happy to announce that my JMP🚨🚨Teacher-directed change: The case of the English Scientific Revolution” is now out as a working paper. Finalising the draft has been a lot of work. So, very happy to share this. For lots of history, new micro-data &natural experiments, read on ->->->

How fascism comes to be "Too many people and institutions with ample power and resources to defend themselves nevertheless have refused to stand up to MAGA intimidation. Instead, they have betrayed fundamental values that are the cornerstone of our democracy." contrarian.substack.com/p/cowardice-...

It was a good (and very useful) thread. Taking it down is quite unfortunate. The reason for taking it down — critiques about neglecting similar historical situations — is proof positive that academics are suited to police discourse but unsuited to produce generative action.

I think this is a super important idea and I wish that Italy could be part of this endeavor Let's bring into Europe some great researchers that want to leave the US. It can benefit us greatly Look at Fabian's research www.fabianwaldinger.com/research www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...

The @nytimes.com just discovered parallel computing.

Not much I can find to disagree with about these dire predictions.