This is excellent! Really insightful. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/w...

Very good! www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/o...

The USA has become a kleptocracy. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/u...

This is good. Artfully selects the more important facts and arranges them in a revealing way. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/w...

This is beautiful. We are a trivial species. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/b...

“At this turning point in history,” the authors wrote, “what we hear is the heavy and haunting toll of an empire’s evening bell.” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/b...

The story of the Spanish in 1500s South America is extreme. Would have to be to spawn something as twisted as the encomienda, which enslaved & oppressed millions, but also led to better economic, human and institutional development outcomes. How? Our @voxdev.bsky.social piece explains:

I love the institutions & development literature. Been teaching it to my LSE students since AJR's original colonial origins paper. But what do we make of Dell and Olken's Java findings? How do we integrate the macro with the micro? This article is our attempt.

UK voters dislike all party leaders. No one has + net approval. Brits vote for who's least odious? From @data.ft.com

Really expensive, but fabulous results so far so totally worth it! www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/u...

This is good! Sees straight through the noise. @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

My friend Nick: "It’s disheartening, though, that all the anti-democratic, anti-American, malicious, corrupt, and stupid things Trump has done weren’t enough to sour his supporters. But the f****** price of gas just might be." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/u...

Thank you Corresponsales en Línea for a stimulating conversation Sunday on the Iran War’s effects on the world economy. Difficult questions! Piece begins at the first arrow (minute 14:34): radiocut.fm/radiostation... En español, por su puesto.

This is a wonderful paper! A nuanced, highly sophisticated analysis of a crucial period in Chile's history. See also other papers in this Special Issue on Complexity in Institutional Reform here: www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...

Our encomienda paper is now out at the @theeconjournal.bsky.social! Ten years of hard work. Alternatively, 10 years spent trying to break down results that withstood everything we & others threw at them. Thank you Fabio, Camilo, Diego & Laura! academic.oup.com/ej/advance-a...