a Southie bubble tea shop had to cut back its proposed hours to 9:30 p.m. because of opposition from a bar (of the many along that stretch) that stays open until 1 a.m.? www.axios.com/local/boston...

📢 Conference announcement! Paolo Surico and I are excited to be organizing this @cepr.org conference on Public Policies for Innovation. If you work in the #Economics of #Innovation and #InnovationPolicy, please submit + spread the word. Non-presenting attendees also invited.

‼️‼️Voting in the @aeainformation.bsky.social election ends on September 30. The electronic ballot was sent on behalf of the AEA by Intelliscan, Inc. on August 1. Please look for [email protected] in your inbox. Read my statement of purpose and bio at www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/le....

Of course, scientific discourse is dominated by high prestige people. How could it be otherwise? What human endeavor has not had discourse dominated by high prestige people? Yes, scientific discourse is at its best when someone with new ideas can gain prestige by showing evidence to back them up.

If Schulman want an animating spirit, I would suggest he read “Science: The Endless Frontier” by Vannevar Bush. Including in his vision that led to this “golden age of innovation”, Bush wrote: 54/n

SCOOP: The Trump administration has installed a new acting director of the Census Bureau, @npr.org has learned. George Cook takes over the federal government’s largest statistical agency after it's been thrust into the middle of a renewed attempt by President Trump to alter the national head count

Two years ago, @nber.org asked me to talk about my research on political violence during Reconstruction. Political violence is not just about intimidation, it is also related to thwarting and violently penalizing political success. Seems appropriate to revisit that today. youtu.be/Wrdj4oLq4wk

New: More than two weeks after a court order ruled the Trump administration's termination of 1000+ grants illegal, Harvard's research funding is still frozen—with one exception. On Wednesday, NSF reinstated both Harvard's grants and access to funds. My reporting:

i just want to convey the depth of my appreciation to our colleagues, in the broad sense, in the american and UK university systems, for continuing to teach the fact that trans people exist even though you are all going to be ceaselessly punished alongside us for it. thank you.

The rise of remote work coming out of the pandemic led to a historic rise in employment rates for those with disabilities. Return to office policies, in general, could reverse that trend." Thanks @emilypeck.bsky.social for interviewing me. www.axios.com/2025/09/17/c...

"We took an oath. You did too. Will you uphold yours?” Nearly 900 federal workers, including CDC and NIH staff, signed a letter to Congress urging it to protect medicine and science. Story via @angusrohan.bsky.social and @aniloza.bsky.social for @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2025/09/18/f...

It's been a busy time for NIH grants staff — the agency seems on track to spend its budget this fiscal year But, because of multi-year funding, fewer projects are being funded than in previous years. The number of R grants has fallen from 5,633 to 3,758 analysis by @jaspar.bsky.social

Here is a plot of 4-year multi-year funded new R01s for 2015-2025. NIH has made some 4-year R01s late in the fiscal year to invest the last of the appropriation, but what is happening this year is quite different. I estimate that these new R01s are ~25% of the multi-year funding since July 1.

🚨NEW RESULTS (w/ Slattery & Nober) - When gov't engineers retire, highway projects cost more: the engineers pay for themselves 6 times over - Improving gov’t engineer quality from the 25th to 75th percentile reduces costs by 14%, equal to 3x avg. engineer pay Paper: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Just pointing out the incoherence of ‘we must replace BLS leadership because of falling response rates’ and ‘we aren’t going to let you stem falling response rates by following up when they don’t respond’. (Census collects data for BLS too.)

In other news, the attacks on Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook for her mortgage applications look even more suspicious (and fabricated) now. www.reuters.com/world/us/fed...

Inbox: American Community Survey (ACS) Data Users Group Online Community is shutting down. Has 7000 members; operating since 2013. Big loss to users of the ACS, the key source of economic, societal, and demographic information about local communities.

If the federal show of force in Washington has had a deterrent effect on crime, it appears to have deterred entirely normal aspects of city life, too. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...

Ten years ago, the #LIGO gravitational-wave detectors in Louisiana and Washington first heard the ripples in spacetime created by some of the most violent cosmic collisions. For @nature.com, @jennaahart.bsky.social looks back at LIGO's greatest hits: www.nature.com/articles/d41... #physics 🧪

I don't like the world where my prediction that we don't get to whatever the next phase of governing is without substantial political violence first. But it's felt increasingly inevitable for a while now This, again, to be clear, seem very bad I hope for the fewest lives ruined

NEW @crisesnotes.bsky.social PIECE: With the attempted firing of Lisa Cook by Donald Trump, the first Black woman appointed to the Federal Reserve Board, I think its important to examine the @federalreserve.gov's history of Racial Segregation. This is a long one www.crisesnotes.com/the-federal-...

Great news Keep fighting, Professor Cook You're my hero!

Nobody does Boston election day posting like Gin, nobody

I remember very clearly when I learned that people were attached to their gender in a way more than "if I woke up tomorrow in a different body there would be so much new to learn and that seems hard, plus I've gotten used to the advantages and disadvantage of this body." I was in grad school.

Updating my analysis now that August data should be relatively complete. Not great news... The rate of investment of the appropriation is not increasing and it seems unlikely that the entire appropriation will be committed this year. 1/2

But don't worry, the fed is different

Wow, look at all the amazing queer economists presenting at BU's Women and Nonbinary People in Economics Conference! @aeacsqiep.bsky.social Oct 3rd. Free to attend! www.bostonugwe.com/werise-2025 Register: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... Also, I guess I'm on a panel?

Whomst among us hasn’t thought about using military strikes to resolve our childhood trauma?

I wrote a rant that addresses EVERY Seattle anti-housing "tree advocate" talking point I have ever seen. It's long but honestly not THAT long lol. I will be very, VERY happy if 5 people read it. Come be one of them :) blog.moreparksmoreneighbors.org/page/anti-ho...

The relentless dishonesty is revealing. This was a meeting of the *academic advisory council* of the Chicago Fed. Think: Nerds around a conference table. No, academics don't set rates. No, the Chicago Fed doesn't set rates. No, the Chicago Fed President didn't even vote on rates that year.

New in PN: @itsafronomics.bsky.social on why Trump's attack on Lisa Cook is an attack on Black women & Black economists "In a time where there are attempts to erase the contributions of Black people & more specifically Black women from the history books, her leadership is needed now more than ever"

Australian slur technology is the most advanced in the world

Despite being very much a from, um, somewhere between New York and New England that is both and neither, I grew up with the word Seppo because my father is a strange Yank

Census Tree birthday party Day 9 🎂🎉: @withrowjenny.bsky.social uses the Census Tree to explore the roles of race & gender in migrant selection & sorting during the exodus of single young people from U.S. Southern farms from 1900-1940. Female migration rates ⬆️ in response to ⬇️ male marriageability.

Wow, look at all the amazing queer economists presenting at BU's Women and Nonbinary People in Economics Conference! @aeacsqiep.bsky.social Oct 3rd. Free to attend! www.bostonugwe.com/werise-2025 Register: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... Also, I guess I'm on a panel?

🚨 REMINDER to vote in the AEA elections through 9/30!

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"CPS response rates have declined faster in 2025.... 1.5 percentage points per year [from Jan 2022 to Jan 2025. From Jan to July 2025, fell at] an annualized pace of 3.4 percentage points."

This Trump nominee didn’t get the message that he’s supposed to pretend to support the independence of the Fed (until he’s confirmed) www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/04/n...

My friend's children say that those who live in glass houses shouldn't be naked or break the roof. I say, even though your building is wooden or brick or steel, don't forget that it, and everyone else's building in the neighborhood, has windows.

Nearly 600 economists, Nobel Laureates sign open letter supporting due process for Lisa Cook and Federal Reserve independence for the good of our economy and democracy. Great work from @tderyugina.bsky.social organizing such a quick response. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

As for the other studies he cites but doesn’t link to… consider it an academic scavenger hunt!

Unsurprisingly, I agree with the core point that the returns to generative will a) be slow to emerge and b) manifest unevenly across firms and sectors.

Tradwives aren’t trad

Update: we are at 379 signatures in support of Lisa Cook and Fed independence! The letter be open for signatures through Sun. (Link to sign at the top). If you are on X or listservs, please spread the word there! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

I signed an open letter from economists supporting Fed independence & Gov. Lisa Cook. Add your name by Monday: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... | Letter: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Pritzker on Trump sending troops into cities: "He has other aims other than fighting crime... he would like to stop the elections in 2026 or frankly take control of those elections. He'll just claim there's some problem with an election and then he's got troops on the ground that can take control."

And that gets at a larger point. Competitive authoritarian regimes benefit from reduced social trust — which is why they actively try to destroy it.

i think about the “do not split” principle from hong kong often