3 hours before the end of the year. Thanks. #紅白

Surprising! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... is a stand-out review of the limited impact of financial inclusion initiatives, but perhaps the astonishing revolution engineered by the spread of mobile phones and mobile banking has removed much of the reason for the Foundation's involvement.

In the latest Environmental and Resource Economics: for sectors of the EU economy not covered by carbon trading, the Effort Sharing Decision set targets. But how did it influence emissions? Claire Gavard & Lukas Diethelm have answers. #EAERE #Econsky

In the latest issue of Environmental and Resource Economics: how does the impact of higher temperatures differ across industrialized and developing economies? Ha Minh Nguyen & Samuel Pienknagura provide evidence. #Econsky #EAERE

In the latest issue of Environmental and Resource Economics: the messiness of politics can result in delay and distortion to effective policy. Adam Michael Bauer, Stéphane Hallegatte & Florent McIsaac provide evidence that delay is the greater harm for climate policy. #EAERE

In Environmental and Resource Economics now: buff.ly/zrOgjLA Lowering carbon intensities can help slow climate change. Pablo Garcia & Olivier Pierrard adapt the transport equation (an equation from physics, not transport) to model how lower carbon intensities spread globally. #EAERE

My fellow baked potatoes Earlier today elves speaking scouse approached me whilst I was pink. They informed me that the Lost Treasure of Milton Keynes could be found, and restore me to number 10 as a waffle iron. I am now looking for Milton Keynes God save risotto!

In the latest issue of Environmental and Resource Economics: Anton Bondarev & Frank C. Krysiak consider, conceptually, how a society should adapt to a world of increased frequency of extreme climate events but where the likelihood of catastrophe is not known. #Econsky

...or watch Spike Milligan playing the man who perpetrated it in this (which, as you can see, also features Peter Sellers as Queen Victoria)

In the latest issue of Environmental and Resource Economics, Peter H. Howard & Thomas Sterner conduct a careful meta-analysis of cost of climate change studies, giving a 'best estimate' between 7.1% and 12.6% of world GDP for 3 °C of warming. #Econsky

In the latest issue of Environmental and Resource Economics: Biofuel mandates have received some powerful financial support. Valentin Guye maps their impact on land use, including crop-substitution and deforestation, across the tropics. #Econsky #biofuels #EAERE

In the latest issue of Environmental and Resource Economics: Hamid Noghanibehambari & Jason Fletcher present intriguing evidence that emigrating to a location with a climate that differs from our native country is linked to lower life expectancy. #Econsky

RJL's 2025 wrap up is now available! Top 10 favorites from 2025 *and* notable JLit publishing trends. (To the best of my knowledge, there was more translated Japanese fiction published in English than any previous year EVER.)

DOGE was A LOT less likely to cancel contracts from companies that donated money to Republicans than companies that donated to Democrats.

I’m not so familiar with the US system but isn’t it reasonable to suppose that there are psychological repercussions from failure or success and that these consequences might be more acute close to the cutoff?

Hydrology Paper of the Day @science.org on the Paratethys Sea: how plate tectonics during the middle to late Cenozoic influenced evolution; estimates of lake volume and changes in salinity and water level; fossils indicative of hydrological changes; sedimentology; and animal migration patterns.

"Even after accounting for the upfront costs and delayed benefits, enrolling marginal applicants to public universities generates substantial net returns for society, the marginal students themselves, and the government budget." Public Universities FTW!

Hyogo police executives have been punished over gifts and other favors from a company commissioned to provide services to the police, it was learned Wednesday.

I just published Potato, a new pansharpening package. It aims to render certain kinds of satellite imagery more clearly and accurately than what’s for sale and on satellite maps today: github.com/celoyd/potato/

1 To predict the behaviour of a primate, would you rather base your guess on a closely related species or one with a similar brain shape? We looked at brains & behaviours of 70 species, you’ll be surprised! 🧵Thread on our new preprint with @r3rt0.bsky.social , doi.org/10.1101/2025...

A chance for Japan to rejoin its uncertain path to NetZero

NEW: Organ tuners have been leaving temperature and humidity records in little-known books for decades. 🎹 They reveal how temperatures inside churches have changed over time due to climate change and increased heating. A new scoop for The Reengineer! www.thereengineer.pro/p/church-org...

|🎉 SIGNIFICANT VICTORY FOR INDONESIAN FISHERS 🌍| For the first time ever has a Swiss court admitted a climate lawsuit brought by four Indonesian fishers against Holcim. More about the case: bit.ly/49oCyGs #ClimateJustice #ClimateLitigation #CallForClimateJustice #MakePollutersPay

The complete Bayeux Tapestry has finally been released and proves that Bishop Odo had absolutely nothing to do with the illegal Norman invasion of England.

Is this shrinkflation?

Our findings 20 years post conflict: Childhood trauma from conflict has lasting psychological and social effects that may be missed by standard economic measures. 📣 Child abductions are still tragically commonplace in conflicts around the worldtoday. cgdev.org/publication/ch…

Want to compare how dense cities are in Britain, France and Japan? You're in luck! @centreforcities.bsky.social just released our data As you can see, British big cities are very flat compared to their international peers. ... 🧵

How can anyone say that ChatGPT is sloppy?

Technically, this appears to be only tested for morning parties.

And unlike the 97%, the government’s position is such poor economics.

I'm always fascinated by the story behind the making of any map, and this set of war damage maps, completed within six months of the end of the war, is extraordinary in that regard. Here's Ueno Rokurō, then president of the Japan Chikei Company, who oversaw its creation:

NEW: The most symbolic thing ever just happened in Guaíba, Brazil.

One of my all-time favorite clips of Rob Reiner, from his Friars Club Roast in 2000, as he reads aloud Roger Ebert's infamous scathing review of his movie North. The man had an amazing sense of humor about himself. RIP.

Really happy with this new Tokyo Review piece. Not only is it an important topic in and of itself, but I think Japanese municipal politics in general deserve much more attention.

That paper pointed out many flood events we identified seem to be driven by heavy rain compounded by high tide that limits drainage. That is a dynamic playing out in Miami that will only worsen with sea-level rise. Alex Hall also wrote on our paper at the time: www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

"Experimental mathematicians" xkcd.com/3180 by @xkcd.com

One of the terrible things about the culture wars is how the older generation is harming the prospects of the younger. The recent Brexit poll, showing how so many Brexit voters have died, underlined this for me.

Thanks to @johnholbein1.bsky.social I learned about this paper on rent control in Berlin. Because I was marking, I immediately downloaded the replication materials. bsky.app/profile/john...

“With one decision, President Putin deprived Japan of ¥1.79 trillion in tourist revenue.” (At least according to the Russian media). The article says Putin’s decision to grant visa-free access to Chinese tourists means they’ll visit Russia instead of Japan. www.mk.ru/economics/20...

"How a renewables superpower, lack of transparency, and international financing have created a gaping fossil fuel loophole" in Indonesia. Uprooter @nithincoca.com on @climateandcap.bsky.social www.climateandcapitalmedia.com/what-and-who...

The Economic History Review has published a virtual issue collecting the contributions of 2025 Nobel Laureate Joel Mokyr in the journal. I had the privilege of writing the introductory essay. You can read it here, together with Joel's articles and reviews. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1...

China's exports of "new energy" passenger vehicles (BEV+PHEV) have increased 82.6% in Jan-Nov compared to the same period last year.

Recently, in Environmental and Resource Economics: which gives the biggest climate policy boost: growing substitutability of dirty with clean energy, scaling renewables, or efficiency in application? Lucas Bretschger, Matthias Leuthard & Alena Miftakhova have answers. #EAERE

A very DF scoop: daringfireball.net/2025/12/fu...

Babies born downstream of PFAS-contaminated sites in New Hampshire had a 168% higher chance of extremely premature birth and a 191% higher chance of dying in their first year, compared with babies whose mothers drank from uncontaminated wells. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/cCAP50XH2mA

See also Watson, Guettabi, Reimer (2020), "Universal Cash and Crime" in ReStat.

A Kyoto high school has issued an apology after confirming that its students had shoplifted during a study trip to Bali following the emergence of a video online that drew widespread attention.