In June, Switzerland will vote on what is so far the most radical far-right popular initiative launched by the Swiss People‘s Party SVP: capping the population at 10M (currently ≈9.1M). In this thread, I’ll break down what it’s about and how it fits into broader findings on Swiss direct democracy

🚨 Hiring alert 🚨 Last days to submit your applications for the two open positions in our team! We‘re looking forward to hearing from you! Please note that German is a requirement since we‘re in frequent contact with our local stakeholders

🚨 Hiring alert 🚨 Last days to submit your applications for the two open positions in our team! We‘re looking forward to hearing from you! Please note that German is a requirement since we‘re in frequent contact with our local stakeholders

Was würde eine Annahme der "10-Millionen-Initiative" bedeuten? Die erfrischend differenzierte Sicht von @andreasbeerli.bsky.social und Michael Siegenthaler, zwei Ökonomen, die schon lange und auf hohem Niveau zu solchen Fragen forschen 👇 kof.ethz.ch/publikatione...

Unser Team am Department of Economics der UZH sucht gemeinsam mit @andreasbeerli.bsky.social (ETH Zürich) Verstärkung zur Evaluation innovativer Politikmassnahmen: Research Manager:in (60%-80%): jobs.uzh.ch/offene-stell... Predoctoral Research Fellow: jobs.uzh.ch/offene-stell...

🚨 Hiring alert 🚨 We‘re looking two positions a predoc/junior researcher a research manager in our team at UZH and ETH designing innovative social and health policies in collaboration policy makers and evaluating their economic impact using large-scale RCTs Please spread the word and apply 🙏

Issues with spatial spillovers in staggered DD designs: Exhibit A

Cumulative total issuances of F-1 student visas to the United States for each calendar year, by month. August 2025 is the latest month available. A wall against the brightest young people from around the world harms all Conservative & Liberal Americans, impoverishing our shared future.

medical training has become less desirable in states with abortion restrictions, especially in abortion-related specialties, including obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, internal medicine, and emergency medicine. #econsky #medicine marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/03/medi...

Imagine 48 hours in jail. Would it change how you see prison, or criminal justice itself? A new study by researchers from the University of Zurich and @kofeth.bsky.social at @ethz.ch shows that firsthand incarceration can directly shift public opinion. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo0F...

New RCT: What happens when citizens experience incarceration firsthand? With Arto Arman, @andreasbeerli.bsky.social, and @aljoshahenkel.bsky.social Working paper: www.ifo.de/en/cesifo/pu...

Hispanics are now the largest ethnic group in Texas, making up 40% of the population. Trump carried Latinos in 2024, a massive swing from earlier elections but Texas Democrats eye an opportunity to pull those voters back in. “They are leaving in droves and going in the opposite direction”

As so often, the best medicine against online hysteria is a dose of fresh air—maybe a leisurely walk along the Thames

#DemocraticBacksliding: The erosion of US democracy under Trump is steeper than any recent precedent, including Hungary, Venezuela, Turkey, R//ZZ.l'a/nd Source: Financial Times @jburnmurdoch.ft.com www.ft.com/content/b474...

Als direkte Demokratie braucht die Schweiz vielfältige und unabhängige Medien. Professorinnen und Professoren aus allen Sprachregionen und Disziplinen setzen sich ein für einen starken medialen Service public und sagen Nein zur Halbierungsinitiative. www.wissenschaft-fuer-den-service-public.ch

The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.

New Paper Alert!📢 "From Moderates to Extremes: How Immigration Polarizes American Politics" 🗽 by @matzat.bsky.social @adreher.bsky.social @langlotzsarah.bsky.social & Christopher Parsons Insights on how immigration reshapes American politics: 🔗 www.ifo.de/en/cesifo/pu...

Die NZZ - und mehr noch ihre Leserinnen und Leser - erleiden einen sehr bedauerlichen Verlust: Hansueli Schöchli verlässt die Redaktion. Wenn ich nichts übersehen habe, hat die Chefredaktion noch nicht darüber informiert und ihn noch nicht verabschiedet. www.kleinreport.ch/news/nach-fo...

It is possible that the relationship recession will not correct itself. A striking 7% of singletons say they would consider a robo-romance with an AI companion. AI is patient, AI is kind and it won’t ask you to clean the bathroom or get a better job

Evidence for a detrimental causal effect of social isolation on cognitive function in older adults academic.oup.com/psychsocgero...

Woah. Argentina's 1990s preschool expansion program appears to have been a smashing success. The program increased high school completion by a whole 11.9 percentage points. The authors estimate that for every $1 spent, the preschool expansion generated about $11 in benefits.

It has become received wisdom in Brussels and Washington that there is a new “euro-sclerosis”: that the EU economy is lagging the US This view is wrong A little primer on the measurement of productivity – and why reports of the economic death of Europe are greatly exaggerated🧵

Standard health tests may miss those at most risk

🚨 New working paper! How well do people predict the results of studies? @sdellavi.bsky.social and I leverage data from the first 100 studies to have been posted on the SSPP, containing 1,482 key questions, on which over 50,000 forecasts were placed. Some surprising results below.... 🧵👇

Some surveys are starting to show a fall in America’s obesity rates. But as with all surveys, these findings come with caveats

„Even if the plan falls apart, this arrogant and confusing ultimatum […] will do permanent damage to America’s reputation as a reliable ally, not only in Europe but around the world.“

Ultraprocessed food intake and early-onset colon adenomas (pre-cancer) in a large cohort of >29,000 women followed for >24 years jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Featured in the latest Bulletin on Health: Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic www.nber.org/bh/20253/pai...

In an ongoing project, we ask which countries citizens prefer as benchmarks for policy decisions. Pilot data from the UK show that Denmark is ranked as one of the most preferred reference countries, particularly in relation to migration policy.

China is changing the clean-energy game. If its solar panels, EVs and wind turbines are not gifts to the world in themselves, their ever-shrinking prices are an undoubted, and most welcome, boon

Introducing the world to our amazing Malengo students, vol. 2: Please meet Violet Nampala from Uganda, who is studying Energy Systems Engineering at Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Germany! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru9R...

Some lovely first reviews of "The Means of Prediction" are out: www.enlightenmenteconomics.com/blog/index.p... (by @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social) 1/n

🚨Next time you hire, don’t take it easy! In a new working paper, @elliottash.bsky.social, Jason Sockin, and I show the difficulty of the interview signals to workers whether the job is a good fit. 🚨 Paper link: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

The large increase in steel tariffs under GW Bush did not cause an increase in steel-industry employment. But it did hurt the US industries that use steel to make things, reducing employment there long after the tariffs were gone. New in @aeajournals.bsky.social —> doi.org/10.1257/pol....

🚨A new AI model can forecast malnutrition rates in Kenya with 89% accuracy one month in advance and provide up to 6 months of lead time for intervention. This could save countless lives by getting resources to at-risk areas before crisis hits. How it works 👉 bit.ly/4n1oer6 via Conversation UK

Bei der @isdh.ch ist noch bis zum 26. Oktober eine Stelle für eine studentische Hilfskraft ausgeschrieben; eine sehr gute Gelegenheit, einen ersten Schritt zu einer Karriere im Bereich der Menschenrechte zu gehen. www.isdh.ch/de/aktiv-wer...

The real value of the Bureau of Labor Statistics's budget has fallen for over a decade. The president is proposing deep cuts alongside other attacks on the agency. Progress requires Congress to re-establish BLS independence & support innovation & funding. www.americanprogress.org/article/the-...

Knowledge spillovers are key to growth but hard to estimate. Randomly giving out energy-efficient motors to leather-goods firms in Bangladesh led to strong local spillovers, from Ritam Chaurey, Gaurav Nayyar, Siddharth Sharma, and @ericverhoogen.bsky.social https://www.nber.org/papers/w34296

Wie Begleitung durch qualifizierte Assistent:innen das Leben von #taubblinden Menschen, die gar nicht oder kaum sehen und hören können, positiv verändert. Mein Beitrag in der #Zib1 1/2 on.orf.at/video/142930...

Over the last century, many democracies have started down the road to autocracy. Some managed to turn around. What did these 'U-turns' have in common? Political economist @marinanord.bsky.social & colleagues' conclusions are clear and succinct. Full research summary: www.v-dem.net/media/public...

Some researchers are calling on public-health experts to tone down the emphasis on avoiding the sun, and to acknowledge that the risks and benefits of exposure differ between those with lighter or darker skin

Critical part of the President's new $100,000 charge for H1-B visas: The Administration can also offer a $100,000 discount to any person, company, or industry that it wants. Replacing rules with arbitrary discretion. Want visas? You know who to call and who to flatter.

The last political column I was allowed to write in the @washingtonpost.com was a criticism of Obama. His people took issue with my piece, but we were respectful. Now he is tweeting in support of me. This is how free political speech and respect for debate *actually works*. Or used to work.

Reducing access to abortions ... - increases families' economic hardship, - increases families' debt, - increases income inequality, - increases housing insecurity, and - increases financially motivated crime rates.

Great chart from WaPo. Print it out. Next time someone says EU carmakers are doomed because Tesla was born in a garage and embodies US business acumen they can’t match, remind them the story is incomplete. Musk’s rise was fuelled by $38 billion in gov contracts, loans, subsidies & tax credits.

This is such a great idea/service!! Have Brendan-bot give you pre-submission comments on your paper!

Jair Bolsonaro shut himself away in Brazil’s presidential palace for 40 days after he lost the 2022 election. 1843 uncovers what his advisors were plotting behind closed doors