Jeffrey Lin
@jeffrlin.bsky.social
đ€ 6528
đ„ 405
đ 198
Economist studying cities, regions, and growth. West Philly dad. Views are my own.
https://jlin.org/
pinned post!
đđ đ New paperđ In the era of AI and rapid Natural Language Processing (NLP) advances, how should economists choose the right NLP model? Our work provides insights focusing on a patent analysis application. With
@inaganguli.bsky.social
, Vitaly Meursault & Nick Reynolds. 1/
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Patent Text and Long-Run Innovation Dynamics: The Critical Role of Model Selection
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
https://www.nber.org/papers/w32934
over 1 year ago
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#urbanecon
26 days ago
New in RSUE: Paths that led to gold: Historical roads, trade, and persistence, by Alexandre Portugal, Bruno Barsanetti.
#econsky
#urbanecon
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Paths that led to gold: Historical roads, trade, and persistence
Publication date: June 2026 Source: Regional Science and Urban Economics, Volume 119 Author(s): Alexandre Portugal, Bruno Barsanetti
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166046226000372?dgcid=rss_sd_all
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Pete
29 days ago
Learning that Jane Jacobs moved to Toronto and converted a rooming house into a 6 bedroom mansion is something I've never really been able to process.
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#urbanecon
about 1 month ago
New in JUE: Old but gold: Historical pathways and path dependence, by Diogo Baerlocher, Guilherme Lambais, EustĂĄquio Reis, Diego Firmino Costa da Silva, Henrique Veras.
#econsky
#urbanecon
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Old but gold: Historical pathways and path dependence
Publication date: May 2026 Source: Journal of Urban Economics, Volume 153 Author(s): Diogo Baerlocher, Guilherme Lambais, EustĂĄquio Reis, Diego Firmino Costa da Silva, Henrique Veras
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094119026000343?dgcid=rss_sd_all
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Greg Shill
about 1 month ago
âa 1% increase in the tax rate reduces suburb-to-city commuting by 6.39%â and, the authors estimate, â[r]eplacing the wage tax with a non-distortionary land value tax would bring 26,000 jobs from the suburbs into Philadelphia. Such gains triple when we allow for productivity agglomeration forces.â
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NBER
about 1 month ago
Describing the US Census Bureauâs experimental data product combining survey data with satellite imagery to detect single-family housing starts, from Czaplicki, Shevlin, Ferronato, Smith, Nayam, Peng, Springer, and Walker
www.nber.org/papers/w35113
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Review of Economics and Statistics (REStat)
about 1 month ago
Examining the effect of expanding interstate highways on industrial growth across the United States. In the March issue, by Dustin Frye, @dustindfrye
zurl.co/ZgW5K
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Transportation Networks and the Geographic Concentration of Employment
Abstract. This paper examines the effect of expanding transportation networks on spatial industrial growth across the United States from 1953 to 2016. I
https://direct.mit.edu/rest/article-abstract/108/2/514/119501/Transportation-Networks-and-the-Geographic?redirectedFrom=fulltext
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IPUMS
about 1 month ago
Last but certainly not least -- the IPUMS Excellence in Research Published Award goes to RenĂ© Livas for "Local Taxes and Suburbanization: Evidence from Philadelphiaâs Wage Tax" (
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
).
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Local Taxes and Suburbanization: Evidence from Philadelphia's Wage Tax
How do local taxes affect the location of economic activity inside cities? We study Philadelphia's wage tax, which applies to residents regardless of where they
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6331260
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Bryan Stuart
about 1 month ago
We are still interviewing for research assistants at the Philly Fed for this cycle. Itâs a great opportunity for students who want to get more experience with research and there are lots of development opportunities
rb.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/FRS/jo...
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Research Assistant/Sr. Research Assistant
Company Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Job Description Summary Research assistants (RAs) at the Philadelphia Fed play a key role in the Economic Research Department. Whether they are helping eco...
https://rb.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/FRS/job/Philadelphia-PA/Research-Assistant-Sr-Research-Assistant_R-0000030430
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patrick.kennedy
3 months ago
Another link to the Bloomberg Story on the Atlas of Inner City Highway Impacts:
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
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Adding Up What Urban Highways Really Cost
A new report maps the economic toll that downtown freeways exact on 142 US cities â and tallies up what that land could be worth if it was developed for other uses.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-03/mapping-the-economic-toll-of-downtown-freeways-in-us-cities
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Gabriel M Ahlfeldt
3 months ago
We revised our Skyscraper Revolution paper
github.com/Ahlfeldt/DPs...
Added indirect inference to estimate the QoL effect of density by matching causal reduced-form estimates in the model => more realistic counterfactuals. Quick read
@voxeu.org
:
cepr.org/voxeu/column...
@bsoeberlin.bsky.social
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Zak Yudhishthu
3 months ago
I wrote an essay about how freeways divide our urban fabric (largely inspired by my personal experiences living a couple blocks from the Kennedy)
pencillingout.substack.com/p/life-next-...
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Life next to the great urban barrier
When your home sits alongside the expressway
https://pencillingout.substack.com/p/life-next-to-the-great-urban-barrier
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Henry G Overman
3 months ago
This week's
@cep-lse.bsky.social
Trade and Urban Seminar
@jeffrlin.bsky.social
"Spreading Out in Expanding Idea Space"
cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/events/...
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Spreading Out in Expanding Idea Space | Jeffrey Lin | Wednesday 25 February 2026 12:30 - 14:00 | CEP Event
An event from the Trade and Urban Seminars series organised by the CEP
https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/events/event.asp?index=10529
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Henry Grabar
3 months ago
this is kind of spectacular -- you can't escape your hydrological destiny
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Zak Yudhishthu
4 months ago
In an effort to get to know my new home, I've sought out all kinds of books about Chicago. Here are some notes on my favorite books about this great city, and noteworthy themes across my reading.
pencillingout.substack.com/p/reflection...
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Reflections on a year of reading Chicago
A journey through the Windy City's many great books
https://pencillingout.substack.com/p/reflections-on-a-year-of-reading
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The Quarterly Journal of Economics
5 months ago
#QJE
Feb 2026, #10, âThe Price of Housing in the United States, 1890â2006,â by Lyons (@ronanlyons), Shertzer (@econhist-allday), Gray (@econhistoryorbust), and Agorastos:
doi.org/10.1093/qje/...
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The Price of Housing in the United States, 1890â2006*
Abstract. We construct the first annual market rent and home sales price series for American cities over the twentieth century using 2.7 million newspaper
https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjaf047
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Trade Diversion (Jonathan Dingel)
5 months ago
Join us Monday at 8:00am in 310 for an
#ASSA2026
session on Spatial Sorting and Economic Transformations Papers on poverty (non-)traps, income sorting, urban exploration & WFH by Bryan Stuart, Yuhei Miyauchi, Gabriel Kreindler, Yichen Su. Discussants:
@chrisseveren.bsky.social
, Couture, Rappaport
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Trade Diversion (Jonathan Dingel)
5 months ago
Join us Saturday at 10:15am for an
#ASSA2026
session on Development of American Cities featuring papers on mortgage markets, slavery, migration & ghost towns by L D'Amico, S Naidu, T Jaworski, M Hoelzlein Discussants:
@econhist-allday.bsky.social
, S Heblich,
@allie-green.com
,
@jeffrlin.bsky.social
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Diego Puga
5 months ago
These are 10 of my favourite
#UrbanEconomics
&
#SpatialEconomics
articles published in academic journals in 2025, continuing with a tradition started in 2018 (order is alphabetical by first author, no ranking implied):
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The Quarterly Journal of Economics
8 months ago
Recently accepted by
#QJE
, âThe Price of Housing in the United States, 1890â2006,â by Lyons (@ronanlyons), Shertzer (@econhist-allday), Gray (@econhistoryorbust), and Agorastos:
doi.org/10.1093/qje/...
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The Price of Housing in the United States, 1890â2006*
Abstract. We construct the first annual market rent and home sales price series for American cities over the 20th century using 2.7 million newspaper real
https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjaf047
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Rick Hornbeck
7 months ago
Hi all, please spread the word and we hope everyone can make good use of this new data drop:
cmfdata.org
The full surviving establishment-level Census of Manufactures manuscripts and digitized data from 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880!
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Historical Census of Manufactures Microdata - Historical Census of Manufactures Microdata
http://CMFdata.org
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Zachary Schrag
7 months ago
Next Wednesday in Philadelphia!
phillyguides.org/event/nativi...
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Nativist/ Bible Riots of 1844 - Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides
The Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides (APT) will hold its next monthly meeting on Wednesday, November 12 at 7 pm, in person at the Great Hall of Christ Church Neighborhood [âŠ]
https://phillyguides.org/event/nativist-bible-riots-of-1844/
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Arpit Gupta
7 months ago
đšNew predoc positions!đš Join
@alexbartik.bsky.social
and me to work on developing LLM tools to analyze zoning regulations and their impacts on housing affordability. One position starting at the "normal" cycle next year, and another ASAP. Apply here:
apply.interfolio.com/176538
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Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
https://apply.interfolio.com/176538
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Michael Clemens
7 months ago
Okay
#EconSky
, if you do any kind of spatial analysis, it's a good time to be alive â A new, open-access global spatial database combining 73 harmonized datasets on the world population, its distribution in space, and its characteristics, 2015â2023:
doi.org/10.12688/ver...
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Daniel Tannenbaum
7 months ago
Hello
#econsky
, the Nebraska Labor Summit will be held Friday, March 13, 2026. It's a really fun, junior-centric, research conference in labor and related applied micro fields. Martha Bailey and Alex Mas will give the keynotes. Deadline for submissions is Nov. 1!
forms.gle/JC5tN5cT1R2i4ZUJA
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#urbanecon
7 months ago
New in JOEG: Off-the-job learning in cities.
#econsky
#urbanecon
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Off-the-job learning in cities
Abstract Cities are characterized by high skill levels and workers improve their skills through learning. This article presents novel stylized facts on learning behavior and cities. I use Japanese survey data that provide distinctively rich first-hand information about the frequency, purpose, and subject of off-the-job learning. First, people engage in learning more frequently in denser cities. Second, people in denser cities are more likely to learn to gain new employment or cultivate themselves. Third, while cities tend to facilitate learning of skills required in skill-intensive sectors, what people learn depends on the local demand for skills.
https://academic.oup.com/joeg/article/25/5/771/8110509?rss=1
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Alvin Murphy
7 months ago
Check out the call for papers for a Real Estate Economics Special Issue on Commercial Real Estate with guest editor Xudong An! Special-Issue conference sessions will be held at the AREUEA National Meeting in Washington, D.C., in May 2026.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal...
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<em>Real Estate Economics</em> | AREUEA Journal | Wiley Online Library
<em>Real Estate Economics</em> is a leading journal facilitating communication between researchers and industry professionals and improving the analysis of real estate decisions.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/15406229/call-for-papers/cre
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Lewis Lehe
8 months ago
in new
@findingspress.org
paper, PhD candidate shirin qiam (now at Minneapolis Met Council). uses a deep learning model and post processing pipeline that outlines surface parking lots. Tulsa has a lot, Oakland surprisingly little.
findingspress.org/article/1452...
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Call for student poster submissions for the AREUEA-ASSA conference, deadline November 1.
www.areuea.org/areuea-assa
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2026 AREUEA-ASSA Conference
2022 AREUEA-ASSA Conference
https://www.areuea.org/areuea-assa
8 months ago
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Call for submissions for AREUEA doctoral dissertation award. Submission deadline October 31. Recent PhDs who defended between July 2024 and June 2025 are eligible.
www.areuea.org/hoyt-institu...
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Hoyt Institute Doctoral Dissertation Award
Hoyt Institute Doctoral Dissertation Award Competition
https://www.areuea.org/hoyt-institute-doctoral-dissertation-award
8 months ago
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Call for submissions for AREUEA doctoral dissertation award. Submission deadline October 31. Recent PhDs who defended between July 2024 and June 2025 are eligible.
www.areuea.org/hoyt-institu...
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Hoyt Institute Doctoral Dissertation Award
Hoyt Institute Doctoral Dissertation Award Competition
https://www.areuea.org/hoyt-institute-doctoral-dissertation-award
8 months ago
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Call for student poster submissions for the AREUEA-ASSA conference, deadline November 1.
www.areuea.org/areuea-assa
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2026 AREUEA-ASSA Conference
2022 AREUEA-ASSA Conference
https://www.areuea.org/areuea-assa
8 months ago
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Henry G Overman
8 months ago
Thanks to everyone who came to the
@urbaneconomics.bsky.social
North American Meetings in Montreal and to all those who worked behind the scenes to make it happen. Our next meeting will be in Barcelona, 8-9 May 2026. Call for papers coming soon.
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Streetfilms/Clarence Eckerson Jr.
8 months ago
Very exciting! The seminal 1980 documentary "The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces" by William H. "Holly" Whyte has been RESTORED and screening in NYC this week! I wanted to honor his work and used his words in the companion book and produced this 11 years ago.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU2v...
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William âHollyâ Whyte in His Own Words, âThe Social Life of Small Urban Spacesâ (1980)
YouTube video by StreetfilmsÂź
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU2vVqbtRAY
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Stephen Redding
9 months ago
Excited to see the new Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics (Volume 6), edited jointly with Dave Donaldson come out:
www.sciencedirect.com/handbook/han...
. Fantastic set of chapters on recent advances and pointing the way to exciting further research
@treballen.bsky.social
@siepr.bsky.social
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Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics | Volume 6, Issue 1: Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier
Read the latest chapters of Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics at ScienceDirect.com, Elsevierâs leading platform of peer-reviewed scholarly literature
https://www.sciencedirect.com/handbook/handbook-of-regional-and-urban-economics/vol/6/issue/1
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Check out our conversation on Densely Speaking with Zach about this research from earlier this year.
@gregshill.com
open.spotify.com/episode/6HcN...
add a skeleton here at some point
9 months ago
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Check out our conversation on Densely Speaking with Zach about this research from earlier this year.
@gregshill.com
open.spotify.com/episode/6HcN...
add a skeleton here at some point
9 months ago
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Zach Liscow
9 months ago
đšNEW RESULTS (w/ Slattery & Nober) - When gov't engineers retire, highway projects cost more: the engineers pay for themselves 6 times over - Improving govât engineer quality from the 25th to 75th percentile reduces costs by 14%, equal to 3x avg. engineer pay Paper:
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Some interesting ideas in this paper!
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9 months ago
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Nolan Hicks
9 months ago
"SEPTA cuts made Philly schoolsâ attendance tumble significantly Early district data show 63% of city schools showed an increase in late arrivals, and 54% had more students absent." --
www.inquirer.com/education/ph...
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SEPTA cuts hurt Philly schoolsâ attendance
Early district data show 63% of city schools showed an increase in late arrivals, and 54% had more students absent.
https://www.inquirer.com/education/philadelphia-school-district-transportation-septa-service-cuts-attendance-20250902.html
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Jarrett Walker
9 months ago
I wrote an unusually strongly worded thing about the transit crisis in Pennsylvania, which is coming soon to Oregon and Illinois.
humantransit.org/2025/08/the-...
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The Fall of Philadelphia â Human Transit
The Pennsylvania State Senate has decided that the transit system of Americaâs fifth largest city should be substantially destroyed. Similar dramas are playing out in Illinois, Oregon, and Rhode Isla...
https://humantransit.org/2025/08/the-fall-of-philadelphia.html
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Nolan Hicks
9 months ago
What's happening in Philly is heartbreaking and infuriating.
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Daniel Immerwahr in the
@newyorker.com
on 1970s arsons and Bench Ansfieldâs new book (and brief mention of my paper with Ellen, Hartley and You).
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
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Did Racial Capitalism Set the Bronx on Fire?
To some, the fires lit in New York in the late seventies signalled rampant criminality; to others, rebellion. But maybe they were signs of something else entirely.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/25/born-in-flames-the-business-of-arson-and-the-remaking-of-the-american-city-bench-ansfield-book-review
10 months ago
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Daniel Immerwahr in the
@newyorker.com
on 1970s arsons and Bench Ansfieldâs new book (and brief mention of my paper with Ellen, Hartley and You).
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
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Did Racial Capitalism Set the Bronx on Fire?
To some, the fires lit in New York in the late seventies signalled rampant criminality; to others, rebellion. But maybe they were signs of something else entirely.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/25/born-in-flames-the-business-of-arson-and-the-remaking-of-the-american-city-bench-ansfield-book-review
10 months ago
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Erika McEntarfer
10 months ago
A key challenge for BLS is adequate funding for data collection and modernization. During my tenure I tried to identify the causes. One person told me, âyour problem is that while BLS has no enemies you also have no friendsâ meaning no powerful interest groups advocating for economic data.
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Joshua Goodman
10 months ago
The latest JEP has an extraordinary set of papers on the economics of housing. My favorite? The one showing that most people incorrectly believe that increasing housing supply won't lower housing costs. Subsidizing home-buying is popular even though it raises costs. đ€Š
www.aeaweb.org/issues/814
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Michael Wiebe
10 months ago
Interesting new essay on rising housing costs in the Journal of Economic Perspectives:
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kottke.org
10 months ago
The Only Time Prince & Miles Davis Jammed Together Onstage: Watch the New Yearâs Eve, 1987 Concert.
[openculture.com]
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The Only Time Prince & Miles Davis Jammed Together Onstage: Watch the New Yearâs Eve, 1987 Concert
A too-precious genre of internet meme depicts departed public figures who did not know each other in life meeting in heaven with hugs, high-fives, and wincingly earnest exchanges.
https://www.openculture.com/2025/08/the-only-time-prince-miles-davis-jammed-together-onstage-1987.html
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Lars Vilhuber
10 months ago
isi-web.org/statement/st...
#bls
#statistics
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Statement about dismissal of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer in the United States | The International Statistical Institute
The ISI expresses its deep concern regarding the reported dismissal of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer in the United States.
https://isi-web.org/statement/statement-about-dismissal-bureau-labor-statistics-bls-commissioner-erika-mcentarfer
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Michael Clemens
10 months ago
Please read this piece. âThough I am a congenital optimist, for the first time I believe that if the behavior that this administration has exhibited in just its first six months continues and is amplified for its full four years, the America you know will be gone.â The opposite of Conservatism.
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Opinion | The America We Knew Is Rapidly Slipping Away
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/opinion/columnists/friedman-trump-labor-firing.html?unlocked_article_code=1.b08.PtTK.iFdyuxZJAJRD&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
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COPAFS
10 months ago
AEA Statement on Dismissal of BLS Comm. "The independence of the federal statistical agencies is essential to the proper functioning of a modern economy. Accurate, timely, and impartial statistics are the foundation upon which households, businesses, and policymakers make critical decisions."
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