The Indian Challenge to Blockchains: Digital Public Goods
In my post, Blockchains and the Opportunity of the Commons, I explored the potential of blockchains to create new commons: Blockchains and tokenization are a way to incentivize the creation of a...
View ArticleThe Geert Wilders victory, and more
Wilders won resoundingly in the Netherlands, and polled much stronger after October 7. Yesterday there were anti-immigrant riots in Dublin, typically a relatively open city (most likely an Algerian...
View ArticleJimmy Carter is underrated, Thomas Schelling edition
“In the US protocol you have to rehearse the entire process every four months….The French, they never rehearse. And their logic is that if you start rehearsing with the president, people are going to...
View ArticleDepolarizing GPT
David Rozado has now created a service that enables left-wing GPT, right-wing GPT, and what he calls depolarizing GPT. Enjoy! The post Depolarizing GPT appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.
View ArticleAfrica fact of the day
Map of successful military coups in Africa since 2020. And there appears to be an attempted one underway in Sierra Leone. – Bloomberg pic.twitter.com/CBaGOtHikl — Nick Hedley (@nickhedley) November...
View Article*Everyday Freedom*, by Philip K. Howard
This is very much a book that needed to be written. Here is one short excerpt: Powerlessness has become a defining feature of modern society. Americans at all levels of responsibility feel powerless...
View ArticleMy excellent Conversation with John Gray
I had been wanting to do this one for a while, and now it exists. Here is the audio and transcript, here is the episode summary: Tyler and John sat down to discuss his latest book, including who he...
View ArticleMarkets in everything those new service sector jobs
The video, posted by the 39-year-old Tampa resident under her stage name Roxie Rae, is one of dozens on Clips4Sale, an adult-video-sharing website where content creators cater to all types of sexual...
View ArticleWorld War II R&D and the Takeoff of the US Innovation System
That is the article subtitle, the title is “America, Jump-Started:,” and the authors of this new AER piece are Daniel P. Gross and Bhaven N. Sampat. Here is the abstract: During World War II, the US...
View ArticleImmigration Backlash
In a new paper Ernesto Tiburcio (on the job market) and Kara Ross Camarena study the effect of illegal immigration from Mexico on economic, political and cultural change in the United States. Studying...
View ArticleDifferential fertility makes society more conservative on family values
“Family values” conservatives in the United States have more children and more siblings than their compatriots. These patterns reflect the tendency of the more religious and less educated to have...
View ArticleStrategic CEO Activism in Polarized Markets
CEOs are increasingly making public statements on contentious social issues. In this paper, we examine what motivates CEOs to engage in social activism. We show that CEO social activism is a strategic...
View ArticleWhat is the political orientation of GROK?
The story is complicated, in any case it is not what you might think. It is often not so different from ChatGPT, albeit with many caveats and qualifications, including about the tests themselves....
View ArticleWhat should UAP disclosure policy be?
That is the subject of my latest Bloomberg column. Here is the opener: There is currently legislation before Congress that, if passed, could be one of the most important laws in US history. The...
View ArticlePodcast with Henry Oliver on John Stuart Mill
42 minutes long, Henry and I are both big Mill fans. And here is Henry’s forthcoming and very good book Second Act: What Late Bloomers Can Tell You About Success and Reinventing Your Life. The post...
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Salta (and Jujuy) notes
The food is excellent. Don’t worry about choosing the right restaurant, just try to eat the simple things. Corn products. Beans. Baked goods such as empanadas. Don’t waste your time on the steak....
View ArticleWhy France is underrated
That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column, here is one bit: Since the West European economic boom ended in the 1970s, the French civil service has been at best a mixed blessing. French...
View ArticleWhat should I ask Jonathan Haidt?
Yes, I will be doing another Conversation with him. Here is my previous Conversation with him, almost eight years ago. As many of you will know, Jonathan has a new book coming out, namely The Anxious...
View ArticleKamil Kovar on the German debt brake (from my email)
I was wondering if you would consider writing a post about the German debt brake in light of recent developments? Personally, I am not a huge fan of discussions about fiscal policy (or even worse,...
View ArticlePolitical business cycle theory has been neutered
Probably not forever, but we are living in strange times: Now the theory needs major revision. Political leaders still wish to manipulate economic variables in their favor, of course. But economies, as...
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