~marginalrevolution | Bookmarks (547)

Campaign-finance reports reveal that Republicans overwhelmingly outspend Democrats at every major steakhouse in the city… At the Capital Grille, Republicans have outspent Democrats nearly 13 to 1 so far this election cycle. That is from Jessica Sidman.  Here is the full and interesting article., and an excerpt: Longtime Capital Grille regular David Safavian remembers the […] The post The culture that is Washington, D.C....

I appear on his show, he describes it as follows: Tyler Cowen: No Such Thing As Talent Decline Plus AI Religions, National Security, The Conservative Vibe Shift, and Future Institutions   Here is the link. The post My podcast with Brian Chau appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         CommentsIn reply to Crusader. Abolition of slavery in the British ... by dearieme“When I see him...

1. Richard Butler, Australian hero. 2. Is signaling too cheap these days? 3. Ross Barkan on Caro on Moses (NYT). 4. Shortly, in Britain, all chickens must be registered by law. 5. “A parent’s enlistment in the Army increases their children’s military service propensity by between 58% and 110%.” 6. Kyrgyzstan (Germany) fact of the […] The post Monday assorted links appeared first on...

India has some of the worst air pollution in the world. India regulates pollution but it uses a command and control approach with criminal penalties, a system in tension with enforcement given low-state capacity. The result has been widespread corruption, inefficiency, and poor enforcement of pollution controls. In a very important paper, Greenstone, Pande, Ryan […] The post Reducing Pollution in India with a...

A zoo in Finland has agreed with Chinese authorities to return two loaned giant pandas to China more than eight years ahead of schedule because they have become too expensive for the facility to maintain amid declining visitors. The private Ähtäri Zoo in central Finland some 330 kilometers (205 miles) north of Helsinki said Wednesday […] The post Carrying costs > liquidity premium, and...

A fascinating movie, far more interesting than most of the slop they send your way.  And it is visually stunning, with an excellent cast to boot. One is never quite sure how to feel about what is shown on the screen, but one side of forces here are pro-growth, pro-billionaire, pro-YIMBY, and pro-science.  The film […] The post *Megalopolis* (only modest spoilers) appeared first...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a controversial artificial-intelligence safety bill that pitted some of the biggest tech companies against prominent scientists who developed the technology. The Democrat decided to reject the measure because it applies only to the biggest and most expensive AI models and leaves others unregulated, according to a person with knowledge of his thinking. Smaller models could […] The post Newsome vetoes AI bill appeared first...

1. The changing federal pay scale.  I guess things must run much better now with all those experienced workers. 2. Do Anglo-Saxon directors raise debt levels? 3. When I first met Matt, the first thing I said was “Matt Levine, only you can do what you do!”  Here is Gwern. 4. Do dogs resemble their […] The post Sunday assorted links appeared first on...

Not just on the basis of what you publish, but on what you contribute to the major AI models.  So if you go to a major archive and, in some manner, turn it into AI-readable form, that should count for a good deal.  It is no worse than publishing a significant article, though of course […] The post How tenure should be granted, circa...

The author is Peter Kolchin, and the subtitle is The Abolition and Aftermath of American Slavery and Russian Serfdom.  Here is one interesting excerpt of many: Despite the surge in schools and teachers after 1880, Russian peasant children were considerably less likely to receive schooling than were African American children, especially if they were girls. As […] The post *Emancipation* appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION....

1. Imports do not subtract from gdp. 2. A duet? 3. How to improve dynamic scoring for the budget. 4. Fresh Beeple. 5. CNN coverage of El Salvador shows the vibe shift. 6. Fresh Vitalik. 7. “A 25 year old woman’s type 2 diabetes was cured with stem cells taken from her own body.” 8. […] The post Saturday assorted links appeared first on...

Via @pmarca. The post USA vs. UK fact of the day appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         CommentsIn reply to JWatts. It is at about 7 cents per kWh. by CrikeyIn reply to So what?. Is this intended to reflect badly on ... by bazzaIn reply to M. That said, having done some more research on ... by MIn reply to JWatts. I did...

That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column, with a big assist from Doug Irwin.  Here is one excerpt: In 1971, President Richard Nixon imposed a 10% tax on foreign goods brought into the US, and kept it in place for four months. The best that can be said about this experience, well-documented by […] The post Nixon’s ten percent import duty appeared...

One of the most satisfying aspects of covering biotech as long as I have is the opportunity to report on the long arc of drug development, from start to finish. It’s not always pretty, and more often than not, it ends badly. But KarXT, now Cobenfy, is one of those drug stories with a happy […] The post A new schizophrenia drug appeared first...

A similar pattern emerged in my recent report on crime in Washington, D.C. There, too, there are signs that disorder has risen, relative to both the pandemic and pre-pandemic, as the police have attended to it less. Unsheltered homelessness, unsanitary conditions, shoplifting, farebeating—all seem to have become more common in D.C. And those problems have come as […] The post Crime vs. disorder appeared first on...

1. “men do okay, but women usually win…” 2. Ed Glaeser on the Jon Hartley podcast. 3. Is bad service the sign of a better world? 4. Bari Weiss media start-up valued at $100 million. 5. Malcolm Gladwell on his new book and his development (NYT). 6. Scott Sumner on artistic styles. 7. As the […] The post Friday assorted links appeared first on...

That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column, here is one excerpt: As for consumer prices for the current obesity drugs, they are not as high as is often reported, once the various ways to get a discount are taken into account. Despite reports that the drugs cost $1,000 per month, the reality is more favorable. […] The post On the price of Ozempic appeared...

Increases in “deaths of despair” have been hypothesized to provide an important source of the adverse mortality experiences of some groups at the beginning of the 21st century. This study examines this possibility and uncovers the following primary findings. First, mental health deteriorated between 1993 and 2019 for all population subgroups examined. Second, these declines […] The post “Despair” and Death in the United...

That is quite a popular policy, including with libertarian open borders types, but it does not always work out well: This paper studies the effects of a large welfare benefit reduction on the children in the affected families. The welfare cut targeted adult refugees who received residency in Denmark, and it reduced their disposable income […] The post Cutting welfare for immigrants appeared first...

1. The new Mozart piece (to me not impressive) 2. How baseball line-ups are changing. 3. The new Meta glasses (to me impressive). 4. Are these the world’s coolest neighborhoods? 5. China or Russia?  What do you think? 6. Some killer apps for AR? The post Thursday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         CommentsIn reply to Larry Siegel. Don't forget “agenda” —...

Recent social and economic trends in the United States, including increasing economic inequality, women’s growing educational advantage, and the rise of online dating, have ambiguous implications for patterns of educational homogamy. In this research note, we examine changes in educational assortative mating in the United States over the last eight decades (1940 to 2020) using […] The post Is assortative mating by education declining?...

Not so much, at least not yet: We study whether the sensitivity of economic, health, and livelihood outcomes to climate extremes has declined over the last half century, consistent with adaptation. Understanding whether such adaptation is already occurring is central to anticipating future climate damages, to calibrating the level of ambition needed for emissions mitigation […] The post Are We Adapting to Climate Change?...

Yes I will be doing another Conversation with him, in honor of his forthcoming book Polostan, which initiates a new series.  It is set in the 1930s, has some spies in it, and parts are set in the town of Magnetogorsk in the Ural mountains, as well as Montana and WDC in the U.S.  So […] The post What should I ask Neal Stephenson?...

1. How do Greenland sharks live for 400 years? (NYT) 2. John Cochrane on AI regulation.  Trenchant. 3. Uh-oh.  Which Commandment was broken here? 4. Have economists gone out of fashion in Washington? 5. Another look at Harriet Martineau. 6. Speed record smashed on the Appalachian trail. The post Wednesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         CommentsIn reply to H. Why is...