~marginalrevolution | Bookmarks (545)

You will find it here.  Rick asked me to give him my account of Russian classical music, “standing on one foot” as you might say.  With musical clips as well, played on Rick’s sound system.  So we started with Rimsky and Mussorgsky, and the European and folk/peasant music traditions as contrasting influences in Russian music.  […] The post My Russian classical music podcast with...

He was a nineteenth century Belgian economist, wonderful to read, and still neglected as a thinker.  Here is one excerpt from a short open access book by Benoit Malbranque, now on line: Gustave de Molinari himself was perhaps as much a traveler, a journalist and an historian, as he was a political philosopher. In fact, […] The post Gustav de Molinari, the first libertarian?...

Here is part of the segment on AI: Given the potential for AI to exacerbate inequality, how can we redirect technology? We need to actively steer technological development in a direction that benefits broader swathes of humanity.  This require a pro-human approach that prioritises enhancing worker productivity and autonomy, supporting democracy and citizen empowerment, and […] The post Acemoglu interview with Times of India...

1. Casey Handmer on the exoplanet telescope. 2. What is England? 3. What is it like to work on a mega-yacht? 4. Income inequality and sexy selfies. 5. FT podcast with Mark Koyama and Jared Rubin on economic growth. 6. Cuban power grid collapses again. 7. A short genetic history of Ethiopia. The post Sunday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         CommentsIn...

Administrators cannot discuss panda illness, death, disease or “any other important matters” without first consulting with their Chinese partners, whose views “shall be fully respected.” “In cases where release of related information to the outside world or acceptance of media interviews is necessary, it shall be implemented only after communication and consultation between the parties […] The post What do panda rental contracts look...

A great little video on over-regulation. The post Musk on Sharks appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Click the icon below to watch.         CommentsIn reply to blue jay. No doubt, the specifics of the story ... by Mark BahnerIn reply to Mark Bahner. Regulation with detail often lags ... by SignalIn reply to Bob. How so? The NHS puts their physician times ... by...

Saudi Arabia is preparing to begin construction work on its next giga-project: a cube-shaped skyscraper big enough to fit 20 Empire State Buildings. The Mukaab will be 400-meters on each side when construction is finished, which would make it the largest built structure in the world. The building will be the centerpiece of New Murabba, a […] The post Saudi construction project of the day...

Although it is widely acknowledged that high-skilled teachers are integral to service quality and young children’s well-being in child care settings, little is known about the qualifications and skills of the child care workforce. This paper combines data from multiple sources to provide a comprehensive assessment of the quality of individuals employed in the child […] The post The Declining Relative Quality of the...

1. “China’s top police officer has made a rare comment on economic matters with a call for better risk management and stability.” 2. “Who is the C.E.O. of Boar’s Head?” (NYT) 3. A very narrow skyscraper for Dubai. 4. Is tennis moving toward higher-variance strategies? 5. Claims about hiring. 6. U.S. start-up for embryo selection. The post Saturday assorted links appeared first on Marginal...

A man used homemade explosives, some of which he dropped from drones, to attack or intimidate in a dispute rooted in local politics in a community in northern Maine, law enforcement officials said. No one was hurt. Joshua Brydon, 37, of Woodland, appeared in court this week after authorities say he set off explosives near […] The post The protest culture that is Maine...

Iran is one of the few countries in the world to have eliminated the shortage of kidneys. A useful new paper looks at what donors are like, First some background: The adoption of a regulated market mechanism for kidney procurement in Iran started in 1988 in the absence of sufficient posthumous donations (Ghods and Savaj, […] The post Iranian Kidney Donors appeared first on...

I am usually skeptical of such efforts, but Journal of Health Economics is quite a serious outlet: Community water fluoridation has been named one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century for its role in improving dental health. Fluoride has large negative effects at high doses, clear benefits at low levels, […] The post Fluoride revisionism? appeared first on Marginal...

This article reconciles conflicting views about the political landscape of corporate America with new data on the revealed political preferences of 97,469 corporate directors and executives at 9,005 different U.S. companies. I find that average ideology for these individuals has shifted meaningfully to the left over time, changing from modestly conservative in 2001 to roughly […] The post The Political Transformation of Corporate America,...

The Neom giga-project in Saudi Arabia is currently using one fifth of all the steel produced in the world, an official said on Monday. The futuristic city will be the world’s largest customer for construction materials for several decades, said Manar Al Moneef, Neom’s chief investment officer. She told the Global Logistics Forum in the King Abdullah […] The post Saudi claim of the day appeared...

1. Choose the right status hierarchies.  An excellent short essay. 2. How to solve America’s housing crisis. 3. Hugh Grant sides with Schelling and rebels against Adam Smith. 4. The new Sienese painting show at the Met (New Yorker). 5. Open Philanthropy looking for someone great to lead a new program on accelerating economic growth […] The post Friday assorted links appeared first on...

My values haven’t become more conservative — my desire for a more economically egalitarian and socially tolerant society has not diminished an iota. You won’t see me bellowing “I didn’t leave my party, my party left ME!!” and storming over to the GOP in a huff. But I have to say that I now doubt […] The post Noah Smith on the vibe shift...

That is the theme of my latest Bloomberg column, here is one excerpt: In the debates over Brexit almost a decade ago, it was periodically suggested that Britain’s higher trade barriers with the EU could lead to a beneficial upsurge in foreign direct investment, to serve the British market. So far Britain continues to languish […] The post Will Trumpian tariffs attract more foreign...

Toranj 10861 Lindbrook Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90024 Via Jeff Holmes.  And a little space birdy tells me that the best sandwich in LA is Roma Market, in Pasadena. The post The best fesenjan I’ve had in years appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         CommentsIn reply to Wisdom. Not disagreeing with your points but ... by Jim JordanIn reply to greg. Agreed! Was Roma...

1. Would a time machine make you a great investor? (WSJ) 2. Trialogues! 3. Valentina Goncharova song.  And the subversive music of Soviet Ukraine (NYT). 4. Paul Baran.  And Noah on AJR.  And Dylan Matthews. 5. Wisdom from Wemby. 6. Prussia fact of the day. The post Thursday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         CommentsIn reply to Neurotic. Call it sloth. Or...

By the 1950s, the Royal Society was asking reviewers to respond to standardized questions, including whether a study contained “contributions to knowledge of sufficient scientific interest” and simply whether the society should publish it. These questions could prompt brief responses even to significant pieces of work. Chemist Dorothy Hodgkin wrote barely 50 words when asked to review […] The post The early history of peer review...

I am a big fan of Musa’s work, most of all his new book We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite.  As for the podcast, here is the video, audio, and transcript.  Here is the episode summary: Tyler and Musa explore the rise and fall of the “Great Awokening” and […] The post My Conversation with Musa al-Gharbi appeared...

Recorded in August in Europe, here is the link.  One hour, forty-five minutes, mostly Rick asking me questions about what he would like to hear about from the worlds of economics and politics.  We do have I think also another one about music coming up… The post Rick Rubin podcasts with me appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments1 Hour and 40 minutes? You...

1. Why didn’t the U.S. employment rate rise much at the end of WWII? 2. Chip Mellor, RIP. 3. Why kids should read obituaries. 4. WSJ reviews Henry Oliver’s  Second Act. 5. Poland is now a larger exporter than Russia. 6. Cargo airships are happening. The post Wednesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         CommentsIn reply to JWatts. To be clear, I...

By Rohit Krishnan: Life in India is a series of bilateral negotiations conducted a thousand times a day. And that drives the character of life here. Now, I am seeing the country properly after several years. And it’s a major change. Visible infrastructure has gotten much better. Roads are good, well maintained, and highways are excellent. […] The post “Life in India is a series...