varot tejavanija @VTejavanija

This week’s review! — beginning a medieval odyssey with Chris Wickham’s mammoth book, Framing the Early Middle Ages. Taxes, demesnes, slaves, and why Britain really dropped the ball in the 5th century. Check it out below! 👇

On Old Twitter there was a big, long exchange on why African wages (facing export manufacturers) were so high (compared with e.g. Bangladesh). One answer was, African staple food prices were so high. A brilliant paper addressing that issue historically over the 20th century:

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Jedwab & Vollrath is *historically* the better explanation for "urbanisation without development" than Glaeser, because -- whilst openness is required for this -- demographic changes post-1945 were much bigger than changes in the ability to import food grains to feed the cities.

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Pseudoerasmus @pseudoerasmus

a month ago

Jedwab & Vollrath is *historically* the better explanation for "urbanisation without development" than Glaeser, because -- whilst openness is required for this -- demographic changes post-1945 were much bigger than changes in the ability to import food grains to feed the cities. https://t.co/26QBoicmeP

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There have been several recent papers which might be called the ‘Economic History of Science’ but I think this new one is the first true thoroughbred to dash out of the starting stall: A network analysis tracing how discrete scientific ideas diffused amongst scholars through…

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Great model-narrative of how the USA has switched from being the low-cost systemic-insurance provider for the international capitalist order (where the global benefits exceed the sheerly local benefits for the USA), to being a Sopranoid protection racket extracting rents in…

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Adam Posen @AdamPosen

3 weeks ago

Great model-narrative of how the USA has switched from being the low-cost systemic-insurance provider for the international capitalist order (where the global benefits exceed the sheerly local benefits for the USA), to being a Sopranoid protection racket extracting rents in… https://t.co/bxAHtOfF7s

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The 1960s saw warnings of mass starvation as world populations stretched food systems. But the Green Revolution – new improved crop varieties and fertilizers/pesticides – increased food yields dramatically and averted crisis. I revisited its impact after 60 years: 🧵

Probably my spiciest China take: The one child policy was draconian, but it did the most to balance out Chinese misogyny (which is very extreme, sorry y'all Westerners have no idea), for which I am very grateful, as I personally benefitted from it, as did all Chinese millennial…

1/ A 23-part thread on China's one-child policy (1CP). Mostly things all China historians and China watchers know well but others may not.

Alec Stapp @AlecStapp

a week ago

1/ A 23-part thread on China's one-child policy (1CP). Mostly things all China historians and China watchers know well but others may not.

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1/9 I am thrilled to share that the core of my PhD dissertation has been published in the Journal of Comparative Economics. 🎉 The paper addresses a fundamental question in economic policy: Is free trade good for growth? The answer is not always. 👉 sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

✨Did markets make Americans more cooperative❓🔍 ✅YES‼️ Between 1850 and 1920, the US became the largest and most integrated economy in the world 📶🌎 We show that this shift didn’t just move goods and affect prices—it fundamentally changed culture and behavior 🧵 👇 1/17

As several people requested, I am posting the video of Lecture 1 | Economic Thought from Aristotle to Scholasticism: youtu.be/AcRGlVCJP_g?si… All future videos will be posted here: sites.google.com/view/foundatio… Thanks!

Courtship was such a hugely important part European culture, where young men and women had to charm and woo, convince their desire that they were up to snuff. Young women were optimizing amid patriarchal constraints, taking the initiative to select for care & devotion.

The title of this @joerogan clip from #1945 is literally: "We might be faking a UFO situation." OBVIOUSLY. As I have said before, "When we do something secret and cool, we generally pair it with something fake." This is standard operating proceedure (e.g. Operation Overlord…

New York Post @nypost

3 months ago

The title of this @joerogan clip from #1945 is literally: "We might be faking a UFO situation." OBVIOUSLY. As I have said before, "When we do something secret and cool, we generally pair it with something fake." This is standard operating proceedure (e.g. Operation Overlord…

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Some of the most famous and important inventions - the incandescent light, the car, the jet engine, the steam turbine - were independently invented by multiple inventors. This week on Construction Physics, I look at how common multiple invention is. construction-physics.com/p/how-often-do…

Europe’s population was 7 million How did 4000 steppe-herder Indo-Europeans get the upper hand and become linguistically dominant?? My hypotheses: they raised men’s status, strengthened camaraderie via drinking, and forged bonds of brotherhood.

“What is free speech?” by Dabhoiwala is the best book I’ve read in 2025. It’s tremendous, fascinating, & will rock your priors. This isn’t the standard story from Econ or Political Science, it’s really about ideas! Get it! And form a book club to discuss!! 🗣️

I read the entire 340 page "AI Trends" report by legendary investor Mary Meeker which was released 48 hours ago. Mary used to publish the famous annual “Internet Trends” before most of us were born - her insights are invaluable. Sharing 10 takeaways from this report ⤵️

Every industry has 1 book that will teach you 90% of what you need to know about it. Here are the 20 best books in 20 different industries: (ranging from automotive to venture capital)

Mass immigration from low-trust, poor countries will be one of those things future generations wonder about — how something objectively disastrous, by every social, cultural, and economic metric, was allowed to happen with great enthusiasm.

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William Meijer @williameijer

3 months ago

Mass immigration from low-trust, poor countries will be one of those things future generations wonder about — how something objectively disastrous, by every social, cultural, and economic metric, was allowed to happen with great enthusiasm. https://t.co/FTgYK9mcIa

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I’m sharing my slide deck on the demographic future of humanity, 🔗 Slides: sas.upenn.edu/~jesusfv/Slide… prepared for the keynote address I will give tomorrow to the 7th EBRD and CEPR Research Symposium on “The Economics of Demographic Change”: 🔗 Symposium: ebrd.com/home/news-and-……