Small steps towards a much better world. Automated feed of https://marginalrevolution.com/, find more feeds at @blogsky.venki.dev
More math breakthroughs from GPT models - Marginal REVOLUTION
More math breakthroughs from GPT models - Marginal REVOLUTIONThe cost of generating the proofs for all 10 of these breakthroughs combined was under $2,000 at Sol API prices. We’re excited to see what scientists and researchers are able to create with our upcoming Astra models! That is from Noam Brown, at the link you will find his list of the ten breakthroughs. Here […]marginalrevolution.comImmigration and Macroeconomic Outcomes in OECD Countries - Marginal REVOLUTION
Immigration and Macroeconomic Outcomes in OECD Countries - Marginal REVOLUTIONOECD countries experienced declining native population growth and rising net immigration over 1990-2024. We compile a new dataset of net immigration rates to OECD countries from all origins and show that most of the increase came from non-OECD countries and was predominantly high-skilled. Push factors, network effects, and policy indices explain little of the large […]marginalrevolution.comEmergent Ventures India, 18th cohort - Marginal REVOLUTION
Emergent Ventures India, 18th cohort - Marginal REVOLUTIONAdithyan Madhu, 14, an independent researcher, received his grant to study early writing systems, applying computational linguistics, pattern analysis, and structural methods to the Indus Valley script. Aparajeet Shadangi, 17, received his grant to explore conceptual approaches to cosmic expansion and dark energy while continuing his formal academic preparation in cosmology. Kevin Gibson, a student […]marginalrevolution.com*Redefining Global Health in the 21st Century* - Marginal REVOLUTION
*Redefining Global Health in the 21st Century* - Marginal REVOLUTIONWhile donor-driven programs undoubtedly saved millions of lives, they also created unintended distortions in national health priorities. Many governments in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia actually scaled back domestic health investments, as donor program filled key gaps in HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, and infectious disease control. In some cases, domestic health budgets shrank […]marginalrevolution.comFriday assorted links - Marginal REVOLUTION
Friday assorted links - Marginal REVOLUTION1. Tokenizing the value from compute? 2. Will they ruin the look of Dulles airport? 3. Pathways into homelessness. 4. Defensible valuations for AI companies. 5. Further reasons why very rapid economic growth is very difficult to achieve. 6. Over 20,000 precolonial earthworks in the Southwest Amazonia.marginalrevolution.comAn unprecedented weapon? - Marginal REVOLUTION
An unprecedented weapon? - Marginal REVOLUTIONI wonder if England had a “pause” movement back then: Trebuchets reached the peak of their development in medieval times, probably the most famous example being Edward I’s massive machine, Warwolf. This terrifying device was over sixty feet (18 meters) high and was capable of throwing a three-hundred-pound (140-kilogram) rock several hundred years, projecting some […]marginalrevolution.comThe wisdom of Eli Dourado - Marginal REVOLUTION
The wisdom of Eli Dourado - Marginal REVOLUTIONHow do “international efforts” work? Unlike most of the signatories of the letter, I have been a State Department advisor and have participated in multiple treaty negotiations. I have also been a member of technical committees for UN technical agencies. The international sector is unbelievably dysfunctional. Every single treaty or international agreement is an opportunity […]marginalrevolution.comThe Anatomy of Cyber Risk - Marginal REVOLUTION
The Anatomy of Cyber Risk - Marginal REVOLUTIONThis paper uses computational linguistics to introduce a novel measure of firm-level cyber risk exposure based on the quarterly earnings calls of listed firms. Our measure covers more than 14,000 firms from over 90 countries between 2003 and 2025. The measure is validated using human auditors and a large language model. We show that cyber […]marginalrevolution.comThursday assorted links - Marginal REVOLUTION
Thursday assorted links - Marginal REVOLUTION1. Joshua Rothman on lookism. 2. Young adults are using AI to manage their social media feeds (WSJ). 3. What predicts an NBA Achilles tear? 4. LLM data set on changing cultural trends over the centuries. 5. Xi’an Famous Foods is coming to Clarendon. 6. If a German expressionist movie director had filmed a silent […]marginalrevolution.comThe Endangered Species Act Reduces Housing - Marginal REVOLUTION
The Endangered Species Act Reduces Housing - Marginal REVOLUTIONMax Tabarrok’s paper on the Endangered Species Act and housing (WP) has just been published in the Journal of Public Economics! It’s a clever paper: Max observed that the moment an animal is put on the endangered species list, developers face enhanced compliance costs and liability risk. But what’s important for an empirical economist is […]marginalrevolution.comAn experiment for our schools - Marginal REVOLUTION
An experiment for our schools - Marginal REVOLUTIONSchools in at least three states will be equipped with drones this year that can zoom through halls, smash windows and pepper-spray active shooters if teachers report a threat. At least nine schools — three in Florida, five in Georgia and one in Colorado — will have storage boxes that house the plastic, nonlethal aircraft […]marginalrevolution.comForty interesting facts about Australia - Marginal REVOLUTION
Forty interesting facts about Australia - Marginal REVOLUTIONAustralia was the richest country on earth, per capita, for decades. After the 1850s gold rush, up until the 1890s depression, Australia had the highest per capita income in the world. In 1850, probably only the United Kingdom and the Netherlands sat above Australia, by about 20 per cent, with the United States 9 per cent […]marginalrevolution.comReforms to the PhD? - Marginal REVOLUTION
Reforms to the PhD? - Marginal REVOLUTIONThe Trump administration is pairing top universities with corporate giants in an effort to steer traditional PhD programs toward national scientific priorities. Today, the White House and National Science Foundation are announcing a $47 million pilot program to fund around 250 four-year doctorates in technical fields, starting this fall. Students in the pilot will be […]marginalrevolution.comWhat should I ask Jared Diamond? - Marginal REVOLUTION
What should I ask Jared Diamond? - Marginal REVOLUTIONYes, I will be doing a Conversation with him. His whole career is fair game, though many of my questions will cover his forthcoming book Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings (When) Do Leaders Matter? From the Amazon summary: “Now, in Profits, Prophets, Coaches and Kings, he studies leaders throughout time to answer the question: do the actions […]marginalrevolution.comWednesday assorted links - Marginal REVOLUTION
Wednesday assorted links - Marginal REVOLUTION1. Mark Zuckerberg on our AI future (WSJ). 2. Claims about beauty (recommended). 3. 26 charts of Australia in trouble. 4. Hans Moravec interview (right now ungated?). 5. Those new service sector therapist jobs end the fertility crisis too. 6. The Routledge Handbook of Classical Liberalism. 7. Profile of Reihan Salam (NYT).marginalrevolution.comData on Chinese innovation - Marginal REVOLUTION
Data on Chinese innovation - Marginal REVOLUTIONChina’s technological progress in recent decades has been viewed with admiration, alarm, and (in some cases) doubt. To better understand the Chinese innovation ecosystem, we compile a dataset of almost 14 million domestic Chinese patent publications. We focus on the subset of critical technologies identified by the U.S. Department of Defense. Several surprising patterns emerge […]marginalrevolution.comYou will learn to love AI writing - Marginal REVOLUTION
You will learn to love AI writing - Marginal REVOLUTIONThat is the theme of my latest Free Press article, excerpt: But do I wish to eschew AI writing for the rest of my life? Absolutely not. Most of all, I want AI writing to get better, so it does not irritate me with its clichés and all too obvious identifying marks. I want AI writing […]marginalrevolution.comCongratulations to Ross D. and others - Marginal REVOLUTION
Congratulations to Ross D. and others - Marginal REVOLUTIONRoss Douthat, an opinion columnist at The New York Times, is leaving to join the CBS News program “60 Minutes” as a correspondent, the show’s executive producer said in a memo to staff on Tuesday. Mr. Douthat is among a group of journalists joining for the show’s 59th season, which will premiere on Sept. 13. […]marginalrevolution.comTuesday assorted links - Marginal REVOLUTION
Tuesday assorted links - Marginal REVOLUTION1. The economics of personal holding companies, including in the Nordics. 2. Jongkuch Mach is a good name for a very tall basketball player. 3. Can AI predict who will be the most important philosopher in 2046? For economics, the top pick of GPT Pro is Ludwig Straub, second choice is Stefanie Stantcheva. I like […]marginalrevolution.comThe Apples and Oranges Tribunal - Marginal REVOLUTION
The Apples and Oranges Tribunal - Marginal REVOLUTIONSuppose that apples sell for more than oranges and Parliament in it’s wisdom decides that, at last, apples and oranges must be compared. Not by shoppers — shoppers are biased, they merely reveal what they are willing to pay — but by a tribunal, which will determine whether apples and oranges are of truly equal […]marginalrevolution.com