Happy Tax Day, New York. We’re taxing the rich.

🚨New Working Paper🚨 "Economists Should Fix the Economy" coming soon. I fielded a study, with NORC at the University of Chicago, that shows that 92% of Americans think economists should be involved in economic policy —they only disagree on how much. #EconSky

A new antitrust case against Vail and Alterra takes aim at Epic and Ikon pass pricing. Core issue: bundling + ecosystem power Cheap season passes, but very high day tickets → steering demand, locking in consumers, and squeezing independents dicellolevitt.com/dicello-levi...

DiCello Levitt, Co-Counsel File First Antitrust Class Action Against Vail Resorts and Alterra Over Epic and Ikon Ski Pass Pricing

DiCello Levitt, co‑counsel file first antitrust class action against Vail Resorts and Alterra, alleging inflated prices.

dicellolevitt.com

Small Benefit to US from Rising Oil Prices While the US produces far more oil today than in past shocks, a study of ‘22 shows price rises are just accumulated as profits rather than spent on labor or capex, creating little economic lift. bobeunlimited.substack.com/p/small-bene...

Earlier this week, I had the honor of breaking fast at Rikers Island with New Yorkers in custody. It was a night that will stay with me for quite some time.   In a system too often defined by what it takes, I was reminded of what it means to give—mercy, dignity, and humanity. Eid Mubarak, New York.

How many more American soldiers and Iranian civilians need to die before Democrats will drop their Epstein inquiry?

As climate change accelerates "fire weather," we are witnessing a global shift toward successional traps—dehydrated landscapes locked in a cycle of frequent, high-intensity burning. #climatechange #wildfire #firemanagement #hydrology #watermanagement #mesophication #bioticpump #deforestation

@rcsmitheco.bsky.social I concede, $100 may even be conservative.

Carney, on behalf of economists everywhere: “our plans are measured in centuries”

Care about Americans, employment, earnings, consumer prices, your local or our national economy? @usbls.bsky.social empowers us to better recognize these & make decisions. Consider signing onto Friends of BLS's new letter to Congress re its budget. And spread the word.

My co-author Charles Hodgson (Yale) is hiring a full-time pre-doc to work on projects focusing on the role of information externalities. The hired researcher will meet regularly with faculty and receive dedicated research training & career development skills. Application👇

Redfin: Over 40,000 U.S. home-purchase agreements were canceled in December, equal to 16.3% of homes that went under contract that month—the highest December percentage in records dating back to 2017. #EconSky

Incredibly useful blog post by the American Economic Association’s data editor on using and reusing code within the same project: https://aeadataeditor.github.io/posts/2024-07-19-functions-and-code-duplication

We are pleased to announce that a keynote speaker for the April Cambridge Disinformation Summit is 2001 Nobel Economist, Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz. Professor Stiglitz will discuss systemic economic risks from disinformation and from platforms that amplify or monetize disinformation.

The US dollar has tumbled to a four month low. #EconSky

The Trump administration has ordered work stoppages and layoffs and has tried cutting off funding to effectively dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

1 year into Trump's new term, an agency that protects your finances is 'hanging by a thread'

The Trump administration has ordered work stoppages and layoffs and has tried cutting off funding to effectively dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

n.pr

"Farm bankruptcies in the first half of 2025 exceeded the total for all of 2024. In October 2025, the gap between farmers’ production costs and the prices they received for their goods was the widest in a decade.... Erratic tariff policies squeeze farmers from both sides." #EconSky

USD as percentage of foreign currency reserves. Hoo boy. #EconSky

DOGE was A LOT less likely to cancel contracts from companies that donated money to Republicans than companies that donated to Democrats.

Important work using U.S. tax data shows businesses have absorbed minimum wage increases without affecting employment, and through higher revenue-likely reflecting price & productivity offsets. Also shows how reallocation towards more productive firms offers another margin of adjustment.

The Quarterly Journal of Economics@qjeharvard.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Recently accepted by #QJE, “Who’s Afraid of the Minimum Wage? Measuring the Impacts on Independent Businesses Using Matched U.S. Tax Returns,” by Rao (@nirupama.bsky.social) and Risch: doi.org/10.1093/qje/...

I'm told that HHS has just terminated all funding agreements with the American Academy of Pediatrics. Here's a letter HHS sent canceling one of the grants, relating to work on birth defects. Canceled because the project "emphasizes equity, diversity, and inclusion as key foundational components"

3rd JMP post! Maximiliano Garcia writes on Chile's water markets, showing legal rights are not enough. Local institutions are essencial for enforcement. Check it out: www.econthatmatters.com/2025/12/gove... #JMP #Econsky #ETRM

Governing Environmental Markets: Lessons from Chile’s experiment on water markets

This is our 3rd blog post for our Job Market Paper Series blog for 2025-2026. Maximiliano Garcia is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Brown University. His research interests lie at the intersec…

econthatmatters.com

In Sweden, corporate acquisitions lead to persistent earnings losses for workers. Wages fall, some workers are displaced, and the gains largely go to acquiring CEOs and shareholders. Employment and revenue stay flat. Profit rises because value is extracted from workers.

Speaking of great papers, check out this one on the role of the Rule of Law and economic development during the industrial revolution: cepr.org/system/files... #econsky

Giles@gdeejay.bsky.social · 9mo ago

An interesting paper on democratic backsliding in the US: (Link in comments) #econsky

Forthcoming in AEJ: Economic Policy: "The Effect of Deactivating Facebook and Instagram on Users’ Emotional State" by Hunt Allcott, Matthew Gentzkow, Benjamin Wittenbrink, et al. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...

The Effect of Deactivating Facebook and Instagram on Users’ Emotional State

(Forthcoming Article) - We estimate the effect of social media deactivation on users’ emotional state in two large randomized experiments before the 2020 U.S. election. People who deactivated Facebook...

aeaweb.org

I updated the Larry Summers dual-axis inflation graph.

something I've been thinking about if/when we retake power is we're really going to need to shock & awe the elites with accountability. hit em hard and fast. gotta break the entire system and don't give it time to regroup.

Inflation fears without inflation We will not get US October inflation data, but administration officials seem concerned about inflation perceptions www.ubs.com/global/en/we... #EconSky

Inflation fears without inflation

US October consumer price inflation should have been published today. It is unlikely the number will ever be calculated, because there was no one to collect the price data. This highlights a problem —...

ubs.com

Quick meme from the undergrads #econsky

Sean Brodrick@seanbrodrick.bsky.social · 9mo ago

The unemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-olds is 9.2%, its highest level since 2016. #EconSky

Do tariff cuts cut prices? Talk of lower tariffs on US imports from Switzerland might offer an important test case: do consumer prices fall when tariffs are reduced? www.ubs.com/global/en/we... #EconSky

Do tariff cuts cut prices?

Media reports suggest US importers may face a lower tariff on products from Switzerland (the suggestion is that the August 39% tariff becomes 15%). Swiss imports are a rather modest contribution to th...

ubs.com