Alex Eble
@alexeble.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Economics and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University Development economist, enthusiast www.alexeble.com
say what you will about AI, always-on voice recording and auto dictation has been a game changer for my workflows. Save post and close app. Yeah Footlong meatball sub on white. No veggies. Don't toast it. Ranch and barbecue sauce. Yeah, ranch and bargecue sauce. More. More. Little more please
Millions of people are losing access to food benefits right now for literally no good reason and I wish more people were aware and talking about it. www.cbpp.org/research/foo... (As opposed to or at least in addition to the other stuff.)
SNAP Tracker: People Are Losing Food Assistance as the Republican Megabill Is Implemented
SNAP participation nationwide fell by more than 4 million people (nearly 10 percent) between the law’s July 2025 enactment and March 2026, based on the latest month of data.
cbpp.org
"Better information, simpler applications, and clearer aid promises can move students toward higher-quality colleges. But they cannot create more high-quality seats." You can say the same about mentoring, advising, and pipeline programs. www.nber.org/papers/w35434
Degrees of Mobility: Shifting Low-Income Students to Higher Quality Colleges
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
nber.org
The world would be significantly better if meta ceases to exist
Meta says US states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties in August youth safety trial
Meta Platforms said in a court filing on Monday that four states were seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties over accusations the company designed its Facebook and Instagram platforms to addict young us...
reuters.com
It’s New Foods Day for the Minnesota State Fair and this, to me, is the promise of America www.mnstatefair.org/new/food
Asking how people can partake in joyful acts during a period of immense suffering leads me to believe this is your first time at the suffering rodeo.
The next president should drive a General Grant
NERV IRB Coordinator@professormusgrave.bsky.social · last mo.Bobby “Loser” Lee
Yes, self promotion sucks, academics, but if you don’t do it nobody will find out about your work. The point is to publish and be read, not publish and hope you are discovered by fate, lifted out of a humble and pure obscurity so that you may be both famous and retiring
Since we're heading into academic job market season, a reminder: I've collected some advice (esp. for new grads): www.paul-bruno.com/2021/07/tips... And reach out if you'd like to set up a time to chat about the job market and how to navigate it. I'm not an expert by any means, but happy to talk.
Some Basic Tips About the Academic Job Market – Paul Bruno
paul-bruno.com
📢 Call for submissions: Columbia Gender in the Global Economy Conference! For economists in any subfield working on the role of gender in the economy. 📍 Columbia University, NYC 🗓️ Oct 30, 2026 ⏰ Deadline: July 15, 2026 Assistant profs & postdocs especially encouraged 👇
The stated cost of the Iran war ($25 billion so far) now exceeds the 2024 annual budget for USAID ($22 billion). What better summary of current US foreign policy? Trump and Elon left hundreds of thousands left to die of preventable illnesses, and spent the money on a pointless war of choice.
What $25 Billion Spent on the War in Iran Really Means (Gift Article)
It exceeds the annual budgets of numerous federal agencies, and the Pentagon’s yearly budget for munitions.
nytimes.com
Fidelity administers University of California retirement funds. I bet those involve a lot of money.
Ron Lieber@ronlieber.bsky.social · 3mo agoBREAKING: Fidelity won't let customers donate to the SPLC anymore via their charitable gift/donor-advised funds, citing Trump admin indictment of SPLC. No response yet from Schwab, Vanguard... but soon. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/b...
Issues with spatial spillovers in staggered DD designs: Exhibit A
Todd Jones@toddrjones.bsky.social · 3mo agoPercent of Workers Working in Their Home State, by County.
listen hun if you can't handle the Washington Post editorial board at their the Texas gerrymander "freakout" is "not a threat to democracy" you don't deserve them at their "Virginia plunges America deeper into the gerrymandering abyss"
Simple rule: the Senate should not confirm any appointee to any post who can’t say clearly who legitimately won the 2020 presidential election. Not just who was “installed”, but who won the vote and the electoral college.
We've launched In Development! It is aiming to be the New Yorker for global development. We want to promote discourse on development without dogma - stories doing deep-dives into pressing development issues, backed up by evidence, argument, and experience. Subscribe here: indevelopmentmag.com
In Development
evidence and argument for a developing world
indevelopmentmag.com
Great day to make some calls to your elected representatives. Got through to actual people on 2 of my 3 calls. 5calls.org/issue/stop-i...
No War With Iran (UPDATED 4/7) ⭑ 5 Calls
Updates April 7, 2026: Trump has openly threatened to obliterate “a whole civilization” if Iran does not agree to a deal. Given these repeated, …
5calls.org
"Israel" doesn't start with a J.
Madeline Peltz@peltzmadeline.bsky.social · 4mo agoNYT: young people at CPAC are "J-pilled," defined as slang for "skepticism of Israeli influence" Then a few grafs later they quote a groyper who says "at least 60 percent of the young people here" are fans of Nick Fuentes, who wants to deport all Jews from America www.nytimes.com/2026/03/30/s...
Tomorrow, at the @aefpweb.bsky.social conference in Chicago! #AEFP2026 #econsky #edusky
Todd Pugatch@toddpugatch.bsky.social · 5mo agoIt's @aefpweb.bsky.social Conference week! The EdDev community group will host a panel on "How to Conduct Education Research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries," Friday March 20, 2:45-4:15pm. All are welcome! #econsky #edusky
Check out Virginia’s language that restricts teaching Jan 6 as a day of peace and love
ILuvPolitix@iluvpolitix.bsky.social · 5mo agoHere's the language.
An ICE detainee in Arizona has died of a TOOTH INFECTION after it went untreated for weeks, a local official says. He was a Haitian asylum seeker imprisoned in Florence, Arizona. @emilybregel.bsky.social reports. tucson.com/news/local/b...
Florence ICE detainee dead after untreated tooth infection, official says
An ICE detainee, who had been at a Florence detention center for four months, died Monday following an untreated tooth infection.
tucson.com
In case you wondered how trustworthy even “respectable” UK right-leaning media might be….
Liam Thorp@liamthorp.bsky.social · 5mo agoThis IPSO adjudication against the Telegraph is quite something Confirms their story titled: ‘We earn £345k, but soaring private school fees mean we can’t go on five holidays’ was completely fabricated, with the family involved non-existent and stock pictures used www.ipso.co.uk/rulings/0210...
This is a graph of the death of US science.
Jeremy Berg@jeremymberg.bsky.social · 5mo agoNSF Update (Awards through 2/27/26) Directorates to follow 1/10
This is crowdsourced data on reports of ICE activity. Note further that California has 6.7X people as MN. www.startribune.com/is-ice-reall...
