Why do economists study marriage, NBA referees, discrimination, and prediction markets? Because economics isn't defined by its subject matter. It's a toolkit. I had a terrific conversation with Larry Kotlikoff on Economics Matters. newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/economics-...

Economics Is Not a Subject—It's a Toolkit

My conversation with Larry Kotlikoff on why economics has no borders

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Markets don't just listen to the Fed's actions. They listen to what the Fed says it believes. When that message gets unclear, uncertainty fills the gap.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/tariffs-take-three-the-dumbest-round

This week on Off the Clock, @svaneksmith.bsky.social and I sort through economic headlines. Why are these tariffs especially bad? What did the Fed tell us? What should we make of the latest GDP report? newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/tariffs-ta... Watch then cast your vote in Chart vs. Chart.

Tariffs, Take Three: The Dumbest Round Yet

Plus Handsome Kevin's confusing presser and a disappointing GDP report

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The tariff strategy seems to be: stomp your feet, call your lawyers, declare victory. But that's not a strategy for designing good trade policy.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/tariffs-take-three-the-dumbest-round

This week on Off the Clock, @svaneksmith.bsky.social and I sort through economic headlines. Why are these tariffs especially bad? What did the Fed tell us? What should we make of the latest GDP report? newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/tariffs-ta... Watch then cast your vote in Chart vs. Chart.

Tariffs, Take Three: The Dumbest Round Yet

Plus Handsome Kevin's confusing presser and a disappointing GDP report

newsletter.platypuseconomics.com

When you ask states to reduce payment errors—but only count overpayments and underpayments as errors—guess what happens? States reject applicants they're unsure about because wrongful denials don't count against them.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/how-snaps-new-rules-make-eligible

Means-tested programs like SNAP are shaped not just by benefit levels, but by hassle. And hassle is regressive: it hits hardest when you lack a car, flexibility, cash, or time.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/how-snaps-new-rules-make-eligible

Last week I explained why over 4 million Americans are losing SNAP benefits. Today I'm answering your questions. Why do administrative hurdles matter? Why are children losing benefits? And why might states have incentives to deny eligible families? newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/how-snaps-...

How SNAP's New Rules Make Eligible Families Go Hungry

The Professor Is In

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Your inbox is overflowing. Your mailbox groans with catalogs. Your phone rings at dinner with robocalls. Blame the spammers, sure. But at a deeper level? It's all economics. 🧵 (newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/a-primer-o...)

A Primer on the Economics of Privacy

Your name is for sale. You ought to decide who to.

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Trump's top trade official is a lawyer. You can hear it in how he talks about trade. In this week's Diving In, I break down the assumptions behind the administration's tariff agenda—and why economists see trade very differently. newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-lawyer...

The Lawyer’s Theory of Trade

Trump’s top trade official gave a revealing interview. Here’s how an economist hears it.

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Trade isn't magic and it isn't charity. It's specialization. You make what you're relatively better at, I do the same, and the economy produces more as a result. That's the basic economic argument for trade.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-lawyers-theory-of-trade

The Fed held rates steady today. That's not what caught my attention. The bigger story is Kevin Warsh's approach to running the Fed: less guidance, less explanation, and a lot more uncertainty. Here's what today's decision really taught us: newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/steady-rat...

Steady Rates, Shaky Guidance

What today's decision — and the press conference after — taught us about the Warsh Fed

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“If they make more, we must be making less. If they export more, we must be losing.” ⁣ ⁣ That’s the zero-sum story in a nutshell. It’s also not how trade works.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-lawyers-theory-of-trade

Trump's top trade official is a lawyer. You can hear it in how he talks about trade. In this week's Diving In, I break down the assumptions behind the administration's tariff agenda—and why economists see trade very differently. newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-lawyer...

The Lawyer’s Theory of Trade

Trump’s top trade official gave a revealing interview. Here’s how an economist hears it.

newsletter.platypuseconomics.com

Laser focused on reducing the cost of living, from day one.

The point of a tariff is to make firms build factories at home. But if it's on Monday, off Tuesday, back on Wednesday, no one pours concrete. Chaotic tariffs give you all of the cost and almost none of the benefit.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/global-tariffs-are-back-did-they

A really fun write-up in my hometown newspaper of what I'm trying to do with Platypus Economics, written with that charming Aussie directness I was blessed to inherit. Give it a read! www.smh.com.au/world/north-...

Paperwork matters. Courts often give agencies more leeway when they've followed the required process, even if the underlying case is weak. Sometimes procedure ends up doing the heavy lifting.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/global-tariffs-are-back-did-they

The biggest cost of Trump's tariff policy isn't just higher prices. It's the uncertainty. Businesses can't invest when trade policy changes by the day. I joined The Fourcast to explain why: newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/global-tar...

Global Tariffs Are Back. Did They Ever Really Leave?

Trump discovers forced labor. No-one knows where.

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The mistake is thinking these tariffs mainly hurt Canada. They don't. Much of the cost ends up here at home, in the prices American households and businesses pay.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/should-canada-answer-trumps-tariffs

A really fun write-up in my hometown newspaper of what I'm trying to do with Platypus Economics, written with that charming Aussie directness I was blessed to inherit. Give it a read! www.smh.com.au/world/north-...

Trump ripped up NAFTA, replaced it with USMCA, then ripped that up too. Markets have little reason to trust this president's signature. ⁣ ⁣ So Canada should judge any deal by whether it serves their interests now.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/should-canada-answer-trumps-tariffs

Skip the armchair psychology on Trump's brain. Look at the incentives: the 10% global tariff truce expires this week, a new round is coming, and Canada's just small enough to rough up first as a warning shot.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/should-canada-answer-trumps-tariffs

The biggest cost of Trump's Canada tariffs isn't dairy. It's trust. Once businesses stop believing trade agreements will last, investment slows—and that's a much bigger economic problem than one tariff. More in this week's The Professor Is In: newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/should-can...

How should Canada respond to Trump's tariffs?

Good fences make good neighbors, but arbitrary tariffs aren't good fences

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As Trump returns to tariffs, it's worth checking out what we've gotten from the trade war so far.

SNAP penalizes states for paying the wrong amount.⁣ ⁣ But they don't penalize states for wrongly denying an eligible family.⁣ ⁣ Once you understand this, it's easier to see why the program has shrunk faster than expected.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/one-big-beautiful-bill-one-big-

Trump just announced the next phase of the trade war, with 10-12.5 percent tariffs on all of our major trading partners. I've got you covered with a deep dive into the law, economics, and politics of this latest episode of the Trump tariff saga: www.youtube.com/watch?v=896S...

Why Trump's Latest Tariffs Are Even Worse Than Before

YouTube video by Platypus Economics with Justin Wolfers

youtube.com

The White House just announced a new round of tariffs on more than 80 countries. The legal strategy changed. The economics didn't. Six weeks ago, I explained why these tariffs were coming—and why they'll still fail American consumers. newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/new-wrappe...

New Wrapper, Same Rotten Policy

These latest tariffs may pass muster with the courts, but will still fail America

newsletter.platypuseconomics.com

Trump just announced the next phase of the trade war, with 10-12.5 percent tariffs on all of our major trading partners. I've got you covered with a deep dive into the law, economics, and politics of this latest episode of the Trump tariff saga: www.youtube.com/watch?v=896S...

Why Trump's Latest Tariffs Are Even Worse Than Before

YouTube video by Platypus Economics with Justin Wolfers

youtube.com

I spent years defending prediction markets. A recent conversation with @crampell.bsky.social made me rethink that view. Here's why I'm marking my prediction-market enthusiasm to market. newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/i-champion...

I Championed Prediction Markets. Look What They’ve Become.

Marking my prediction-market enthusiasm to market—with Catherine Rampell

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