Platypus Economics with Justin Wolfers
@platypuseconomics.bsky.social
From world events to everyday decisions, economics explains it all. Platypus Economics makes it clear, useful, and actually fun. https://linktr.ee/platypuseconomics
Why do economists study everything from marriage to sports? Because economics isn't defined by what it studies. It's defined by how it thinks. New conversation with Larry Kotlikoff: 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
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
Tariffs. The Fed. GDP. A lot happened this week. We sort through what matters, what's mostly noise, and why the latest tariffs may be the dumbest round yet. New Off the Clock: newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/tariffs-ta...
Tariffs, Take Three: The Dumbest Round Yet
Plus Handsome Kevin's confusing presser and a disappointing GDP report
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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
Why would eligible families lose food assistance? This week's The Professor Is In explains the economics of administrative burdens, state incentives, and why policy design matters as much as policy intent. newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/how-snaps-...
How SNAP's New Rules Make Eligible Families Go Hungry
The Professor Is In
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Privacy isn't just a technology problem. It's an economics problem. Who owns your personal data? Who profits from it? And why don't you get a say? Read more: newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/a-primer-o...
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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 didn't raise interest rates today. But the biggest story wasn't the decision—it was how the Fed explained it. Why does that matter? Because expectations move markets, too. We break it down here: 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
Trade isn't a war where one country wins and another loses. So why do so many tariff arguments treat it that way? This week's Diving In breaks down five common mistakes in how we talk about trade. 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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Why start Platypus Economics? Because good economics shouldn't stay inside classrooms or academic journals. The Sydney Morning Herald tells the story behind the project: newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/some-thoug...
Some thoughts on reading a profile of yourself in your hometown paper
It's not a #humblebrag if you admit it.
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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
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
Tariffs can raise prices. But constantly changing tariffs do something worse: they make it harder for businesses to plan. The biggest economic cost may be the uncertainty. More on the latest chapter in America's tariff saga: 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
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
Tariffs aren't just taxes. They're also signals. When countries stop trusting each other's agreements, the economic damage can last long after the headlines fade. 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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Tariffs are taxes. Full stop. When the US puts a tariff on Canadian goods, the first person paying is the American importer, not the Canadian exporter.
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-
The White House changed its legal strategy on tariffs. It didn't change the economics. Here's why today's announcement looks different—but leads to many of the same economic problems. 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
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A recent conversation with @crampell.bsky.social got us thinking about prediction markets. What if a market rewards people with inside information? Today's Substack explores prediction markets, gambling, and why good economic ideas can go sideways. 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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Fewer people on food stamps is only good news if fewer people need help. That’s not what the evidence says. Unemployment was roughly flat, food prices rose, and surveys show families struggling to afford enough to eat. https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/one-big-beautiful-bill-one-big-ugly
The average SNAP recipient gets about $6 a day. That's not enough to live on. But when the car breaks down or work hours get cut, it can be the thing that keeps dinner on the table. https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/one-big-beautiful-bill-one-big-ugly
Economic policy isn’t just about numbers on a spreadsheet. It shapes whether families can afford groceries, whether states make it easier or harder to get help, and who wins and loses when Congress rewrites the rules. Our latest Diving In: newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/one-big-be...
Six Dollars a Day Is Disappearing For Millions
More than 4 million Americans have already lost food assistance
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People hear "tariff" and think the only effect is on imported goods. Not necessarily. Less competition is great if you're a monopolist, less great if you're a shopper. https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/why-trumps-new-tariff-is-bigger-than
This isn't just about Canada. It's a warning shot to every trading partner: even if you have a deal, retaliation may bring tariffs anyway. That makes deals less credible. https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/why-trumps-new-tariff-is-bigger-than
The White House says these tariffs are about cars, alcohol, and dairy. But the bigger story may be that America's trade deal with Canada no longer guarantees certainty. Our take on Trump's newest tariffs: newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/why-trumps...
Why Trump’s New Tariff Is Bigger Than Canada
Trump just hit Canada with a new set of 50% tariffs.
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