Ray Fisman
@rfisman.bsky.social
Econ prof at BU. I mostly study hidden influence in U.S. politics (not so hidden these days). Some people call it corruption. I agree... https://sites.bu.edu/fisman/ Working on a book about whether business will save or destroy the world (Spoiler: Neither)
During a recent seminar visit, a number of people asked about use of AI in the refereeing process. Every AEA journal includes the following in the email you get after agreeing to do a review. If you have any doubts about what constitutes appropriate use, please ask!
Colleges and universities are going way too soft on policing AI, Tyler Austin Harper argues. “Institutions of higher learning can abandon their centuries-long educational project,” he writes. “Or they can fight.”
Universities Can Abdicate to AI. Or They Can Fight.
Too many school leaders have been reluctant to impose harsh penalties for unauthorized chatbot use.
bit.ly
For no obvious reason one of Kei Hirano's classic economics haikus just popped into my head. Apropo of nothing: T-stat looks too good. Use robust standard errors-- significance gone. I'm sure it could be updated to reflect modern methods.
Just published in @jpube.bsky.social: "The undoing of economic sanctions: Evidence from the Russia–Ukraine conflict" By @rfisman.bsky.social, Giovanna Marcolongo, & Meng Wu www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #econsky #publiceconomics
I have a friend who had a successful career as a politician. When he retired from politics, I asked him what he was happiest to get away from. Without a moment's pause he answered, "The constant lying." www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...
Speaker Johnson says he misspoke about Trump being an FBI informant in the Epstein case
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that he didn’t mean to suggest in a recent interview that Trump had or had not been an FBI informant in the case against disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
pbs.org
My 15 year old is proofreading my latest book manuscript. After the first paragraph he asked, “do people really consider you to be a good writer?” It’s only gone downhill from there.
Dev Econ people: I was trying to access the DHS data, and got the message below. Can anyone help and/or have ideas for access? Any suggestions much appreciated!
As a 4th of July special, here's another piece with @rfisman.bsky.social, on how some of the institutional features we used to think as protective of American democracy are now accelerating its decline. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
The Institutions Protecting US Democracy Have Turned Into Traps
America’s two-party system has long been intended as a barrier against an extremism. Polarization is making it an accelerant instead.
bloomberg.com
Dear Nippon Steel: You would be insane to buy US Steel with the current American government holding this much control: www.reuters.com/business/us-... Signed - someone who used to teach business in emerging markets, where this sort of thing happened a lot and rarely if ever ended well...1/2
Nippon Steel could offer Washington golden share to seal U.S. Steel deal, Nikkei reports
Nippon Steel is considering offering a so-called golden share in U.S. Steel to the U.S. government in order to finalise its long-sought acquisition of the iconic American firm, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday.
reuters.com
A bit of personal/professional news: I'm sad to be leaving the wonderful editorial team at @restatjournal.bsky.social now that my terms are up, but excited to be joining AEJ: Applied as editor in January. www.aeaweb.org/news/member-...
Annual Elections and Other Announcements
aeaweb.org
It's amazing that markets these days are so completely driven by whether the U.S. president says he'll do something completely unhinged, or says he *won't* do something completely unhinged.
The most jaw-dropping thing that came up in this week's Freakonomics story was Phil Zimbardo, in recounting the story of the Stanford Prison Experiment, casually mentioning that he'd just started dating his PhD student like it was no big thing, and the podcast just continuing without a beat.
A question about the proposed bill on stock trading in Congress (www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...). It wouldn't prevent someone from trading on macro news anyway, right? If I could have had inside info on tariff announcements, e.g., I still would've minted a fortune trading index funds.
congress.gov
A little story I once heard, on good authority, about Peter Navarro. Some faculty at UC Irvine joked back in 2016 that they hoped Trump would get elected because then they'd at least be rid of Navarro, who was then an econ professor there. 1/2
A serious question: Is Trump doing this just so politically-connected investors can profit from insider trading, or is that merely a side benefit?
Canadian economists (and others): I'm running a survey in Canada for the first time, and need to "translate" some U.S. questions. Could someone point me to what the equivalent of either/both of these would be?
Finally an idea that can unite us as a nation (the second sentence, not the first one)
On tariffs, straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Dear CEA: at least divide by 4. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/o...
Opinion | Why Trump’s Tariff Math Is a Joke
A look inside the administration’s methodology is a real eye-opener.
nytimes.com
Seems like it's worth asking again this morning...
Ray Fisman@rfisman.bsky.social · last yr.I guess we don't know how bad it could have been but...the CEA has what seem to be some serious and earnest people. How is it possible that this doesn't make them resign? (I won't name names but some seem more serious and earnest than others)
After the craziness of “Liberation Day”, I am forced to return to what @rfisman.bsky.social and I wrote the other day. Personalistic systems are subject to the whims of unconstrained rulers, and we’re seeing the results very, very fast… www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Once an Economy Switches from Rules to Deals, It’s Hard to Go Back
Americans of all political affiliations will miss the checks and balances that Donald Trump is trying to dispense with.
bloomberg.com
I guess we don't know how bad it could have been but...the CEA has what seem to be some serious and earnest people. How is it possible that this doesn't make them resign? (I won't name names but some seem more serious and earnest than others)
As @rfisman.bsky.social and I wrote this past weekend: the problem with personalistic systems is precisely that you’re hostage to the leader’s “instincts”, which may or may not be right… www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Once an Economy Switches from Rules to Deals, It’s Hard to Go Back
Americans of all political affiliations will miss the checks and balances that Donald Trump is trying to dispense with.
bloomberg.com
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last yr.REPORTER: Do you think the president should move forward tomorrow with tariffs? MIKE JOHNSON: Look, you have to trust the president's instincts on the economy
Check out the latest from @rfisman.bsky.social and myself, on why even those who like Republican policy goals (and/or think Elon Musk is a unique genius) should still be wary of where they are taking us. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Once an Economy Switches from Rules to Deals, It’s Hard to Go Back
Americans of all political affiliations will miss the checks and balances that Donald Trump is trying to dispense with.
bloomberg.com
