Mark Paul

Against Money A powerful deconstruction of humanity’s most influential invention, from the acclaimed economists J. W. Mason and Arjun Jayadev.   Money is unavoidably fundamental to our daily lives. It lurks behind ...

Coming this spring. press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

No surprise, this is very good. pluralistic.net/2025/09/27/e...

I’m honestly surprised by how resilient the economy has been these last few months. Any good pieces trying to tease out how much of that is driven by AI hype/investment?

Couldn't imagine a better team to work with!

Trump’s Domestic Use of Military Set to Get Worse, Leaked Memo Shows A Department of Homeland Security memo obtained by TNR signals top-level discussions about a potential escalation of the Pentagon’s domestic anti-immigration role, and lays out new details.

NEWS --> An internal Homeland Security memo suggests Trump's use of military for domestic enforcement is about to get worse. It details top-level talks between Defense Department and DHS on what this should look like. Experts say it's alarming.

We obtained the memo:
newrepublic.com/article/1987...

As I noted the other day, focusing on "targeting" policies like this is precisely what makes them 1) shitty policies and 2) politically unstable policies. bsky.app/profile/mark...

There is essentially NO evidence that rent control discourages construction. No study-NONE-has shown that rent control reduces housing supply. No study has found a causal link between rent control & reduction in construction. Studies that look at repeal of rent control don't find more construction.

a man with pink hair is standing in front of a refrigerator with the words so frustrating written on it . ALT: a man with pink hair is standing in front of a refrigerator with the words so frustrating written on it .

Today, @nealemahoney.bsky.social has a guest piece up on @jaredb-econ.bsky.social substack. It has some good insights on the affordability crisis. But then it notes "Q: how does rent control fit it here? A: it needs to be tightly targeted or it can discourage new construction". NUANCE plz.

Israel’s Endgame Is Obliterating Palestine Gaza is being deliberately starved. The West Bank is next.

"Unless Israel is stopped, Gaza will be bombed and starved until the entire population is either dead or shipped off somewhere. Then the West Bank will receive the same treatment." prospect.org/world/2025-0...

Strange - seems to be working fine for me now. Thanks for flagging

I wrote a thing on why economists are slowly starting to rethink their wrongheaded knee-jerk hatred of rent control. www.policylink.org/resources/pu...

"overconsumption of housing by tenants of rent controlled-apartments" is honestly a wild statement. We do have an "overconsumption of housing" problem, but tenants in rent-controlled apartments have absolutely nothing to do with it. For example, this 66k mansion owned by Gates is overconsumption

What Can Zohran Accomplish? - Dissent Magazine What distinguishes Zohran Mamdani's socialism is not its aims. It’s his willingness to take seriously the problem of how to get there.

This is an excellent piece, per usual, by @jwmason.bsky.social. One crucial point, which is a massive departure from how modern econs/policymakers are trained, is: "Legibility, simplicity, and universality are underrated virtues in policymaking" www.dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...

Anyone teaching a heterodox labor econ course and have a syllabus they're willing to share?

My least favorite task is writing rejection letters for journals. People work so hard, and I get that. And being a kind, thoughtful, and constructive reviewer is crucial. But getting a paper that just isn't it is painful all around.

Average home sizes are falling, and I think that's a good thing.

Multifamily construction is 🆙 but low-rent units are dwindling. We're losing low-rent units faster than we're building. And new units are expensive

Rent regulations are often pitted against supply. But as US hemorrhages affordable homes, rent regs are actually a path to *preserve* affordable supply

We need a part time Research Assistant to work on macroeconomic and distributional impacts of the UK’s Seventh Carbon Budget. Apply by 21 July.

“When analyzing a transition plan, we must ask:

“Is it really a transition? Does it have a plan to phase out fossil fuels? If not, then it’s not a transition, let alone a just one.”

@jmijin.bsky.social at amazing @cplusc.bsky.social book talk at @cornellilr.bsky.social’s Climate Jobs Institute.

Some of the best months of my life.

Times are troubling, but Zohran is a welcome light showing us what real leadership looks like. Can't wait for him to be the next Mayor of NYC.

Makes sense regarding administration!

I guess geriatric rent control is a thing. Patterson, NJ has a 5% rent cap unless the tenant is over 65, in which case it's 3.5%. Both caps are too high, to be clear, but an interesting approach that I can't say I'm sold on. www.patersonnj.gov/egov/documen...

Time to Focus on Economic Rights Since the November, 2024 election, I have talked with dozens of people facing eviction or enduring unsafe and unhealthy rental housing conditions.

New newsletter post highlights the important work of @markpaulecon.bsky.social on building economic rights. Free speech does not put food on the table for a family of five. The right to vote is not building a roof over the heads of our clients headed to sleep in shelters, cars, or the streets.

Well, it's official! I am now a TENURED associate professor of pub policy here at Rutgers! Couldn't have done it without my amazing family and my truly wonderful community of political economists. Let us continue to strive to not only interpret the world, but to change it. ✊

I always find it funny how people talk about the Dems as the party of "redistribution". I mean, this is some substantial redistribution of resources right here from the R's—it's just from the masses to the 1%

Very informative chart from Washington Post

The concentration of power continues.

The Climate Crisis Hits Tenants Hardest. They're Fighting Back. From California to North Carolina, tenants are organizing to demand protections from natural disasters.

Bee's home filled with ash during the wildfires. Holly pays $350/month to heat her studio apt.

Desperate for safety & change, both turned to a trusted source: the tenant union.

The climate crisis hits tenants hardest, but tenants are fighting back. I wrote about it in @shelterforce.bsky.social