Mark Hallerberg

Many congrats to Joel Mokyr for being selected as one of the winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics. His work on technology and economic growth inspired me some years ago as a grad student. He is one of the shining lights working in Economic History.

These guys have gotten incredibly rich by fleecing the government with subpar tech that was designed for rentseeking rather than performance. A smart Dem agenda item would be to build internal tech capacity. The fact that it would punish these guys is just a silver lining.

German Finance Minister Klingbeil speaks at the Jacques Delors Centre at Hertie concerning Germany‘s role in Europe. He said the right things about the need for what would amount to a capital markets union.

is

Is the Bread in Europe Better for You?

Interesting article, but something is missing here. German breads are more complex, often having little to no wheat in them. A bakery near us replaced all wheat with spelt. More generally white bread is rare. This may also explain the difference with the US. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/w...

Welcome @epssnet.bsky.social ! I plan to be in Belfast at the first conference next year.

The DFG Excellence Cluster @scripts-berlin.eu is hiring a key member of staff, our Managing Director. This person will work with a great group of academics across Berlin, including with me. Note that one needs both German and English. More here: www.fu-berlin.de/universitaet...

Berlusconi appointed himself as Treasury Minister. He even attended an ECOFIN meeting in this role. Why not an American President as Fed Chair? Especially one who has a lot of parallels to Berlusconi? (Just to be clear—I do NOT think this is a good idea. But Trump‘s comment does not surprise me.)

We are opening three full professor positions in beautiful Innsbruck!

Absolutely grotesque abuse of government power. Lying to educators in order to entrap children. No wonder they want to hide their identity.

This makes me so angry. You don’t call in the National Guard on a peaceful protest. A protest the THE POLICE say is a peaceful protest.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zur Förderung Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)!

SCRIPTS widmet sich der Erforschung der aktuellen Herausforderungen und verschärften Auseinandersetzungen, denen liberale Gesellschaftsmodelle weltweit ausgesetzt ist. Ziel ist es, die Ursachen, Dynamiken und Konsequenzen dieser Entwicklungen aus globaler, vergleichender und historischer Perspektive zu analysieren. In der zweiten Förderphase liegt der Schwerpunkt auf der Resilienz demokratischer Gesellschaftsmodelle.

SCRIPTS vereint die Expertise von fünf führenden Berliner Forschungseinrichtungen und fördert die interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit von Wissenschaftler*innen aus verschiedenen Fachbereichen. Neben der Forschung legt SCRIPTS großen Wert auf den Wissensaustausch mit der Gesellschaft und Politik. Durch öffentliche Veranstaltungen, Vortragsreihen und Ausstellungen, Workshops und Hintergrundgespräche werden Forschungsergebnisse einem breiten Publikum ebenso wie politischen Entscheidungsträger*innen zugänglich gemacht.

#Vorgestellt: Erforschen, wie die liberale Gesellschaftsordnung 🗽 als Grundlage der #Demokratie global und regional herausgefordert wird – dem widmet sich @scripts-berlin.eu : einer der fünf Berliner #Exzellenzcluster, die ab 2026 durch die @dfg.de gefördert werden. @freieuniversitaet.bsky.social

Great speech at the #HertieSchool from Christine Lagarde on what it would take for the euro to overtake the dollar as the world’s main reserve currency

Good news!

Japan to hold out for better trade deal with US Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s unpopular government fears concessions could prompt electoral backlash

Japan and the EU are holding out for a fair, balanced deal with Trump even if it takes months. First to the finish line doesn’t always mean victory, as the UK showed by sealing a quick deal in which it caved to many US demands.
on.ft.com/42XHzCW

Noch immer kommen Menschen zur Skalitzer Straße 32 in #Kreuzberg, legen Blumen nieder, zünden Kerzen an - und erinnern an Margot #Friedländer, die hier mit ihrer Familie lebte, bis am 20. Januar 1943 die Gestapo kam und sie sich im Untergrund verstecken musste.

So per @georgeeaton.bsky.social's useful insider account, it seems Labour's theory of growth is the Swedish export model of the late 20th century, which relied on squeezing low productivity manufacturing firms out of business so as to keep exports competitive. Quite bold for a service-led economy.

Don't miss out on this! We are very delighted to welcome Christine Lagarde at @delorsberlin.bsky.social on Monday, 26 May for a keynote speech on Europe's role and economic leadership in a fragmented world.

Seats are limited, link for registration here: www.delorscentre.eu/en/events-at...

Remaking America

To start off our new event series “Remaking America?” with @scripts-berlin.eu, we will welcome Mark DiPlacido on 15 May to discuss Donald Trump's tariffs & 🇺🇸 #trade policy. His remarks will be further discussed with @mhallerberg.bsky.social & the event moderated by @thousandfriend.bsky.social.

USDA withdraws a plan to limit salmonella levels in raw poultry The Agriculture Department says it is withdrawing a plan to limit salmonella bacteria in poultry products.

"The Agriculture Department will not require poultry companies to limit salmonella bacteria in their products, halting a Biden Administration effort to prevent food poisoning from contaminated meat."

www.seattletimes.com/business/usd...

France and Germany unveil Docs, a homegrown alternative to Google Docs The Trump administration has set out to drastically reshape the relationship between the US and Europe. In response, Brussels is scrambling to adapt to this new reality,...

Tech is where Europe is most vulnerable. Initiatives like this one are a good start.

57% of Britons would rather have the EU as a close trading partner than the US, amid suggestion that closer alignment with Europe could endanger a trade deal with the US

EU: 57% (+4 from 21 Jan)
US: 16% (-5)

yougov.co.uk/topics/econo...

Leading Harvard scientist ordered to halt research in funding freeze - The Boston Globe Researchers may have to kill macaques, a kind of primate used in a vaccine study, due to the order.

A top scientist at Harvard who has spent years unraveling the mysteries of tuberculosis woke up Tuesday morning and discovered an order from the federal government telling her to halt her research.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/15/m...

This is very cool. I hope others copy this excellent work, and that we all learn from greater data transparency

This agreement on the citizenship laws is a big deal, and the right decision. It is also against what Merz said on the campaign.

Finally, we are stepping up our work to lift barriers in our own single market. This crisis has made one thing clear: in times of uncertainty, the single market is our anchor of stability and resilience.

(S+) Meinung: Demokratie in Gefahr: Es braucht Disruption – aber ohne Kettensäge! Union und SPD scheinen immer noch zu zögern, statt visionär zu denken. Um die künftigen Herausforderungen zu meistern, sollten die Koalitionäre die »German Angst« überwinden.

Excellent piece from @andrearoemmele.bsky.social in @spiegel.de today. Indeed, time to change the status quo in Germany’s democracy

Banner für Event 100 Tage Trump II. Redner*innen sind Benjamin Braun, Laura von Daniels, Mark Hallerberg, Clara Weinhardt, und Daniel Mügge. Moderator: Thomas Rixen

What has Trump's 2nd term delivered in terms of economic policy so far? Join the discussion on 11/4, 1pm at the Hertie School. With @benbraun.bsky.social @mhallerberg.bsky.social @claraweinhardt.bsky.social and other experts: 100 Tage Trump II: Eine erste Bilanz der neuen Wirtschaft | Hertie School

„Germany and Europe need to become more independent from other continents. Also in the field of health“ —Berlins Mayor Kai Wegner at the New Year Reception at Charité in Berlin

This is an important point. If this all morphs into a financial crisis the nature of the game is different, and more dangerous. The question is whether Trump can calm markets. The response might have to come from the Fed.