Chris Severen

is quoting macbeth in an econ paper a good idea or a bad idea? i mean, it's october...

The program for our upcoming annual North American meeting is up: urbaneconomics.org/meetings/uea....

#UEA2025, hosted by Université du Québec à Montréal, features keynotes by Cecile Gaubert & Keith Head and 60+ paper sessions.

To register, visit editorialexpress.com/conference/nauea2025/

August 1, 2025 AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION Committee on Economic Statistics and Committee on Government Relations Statement from the American Economic Association on the Dismissal of the BLS Commissioner Leaders of the American Economic Association express their grave concern over the dismissal of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) earlier today. The independence of the federal statistical agencies is essential to the proper functioning of a modern economy. Accurate, timely, and impartial statistics are the foundation upon which households, businesses, and policymakers make critical decisions. Undermining the independence or credibility of these agencies threatens the integrity of the information that markets, institutions, and the public rely on every day. Measuring the vast and dynamic U.S. economy in real time is inherently challenging. It is standard practice for statistical estimates to be revised as more complete and higher-quality data become available. These revisions reflect the commitment of statistical agencies to accuracy, transparency, and methodological rigor-not failure or bias. The BLS has long had a well-deserved reputation for professional excellence and nonpartisan integrity. Safeguarding this tradition is vital for the continued health of the U.S. economy and public trust in our institutions. We call upon elected officials to respect and preserve the independence of the nation's statistical infrastructure. Lawrence Katz President, American Economic Association Katharine Abraham President-Elect, American Economic Association Karen Dynan Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Economic Statistics Kenneth Troske Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Government Relations

Statement from the largest economics association about the BLS firing

As context: AEA approximately never makes such public statements

This is a big deal

Dr. Erika McEntarfer has devoted her career to public service. She has conducted herself as BLS Commissioner with great integrity. There is no evidence whatsoever that BLS data are politically biased.

#econsky

welp there goes the credibility of US labor statistics... as soon as you fire the head of a stats agency for not producing stats that you like, you inject bias into how all future numbers are interpreted (and reported).

the best way to respond imo lol

i love doing research, but... currently on a 13 strike rejection streak. it's sometimes not a very rewarding or validating profession.

Research Assistant/Sr. Research Assistant Company Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Job Description Summary Research assistants (RAs) at the Philadelphia Fed play a key role in the Economic Research Department. Whether they are helping eco...

I am looking for a research assistant to work with me on the development of U.S. housing markets. Experience with ArcGIS, Stata useful. We build datasets that allow us to understand housing affordability, the impacts of transit and zoning, and more:
rb.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/FRS/jo...

spent some time calling ☎️ PA state house / senate members over proposed ✂️ to SEPTA transit 🚅 funding, and I have to say, it was cool to speak to actual ppl in the those offices

Philadelphia Fed Mentoring & Advancing PhDs (PFMAP) Program Now Accepting Applications: PFMAP is a program intended to introduce Ph.D. candidates to the vibrant research life at the Philadelphia Fed and provide additional mentorship opportunities for participa...

The Philadelphia Fed's Grad Student mentoring program deadline is coming up: 6/20 ⏰

We prioritize nearby universities but have accepted applicants from all over the country. Apply!

www.philadelphiafed.org/the-economy/...

yeah... in general, i skeptical of claims that the (or even an) issue with transit (in the US) is that fares are unaffordable

Eliminating Fares to Expand Opportunities: Experimental Evidence on the Impacts of Free Public Transportation on Economic and Social Disparities (Forthcoming Article) - We conduct a randomized controlled trial to study the employment effects of providing free public transportation to individuals with low income. A temporary subsidy that reduce...

not exactly on the motus of conversation, but here are a couple of nice experimental papers on effects:
- www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
- www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

kelloggryan.com/workingpapers/ "the end of oil"

This project is joint with the excellent Verónica Bäcker-Peral and Vitaly Meursault.

Curious how accurate multimodal LLMs are at digitizing diversely formatted historical tables?

➡️ pretty accurate!
➡️ helps a lot with harmonization
➡️ far cheaper than manual digitization
➡️ but iterative, disciplined prompt training is important!

Check out our new WP - arxiv.org/abs/2505.11599

Lockdowns and Innovation: Evidence from the 1918 Flu Pandemic Abstract. Does social distancing harm innovation? We estimate the effect of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs)—policies that restrict interactions in an attempt to slow the spread of disease—on lo...

Out in print -- "Lockdowns and Innovation: Evidence from the 1918 Flu Pandemic". My first experiment with a short paper!

w/ the wonderful @jeffrlin.bsky.social @ruben-gaetani.bsky.social Enrico Berkes, & Olivier Deschênes

direct.mit.edu/rest/article...

... but will prob still do it anyway <sigh>

Well, NBER, in fact **I WILL BE** discouraged from submitting other papers for consideration at future meetings.

😎

yeah, it's really tricky bc no is *explicit* about what the bar is at, say, journal X, so we're all just guessing based on ... vibes ...

(of course i'll continue to be a thoughtful and objective referee.

but i don't see people express this sentiment often and i think it's common. it's important to call out a feeling rather than to pretend it away only to see it leak out in worse ways)

refereeing can be hard: a journal rejects you 1, 5, times... and then asks for your objective opinion about another paper, especially when your own research has not always received objective review or careful editorship

it's important to not perpetuate the jackassery, but it's not always easy

lol yeah that order, but different editors 🤷

new achievement unlocked: rejection and referee request from the same journal w/in a 10 minute window ☑️

HAPPY SQUARE DAY 🟦

My NSF PRFB on the genetics of female polymorphism in hummingbirds was terminated yesterday.

I don't have much to say, I'm just sad. We've discovered so much, and could have gone so much further.

If anyone else is in the same boat, esp postdocs, please reach out, it would be good to connect.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ response

fischerspooner fridays

a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a snl logo ALT: a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a snl logo

##EconSky

Our seminar speaker for tmr was coming from U Toronto. He was apparently detained (politely) for several hrs by US customs in CA. He was then cleared to travel to the US after his flight had left. Needless to say, no seminar tmr.

75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving More than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada.

The massive changes in US research brought about by the new administration of President Donald Trump are causing many scientists in the country to rethink their lives and careers

https://go.nature.com/41OhAgK

‘Breathtakingly Irresponsible’: Former Workers Decry Decimation of Education Dept.’s Data Warehouse Fired NCES and IES employees describe a mad dash to save data that has informed higher education policy and practice since the days of Abraham Lincoln.

www.chronicle.com/article/brea...
All of us who use and value NCES data are distraught. No one more than @jdmatsudaira.bsky.social who understands the work being lost and implications better than anyone.