Chris Blattman

New paper alert! 📣

@chrisblattman.bsky.social, Arthur Yu, and I reexamine the autocratic growth penalty—the finding that autocracies systematically underperform democracies in economic growth.

TL;DR, the penalty is concentrated in personalist, not institutionalized autocracies.

Details👇 1/X

I’m no lawyer but surely they’re the only resources groups with legal standing for a suit? Please tell me I’m wrong.

From the private and public replies I received (not from this place), there’s no indication NGOs and contractors are collectively acting. Vague whispers of plans, but not from the big orgs. This is the only coalition I can imagine succeeding.

Clear case of bsky confirming my low expectations. I at least received a little info and DMs from X.

In case you are interested, however…

I’m amazed: On the foreign assistance freeze, I’m astonished not to see major State Dept and USAID recipients challenge the disruption in court. An injunction? Where is World Vision, SAVE, Red Cross, etc on this? Or the Beltway bandits (Chemonics etc) Is there activity happening?

Research Professional – Christopher Blattman (Full-Time, Benefits Eligible) Chicago, IL

Come work for me at UChicago @beckerfriedman.bsky.social ! I'm hiring a full-time pre-doc to start this April/May/June for data analysis on crime, education, mental health, and organized crime, mostly on projects in Latin America. Details & apply here: job-boards.greenhouse.io/universityof...

Research Professional – Christopher Blattman (Full-Time, Benefits Eligible) Chicago, IL

Come work for me at UChicago @beckerfriedman.bsky.social ! I'm hiring a full-time pre-doc to start this April/May/June for data analysis on crime, education, mental health, and organized crime, mostly on projects in Latin America. Details & apply here: job-boards.greenhouse.io/universityof...

Recommendations for Vegas with tweens? We are actually spending most days in Red Rock Canyon but evenings and some days could go to the strip or a day trip. (Unless you count get-out-the-vote door knocking in 2004, I’ve never been.

For day trips: Hoover Dam looks dull. Am I wrong? What’s better?

Recommendations for Vegas with tweens? We are actually spending most days in Red Rock Canyon but evenings and some days could go to the strip or a day trip. (Unless you count get-out-the-vote door knocking in 2004, I’ve never been.

For day trips: Hoover Dam looks dull. Am I wrong? What’s better?

If you receive a ref request and can't finish in the allotted time, you have options:

- Decline the review.
- Ask editor for more time. Then turn in report close to your new proposed deadline.

Don't do:

- Ghost the request
- Agree to request then go months past the due date w/no communication

Truly amazed at the number of students I have heard zilch from all quarter who would now like to advise me on how I should calculate final grades.

If you zoom, you can see the Olmec head is crushing a Tesla

Stumbled upon in Roma Norte, CDMX

Anyone celebrating or condemning the ICC this week should temper their expectations. I posted this exactly 14 years ago today and, sadly, i have not seen much reason to raise my opinion of the court

af4.cf3.mwp.accessdomain.com/blog/2010/11...

Chris Blattman’s defunct blog: the obvious last word on technical econometric issues.

UChicago Harris School of Public Policy is searching for development economists at the Associate and Full level. We are open to untenured faculty ready or near ready for promotion too.

More info and apply here:
apply.interfolio.com/158745

EOE/Vet/Disability

Cambridge folks (the Massachusetts ones): I'm giving a public book talk on Nov 28th @harvard.bsky.social. Come!

My first book talk since Oct 7th, in which I have managed to delude/convince myself that all sides will find my take reasonable. You should join just to see if that bubble pops.

We’re hosting the Midwest International Development Conference @UChicago April 5-6. Submit your papers!

The world is welcome. Registration fees include most meals at the university’s new conference venue.

Learn more and submit papers here:

t.co/SJpFMF5oQj

We’re hosting the Midwest International Development Conference @UChicago April 5-6. Submit your papers!

The world is welcome. Registration fees include most meals at the university’s new conference venue.

Learn more and submit papers here:

t.co/SJpFMF5oQj

Advice: PhDs - Chris Blattman Advice posts for PhD students Learn More Subscribe to the Blog Recent Posts

Ben provides some helpful links to similar advice at the bottom of the page. I'd also add/endorse @chrisblattman.bsky.social's advice page (covering several career stages): chrisblattman.com/phd-advice/

How I mostly feel about this site

This, except the concept of file trees. We keep hiring interns who have no idea what subfolders are, and it's like having to teach a 90 year old how a computer works.

So glad to see @hofrench.bsky.social here!

Staff Economist | CEA | The White House The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is currently recruiting Staff Economists for the upcoming academic year (starting in summer of 2024). The CEA provides the President with objective economic anal...

The White House Council of Economic Advisers is hiring for multiple roles.

GREAT GREAT opportunities for U.S. citizens interested in economic policy.

Can't recommend them strongly enough. 📉📈

- Staff economists, PhD students on leave from PhD for a year...

www.whitehouse.gov/cea/work-for...

Great website with LaTeX templates for slides, papers, and referee reports

In understanding Hamas’ horrific attacks, we leap to external motives, like interrupting the Saudi-Israel talks. Surely true in part. But we shouldn’t overlook internal motives—a desire to delegitimize Palestinian Authority, rally support, or distract own people from their dissent.

What would you say if you saw it in another country?

"The mutual suspicion between the military and the prime minister runs so deep that civil servants have barred the military from bringing recording equipment into cabinet meetings.... [a possible] attempt to limit the amount of evidence that could be presented to a national inquiry after the war."

Surveillance soldiers warned of Hamas activity on Gaza border for months before Oct. 7 Survivors of massacre on IDF base say they passed information up the chain of command on digging, mapping, training near the fence long before mass onslaught, but were ignored

As I said earlier this month, the Hamas attack will lead to the mother of all blame games in Israel. www.timesofisrael.com/surveillance...