Aine Seitz McCarthy

In an effort to make bsky a place where people come to read dunks based on substance rather than scolds for not adhering to some liberal orthodoxy:

This is pretty dumb.

67% of Gen Z are struggling to afford their housing costs according to a recent Redfin report. 🏠📉
Between high rents, and a weak labor market, the struggle is real.
Rents are coming down in the places that built the most during the pandemic: the solution is to build housing! 🏗️

New books day! (Ok, one is just a revised version of a classic.) All coincidentally by some BA female economists. Congrats on the book @mlheggeness.bsky.social - I can’t wait to dive in!

I should add that economic development at Lewis & Clark is taught at the 200-level (post econ 100, but does not have micro theory or econometrics as prereqs)

Some Things We Don't Do Anymore - This American Life Trump froze U.S. foreign aid and dismantled USAID. We examine the agency’s impact and hear from people trying to navigate this chaotic moment.

Teaching econ dev this term? Feeling depressed about teaching it? Me too. #econtwitter #econsky

I always love getting syllabus additions from others, so I'll throw out that I'm adding these new (sad) readings this semester:

www.thisamericanlife.org/862/some-thi...

www.cgdev.org/blog/update-...

A Pregnant Woman at Risk of Heart Failure Couldn’t Get Urgent Treatment. She Died Waiting for an Abortion. In a state that had legislated its commitment to life, Graham spent her final days struggling to find anyone to save hers.

In North Carolina, a state that had legislated its commitment to life, Ciji Graham spent her final days struggling to find anyone to save hers.
www.propublica.org/article/nort...

Some of the stories in here are absolutely chilling. One US citizen of Somali descent was just riding an elevator with ICE agents and then they detained him for almost half an hour in the freezing cold despite him showing agents his passport card. They only let him go once protestors showed up.

🆕 Women’s power at home

In today's podcast, @seema.bsky.social @princetondevo.bsky.social & Alessandra Voena discuss what economic research has taught us about women’s power in the household: voxdev.org/topic/instit...

The Case for Counterfactual Thinking in Nonprofit Fundraising When a nonprofit wins a major government contract or foundation grant, it’s cause for celebration. These wins reflect hard work and organizational strength. Yet beneath the success lies a subtle, ofte...

I argue in this piece that the nonprofit sector should be thinking more about the counterfactual when assessing fundraising success: winning a $2M competitive bid over capable peers advances the cause less than convincing someone to donate $1M they'd have spent on a yacht.

1. Less skilled labor is abundant. 2. Skilled emigration is a brain drain. 3. Development substitutes for migration. 4. Migration substitutes for failing development, but doesn't cause development.

The International Monetary Fund asked me to review the literature on migration economics to draw lessons for low-income countries.

In a new @iza.org paper, I argue that policy for the 21st century must discard four outdated ideas.

www.iza.org/publications...

🧵 thread—>

“On June 15, 1992, [Dan] Quayle altered 12-year-old student William Figueroa's correct spelling of "potato" to "potatoe" at the Muñoz Rivera Elementary School spelling bee in Trenton, New Jersey. He was the subject of widespread ridicule for his error.” — @wikipedia.org

A life skills / soccer playing intervention among boys and a goal setting intervention among girls each reduce girls' reports of intimate partner violence. manishashah.net/wp-content/u... Shah presenting evidence from Tanzania at #LACDEV2025

In a world where the number of children under 5 that will die this year is greater than last year… It does feel like problem of sharing health data is a bit to the right of the decimal point

Amy Damon presenting her work on time use in Indonesia during our fantastic session on households and gender at @weai.bsky.social. Thanks to @lindseynovak.bsky.social for presenting a real fun topic and to @econprachi.bsky.social for organizing!

“Paid parental leave and public child care would indeed increase the birth rate, but by small amounts. These policies are needed because American parents (especially mothers) are screaming for help.”

#econsky

Contributor: What to give Americans for Mother's Day? More than a baby bonus Other policies would do more to make parents' lives manageable. But a check is a good start toward fighting child poverty.

www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

My op-ed in the @latimes.com on the insufficient and ineffective baby bonus idea for Mother’s Day (come on, we need some actual help here)

t.co/AR7IPWJxM4

"You’d think the admin would want to focus on increasing- not cutting- funding to maternal and child health, repairing its self-inflicted econ wounds, and lowering the cost of living ... before asking young people to bring children into the world"

Turns our left & right are not far apart on this.

A Baby Boom? In This Economy? The White House is full of pronatalist rhetoric — and anti-baby policies.

And Klas from @bloomberg.com "the choice to create a new life isn’t only a financial calculation. It’s also a profound act of hope…

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

"Doom-mongering about economic downturns and impending social collapse is unlikely to inspire anyone to have more children, a decision that normally signals confidence in the future”

How Trump could reverse America's baby bust Government interventions do not work because they do not compensate for the opportunity cost of having children.

Ok, this is actually a great point from Kristina Murkett in the @thespectator1828.bsky.social :

“We have removed the... community networks that make parenting more manageable, and no subsidy can compensate for these huge social and cultural changes"

www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-...

This was a really good summary for people not in the field to understand what’s at stake. The part I’m so glad he drew attention to is the dignity shown by the public servants affected, unlike those destroying our health and science infrastructure

Lindsey Novak and I are hosting LACDEV in Portland this year- waterfalls and breweries may be on the agenda. August 1-2.

Come talk RCTs and DID estimators with us for a couple days, and bring your family to experience the joy of Oregon in August!

#econsky

Home Mission Statement This annual conference brings together faculty working in Development Economics at Liberal Arts Colleges. The intention of the conference is to provide a forum to discuss recent research and teaching in development economics. The conference takes place annually and rotates among

Last day to submit your papers to LACDEV (Liberal Arts College Development Economics Conference- the nerdiest and chattiest dev conference out there)

sites.google.com/site/lacdevc...

Interesting new research suggesting one reason women are less likely to major in STEM, economics, and business is that they expect to face labor market discrimination later in those fields (so that the return to such majors is lower).

www.nber.org/papers/w33680

'Moss Appreciation Week': a lot of celebration for a very little plant Moss Appreciation Week is packed with events both scientific... and also silly. Moss walks, moss talks, moss movies, crafting moss-themed Valentines, and a "gastropod derby" with snails and slugs (for...

Who doesn’t love moss?? LC’s moss appreciation week on Morning Edition this week:

www.npr.org/2025/02/14/n...

"First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
"Then they came for the trade unionists
…
"Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

—Martin Niemöller
#econsky #academicsky

marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2025/01/pres...

A chart in three parts showing data on child mortality to make the points that "The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better. All three statements are true at the same time."

The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better.

All three statements are true at the same time. Understanding this is key to solving big global problems.

We believe data & research can help us understand both the problems we face & the progress that’s possible. 🧵

Opinion: America needs to retake Econ 101 If we're going to vote based on concerns about cost of living, we need to know what levers government can pull and which promises are plausible.

My op-ed on economic policies and the election was published today in the Los Angeles Times:

www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

#econsky

States that criminalize abortion are losing obstetricians.
#econsky

marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-...