Marginal Revolution

Marginal Revolution

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Economics blog by Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok covering economics, culture, and ideas.

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Discussions from Marginal Revolution

📚 Education
January 19, 2026

Tim Kane on my visit to University of Austin

Here is the link, I should add that in addition to my enthusiasm for the students, the faculty also seemed quite good, most of all knowledgeable and open. I know very little about how the school is run, you might try this short piece from Arnold Kling, who has been visiting there for a week. […] The post Tim Kane on my visit to University of Austin appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Comments“Failure to contextualize is often the greatest “sin” of . by NickI am all for TCs principle of let...

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📈 Economy
January 19, 2026

Those new (old) service sector jobs, chimney sweep edition

Now, many sweeps, including those in the Firkins family business, say the trade has been experiencing an improbable resurgence. According to the National Association of Chimney Sweeps, demand has been bolstered by high energy prices, the popularity of wood-burning stoves and an international climate that has prompted warnings that electricity supplies could be vulnerable to attack by […] The post Those new (old) service sector jobs, chimney sweep edition appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION....

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💼 Business
January 19, 2026

Podcast with Salvador Duarte

Salvador is 17, and is an EV winner from Portugal. Here is the transcript. Here is the list of discussed topics: 0:00 – We’re discovering talent quicker than ever 5:14 – Being in San Francisco is more important than ever 8:01 – There is such a thing like a winning organization 11:43 – Talent and conformity […] The post Podcast with Salvador Duarte appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesMy excellent Conversation with Brendan FoodyNegative political externalities from migration t...

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💻 Technology
January 18, 2026

Saturday assorted links

1. Another AI-generated hit song. 2. AI does Tyler Cowen on AI. 3. Adam Tooze profile. 4. Egg prices fell about twenty percent this year, GPT will tell you that supply is elastic. 5. How difficult is Spanish to understand in various countries? (I think Chilean Spanish is not as tough as suggested here.) 6. […] The post Saturday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

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🎭 Culture
January 18, 2026

*Pee-wee as himself*

I loved this documentary, all three hours of it. Perhaps you need to be American, and to have lived in Pee-wee’s decades? In any case, the film is a wonderful reflection on self-knowledge, the changing status of “coming out” as gay in American history, celebrity, how fame happens, hippie culture, cancel culture, who your real […] The post Pee-wee as himself appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesWhat is the greatest artwork of the century so far?ResurrectionStories Beyond D...

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📚 Education
January 18, 2026

Childhood neighbors matter

We explore the role of immediate next door neighbors in affecting children’s later life occupation choice. Using linked historical census records for over 6 million boys and 4 million girls, we reconstruct neighborhood microgeography to estimate how growing up next door to someone in a particular occupation affects a child’s probability of working in that […] The post Childhood neighbors matter appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesGrade inflation sentences to ponderGrowth Exp...

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📈 Economy
January 17, 2026

The share of factor income paid to computers

Via Kevin Bryan. The post The share of factor income paid to computers appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsIn reply to mento. This is why the tech bros will always be . by GridlockScale rocks! That I can use the same productivity software as . by raywardThis graph is figure 2 in the new paper By Chad Jones and . by mentoRelated StoriesClaims about AI and scienceA new economic model of AI and automationClaims about AI productivity improvements

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💻 Technology
January 17, 2026

Claims about AI and science

You should take these as quite context-specific numbers rather than as absolutes, nonetheless this is interesting: Scientists who engage in AI-augmented research publish 3.02 times more papers, receive 4.84 times more citations and become research project leaders 1.37 years earlier than those who do not. By contrast, AI adoption shrinks the collective volume of scientific […] The post Claims about AI and science appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Comments“AI adoption shrinks the collectiv...

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📚 Education
January 17, 2026

“Tyler Cowen’s AI campus”

That is a short essay by Arnold Kling. Excerpt: Tyler’s Vision As a student, you work with a mentor. At the beginning of each term, you and your mentor decide which courses you will take. If there are other students on campus taking them, great. If not, maybe you can take them with students at […] The post “Tyler Cowen’s AI campus” appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesThose new service sector jobsClaims about AI and scienceThe share of factor income paid to computers

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📈 Economy
January 16, 2026

China’s supply chain problems

They exist in manufacturing too, and perhaps this should help you feel a little better about American problems: A January 2024 report on China’s wind power sector by researchers at Tsinghua University found that it remained heavily dependent on imports for crucial parts — including 60 per cent of the bearings that support their rotors, […] The post China’s supply chain problems appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesThomas Sargent is a wise manMarkets in everything?Negative pol...

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📈 Economy
January 16, 2026

Thursday assorted links

1. New Substack on Abundance. 2. Does AI mean the demands on labor go up? 3. This obituary has plenty of interesting information about South Africa’s nuclear program (NYT). 4. Mercatus 1991 fellowship on state-level Indian economic policy. 5. Legal framework for crypto is hitting some snags (NYT). 6. “I find that parental transfers account […] The post Thursday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsIn reply to Kaleberg. You and I were in different branches of . by egl“...

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📈 Economy
January 16, 2026

Michelle Tandler on NYC rent control

This is what I’m seeing: + 2.4 million rent-controlled apartments in a city with a massive housing shortage and 1.4% vacancy rate. + A huge % of these tenants are wealthy, white boomers using the units as pieds-a-terres while they spend their weekends and summers elsewhere. + Meanwhile, the government is using rent control to […] The post Michelle Tandler on NYC rent control appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesAI Physicians At LastThomas Sargent is a wise manNegative politic...

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