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Marginal Revolution

Marginal Revolution

Newsletter | United States | Centre-Right
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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

Technology

AI and constitutions (from my email)

“Dear Tyler, I enjoyed reading your notes on visiting Anthropic to advise on Claude’s constitution. Framing AI governance around the common law, case law (“Talmud”), and independent adjudication is a much more adaptive approach than relying on a static, top-down text. That said, moving from a fixed text to a case-law system introduces its own […] The post AI and constitutions (from my email) appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesMy recent visit to AnthropicTowards a New House ...

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Technology

Emergent Ventures winners, 58th cohort

Jethro Elsden, London area, to study the regulatory structure of the UK using AI. Paula Benedetti, Buenos Aires, marine biology work in Brazil. Nyida Gyal, 17, northern Virginia, AI and data. Gabe Sekeres, Cornell, what if an economist just lets AI run?, Ollie Payne, NYC, Future Aesthetics Foundation. Jacob Watson-Howland, London, podcast on science and […] The post Emergent Ventures winners, 58th cohort appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesCommon sense in chargeMy very inter...

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Society

Common sense in charge

…children are increasingly seen as interfering with the freedom of parents; views on whether mothers of young children should work have become markedly more progressive and account for a substantially larger share of the decline among the tertiary-educated; and fewer people believe that women or men need children to lead a fulfilled life. This last […] The post Common sense in charge appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsThis view is just as common among economists and other . by Sto...

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Politics

Democracy and Caeserism

In my 2015 post discussing Joseph Heath’s excellent book Enlightenment 2.0, I had this to say: One of the reasons that I oppose the extension of democratic politics into every aspect of modern life is precisely that in trying to do too much, democracy delivers incoherence, gridlock and frustration, forces that eventually undermine its own legitimacy. I […] The post Democracy and Caeserism appeared first on Marginal

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Culture

I DJ for Rick Rubin about music and patriotism

MUSIC EPISODE: “You think you understand patriotism, you have your hands around it–it’s the simple thing, but it turns out it’s not. And maybe, music and the history of music shows us all that better than mere discourse about it.” @tylercowen 0:00:00 Tyler Cowen 0:00:24 Intro: Patriotism in Music 0:03:09 John Philip Sousa & Stars […] The post I DJ for Rick Rubin about music and patriotism appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesDemocracy and CaeserismThat was then, this is nowMy...

United States
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Economy

Has the European turnaround finally arrived?

Europe just had its best reporting season in years. Companies in the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index boosted earnings per share by 18% on average in the second quarter compared with a year earlier. Earnings barely grew at all in 2025 and 2024 as the strongest companies in the index were offset by weaker players. […] The post Has the European turnaround finally arrived? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

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Technology

The new agentic O-ring world

But because agents often require guidance or additional context as they move through their tasks, Sharma, 27, finds himself wanting to be available to them around the clock and forgoing a regular sleep schedule as a result. Until recently, he couldn’t monitor them remotely through a phone or smartwatch. “The cost of the agents’ being […] The post The new agentic O-ring world appeared first on Marginal

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Culture

This brew, at least, is from Ashburn, Virginia

The post This brew, at least, is from Ashburn, Virginia appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Comments“Ox Alpha appears to be multimodal GLM 5.3” . by AnonymousAshburn, VA is exactly the kind of place I would expect to have . by HadurWeird… I don't taste the hops but I do taste barley that has . by Jumfrey Tuckins, President of Texasmystery solved by hankThere's still enough water in Loudoun County to run a brewery. by Tom T.Plus 6 more.Related StoriesIndian documentary covers EV winnersTher...

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Economy

What should I ask Annie Lowrey?

Yes I will be doing a Conversation with her. She has a new and very interesting book coming out, namely The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time―and How to Fix It. More generally, from Wikipedia: Annie M. Lowrey…is an American journalist who writes on politics and economic policy for The Atlantic. Previously, Lowrey covered economic […] The post What should I ask Annie Lowrey? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

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Culture

Indian documentary covers EV winners

A new short documentary (22 mins) film called The 22nd Century Indian by Shaurya Sinha offers an optimistic take on India, and also covers five (!) Emergent Ventures winners. Congratulations to them, and to Shruti too. EV India winners featured: Naman Pushp https://x.com/therealnamzoo?s=11 Khushi Mittal: https://khushimittal.com Shreeporna Rao: https://x.com/shreepoorna365?s=11 Samay Sanghvi: https://www.thealmanac.ai/article/samaysanghvii Angad Daryani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angaddarya...

India
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Economy

More evidence on the effects of recent tariffs

Trump is giving economists something to write papers about: U.S. tariff rates in 2025 rose to levels not seen since the Great Depression, yet imports increased. To account for the missing trade collapse, we develop an open-economy New Keynesian model with tariff heterogeneity, inventories, and shocks to investment that capture the AI-driven boom. The model […] The post More evidence on the effects of recent tariffs appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsLike Ptolemy adding epicycles. ...

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Economy

Green shoots for the UK?

Early signs of tech-driven improvements in productivity growth could herald a sustained strengthening in the UK’s economic outlook, analysts have said, in a turnaround after years of underperformance. Private sector productivity grew by 1.8 per cent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, up from 1.2 per cent previously, according to analysis of […] The post Green shoots for the UK? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesDid UBI make people happier?Declining Occupat...

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