Skip to main content
Marginal Revolution

Marginal Revolution

Newsletter | United States | Centre-Right
marginalrevolution.com/

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

Engagement Insights

7.97 score
306
Discussions
5
Participants
6
Total Votes
455
Articles

Discussions from Marginal Revolution

Politics

What should I ask Richard Hanania?

Yes, I will be doing a Conversation with him. Richard does have a new book coming out, Kakistocracy: Why Populism Ends in Disaster. While I liked the book (and blurbed it), I do not feel our conversation about the book would be that interesting — too much beating up on the stupidities of other people, […] The post What should I ask Richard Hanania? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsIf “wokeness is just civil rights law”, why did “high . by JBAsk him if libertarianism is populism ...

United States
Join Discussion
Culture

My excellent Conversation with Toby Wilkinson

Here is the audio, video, and transcript. Most of all, we cover Ptolemaic Egypt. Here is part of the episode summary: Tyler and Toby cover how Alexander took over the empire almost without a fight, why Alexandria became the Manhattan of the ancient world, whether the era was as philosophically fertile as it was scientifically, […] The post My excellent Conversation with Toby Wilkinson appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsThe following quotation reminds me a bit of ancient China: . b...

Global
Join Discussion
Economy

*How to Win a Trade War: An Optimistic Guide to an Anxious Global Economy*

That is the new Soumaya Keynes book, out today. I was happy to have blurbed this book, and here is an essay, on export restrictions, based on the book. The post How to Win a Trade War: An Optimistic Guide to an Anxious Global Economy appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesDwarkesh in the DatacenterQuarantine sentences to ponder, that was then this is now edition…A Beautiful Theory Falls to Ugly Data

Global
Join Discussion
Culture

Can liberals be pacifists?

This is mostly a podcast about Benjamin Britten, and in particular his War Requiem, with Rebecca Lowe (former singer and conductor, in addition to philosopher and also her current role at Mercatus). Here is the YouTube, here is the transcript and further listening links. Excerpt: LOWE: Yeah, so we should think about what it means for […] The post Can liberals be pacifists? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsSince you're going to be interviewing Martha Nussbaum, it . by JWCWhat abo...

Global
Join Discussion
Technology

Seven ways to avoid losing your job to AI

That is the theme of my latest Free Press column, here is one excerpt: Principle five: Run experiments. This is a more general version of the healthcare point. AI will generate so many new ideas and hypotheses, including for drugs and medical devices, but not only. Become a tester. Test new battery designs, new educational techniques, […] The post Seven ways to avoid losing your job to AI appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesRobin (it’s happening)A Beautiful Theory Falls to U...

United States
Join Discussion
Culture

New Aesthetics awards

Patrick Collison tweets: Tyler and I just published a list of the recipients of the New Aesthetics grants: https://newaesthetics.art/grants. Thank you very much to all who applied. There were far more applications than we expected. We funded 28 grantees and are excited to see what they create. My reflections on the whole thing: • Though […] The post New Aesthetics awards appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsWhat about the architect for the ballroom? Does he deserve an . by raywardRe...

Global
Join Discussion
Technology

Emergent Ventures winners, 54th cohort

Kenny Guo, Krish Chhajer, Luthira Abeykoon Mudiyansela, Toronto, quantum computing. Jolie Gan, Calgary/SF, a publication on science and meta-science. Hudson Mitchell-Pullman, 16, San Diego, how users interact with LLMs to learn. Adnan Manna, 17, Amman, Jordan, finding exoplanets. Heloise Hoffman, Stanford, biomedical research to cure her own rare disease. M.F. Libano-Monteiro, Portugal/LSE, economics education through […] The post Emergent Ventures winners, 54th cohort appeared first on Margi...

Global
Join Discussion
Economy

The carousel trade (arbitrage)

Imagine two companies which are secretly controlled by the same people. If company A imported some phones, then sold them to company B, it charged VAT on the deal. If company B then exported the phones, it reclaimed — from the government — the VAT it had paid to company A. the integrity of the […] The post The carousel trade (arbitrage) appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsThis is not arbitrage. This is fraud. Arbitrage means risk-free . by SohailRelated StoriesLiberal Economists Sc...

Global
Join Discussion
Society

Ross Douthat on what AI money should learn from the golden age of philanthropy

This was a great failure of the most recent philanthropic era. At its best, the infrastructure established by figures like Gates delivered effective efforts to reduce poverty and fight disease; at its worst, it threw money after fashionable political causes and education fads. But there was no real legacy when it came to physical infrastructure […] The post Ross Douthat on what AI money should learn from the golden age of philanthropy appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsI was not a...

United States
Join Discussion
Technology

Robert Wright’s *The God Test*

The subtitle is Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning, due out June 23. In the first chapter, Wright summarizes four of his perspectives, these are my paraphrases of his pp.5-6: 1. When it comes to AI, we should be somewhere on the awe spectrum. 2. We can create a future where the upside of […] The post Robert Wright’s The God Test appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsIt looks like LLMs will transform business. However, if we get . by bazzaWhat does this even mea...

Global
Join Discussion
Politics

*In the Realm of the Last Man*

As Mark Lilla, a recovering Straussian, once remarked, they [the Straussians] were like craftsmen building a house brick by brick on a foundation that Leo Strauss had laid. But they would never become architects of that house, or decide that the house was too small for them to comfortably live in. Moreoever, Strauss disparaged social […] The post In the Realm of the Last Man appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsIn reply to ElsieT. I’ve probably read Fukuyama’s name a . by Cancelle...

United States
Join Discussion
Healthcare

India fertility facts of the day

Ten notable facts from India’s new SRS Statistical Report 2024 published two days ago: 1) India’s total fertility rate (TFR) has dropped to 1.88 (rounded up to 1.9 in the figures) in 2024 from 1.92 in 2023. 2) This drop is roughly the historical speed of the last few decades. India’s TFR was 4.3 in […] The post India fertility facts of the day appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesTajikistan fact of the dayWho is losing out in marriage market competition?Why I am skeptical on ...

India
Join Discussion