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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

Culture

How Matthias Blübaum can win it all

He is playing in the current Candidates tournament as the lowest-rated player, a mere 2693. It is considered a semi-miracle that he qualified at all, and he is not given much chance of winning the tourney. And yet a path to the top remains. First, he has not lost any of his first four games […] The post How Matthias Blübaum can win it all appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsIn reply to HB. Players optimize against the statistical . by EP 20can it be said already that Uzbekistan is ...

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Education

MRU high school fellowship

The post MRU high school fellowship appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsGlad to see Matt Hill on the blog. He has an incredibly . by David OIn reply to schmancky's. You two need to ride the bus, you . by EP 23In reply to michael. Drug Addiction is not interesting to . by schmancky'sIn reply to Lawyer. Lawf, what, you're afraid there might not . by Wayfaring StrangerIn reply to Lawyer. It only has to last 86400 secs. by RahulPlus 6 more.Related StoriesThe economics of dropout riskMy...

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Culture

My very interesting Conversation with Arthur C. Brooks

Here is the audio, video, and transcript. Here is part of the episode summary: Tyler and Arthur cover how scarcity makes savoring possible and why knowing you’ll die young sharpens the mind, what twin studies tell us about the genetics of well-being and why that’s not actually depressing, the four habits of the genuinely happy, […] The post My very interesting Conversation with Arthur C. Brooks appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesWhat should I ask Andrew Graham-Dixon?*The Ma...

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Education

The economics of dropout risk

Bryan Caplan keeps hammering this point home, it is good to see follow-up work: In the United States, college dropout risk is sizable. We provide new empirical evidence that beliefs about the likelihood of earning a bachelor’s degree predict college enrollment, and that the distribution of these beliefs exhibits widespread optimism. We incorporate this distribution […] The post The economics of dropout risk appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsAffirmative Action and Mismatch by Pete...

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Economy

Is financial economics still economics?

That all sounded wonderful, and that core model and its offshoots dominated financial research for decades. The problem, however, was that it wasn’t true, or at least it wasn’t nearly as true as we had thought and hoped. When financial economists refined the models with more complete specifications, it turned out Beta didn’t predict stock […] The post Is financial economics still economics? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsThis intellectual history is compelling but the time hor...

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Economy

Economists on AI and economic growth and employment

We completed the most comprehensive study of how economists and AI experts think AI will affect the U.S. economy. They predict major AI progress—but no dramatic break from economic trends: GDP growth rates similar to today’s and a moderate decline in labor force participation. However, when asked to consider what would happen in a world […] The post Economists on AI and economic growth and employment appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesIs financial economics still economics?...

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Education

Grade Caps are Not a Good Solution to Grade Inflation

It’s well known that grade inflation has “degraded” the informational content of grades at many colleges. At Harvard, two-thirds of all undergraduate grades are now A’s—up from about a quarter two decades ago. In response, a Harvard faculty committee has proposed capping A grades at 20 percent of each class (plus a cushion for small […] The post Grade Caps are Not a Good Solution to Grade Inflation appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsYes. When I was in law school, there was this cl...

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Economy

New issue of Econ Journal Watch

EJW Volume 23, Issue 1, March 2026 Specification Searching in the Race between Education and Technology: Joseph Francis criticizes a canonical model of the American labor market, which has been used to advocate for more funding for education to reduce inequality. He shows how the model has routinely failed to predict the evolution of the college […] The post New issue of Econ Journal Watch appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesSentences to ponderGrade Caps are Not a Good Solut...

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Economy

Scott Sumner on *The Marginal Revolution*

My favorite part of Tyler’s book is where he asks a very good but non-obvious question: Why did it take so long for economics as a field to develop a coherent model or framework of analysis? Much of the book discusses how three economists simultaneously developed marginal analysis, with a focus on the work of […] The post Scott Sumner on The Marginal Revolution appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesThe Marginal Revolution: Rise and Decline, and the Pending AI RevolutionSoc...

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Culture

The Candidates’ tournament

Caruana and Sindharov have won today, obviously boosting Caruana’s chances as favorite (he beat Nakamura, the number two rated player in the tournament). Yet what the chess world needs right now is not a winner, but rather a greater sense of legitimacy for the world title. Ideally the same person should win a championship match […] The post The Candidates’ tournament appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsIn your book 'Talent' you argue that outcomes are noisy, and . by MChess is inte...

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Economy

Claudia Goldin and the WNBA

After Claudia Goldin became the first woman to win a solo Nobel in economics in 2023, she received hundreds of invitations and requests. She accepted just three. One of them was advising the WNBA players union as the women prepared to negotiate a new labor deal with the league. When Goldin replied via email to Terri Carmichael Jackson, […] The post Claudia Goldin and the WNBA appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. CommentsIn reply to Con-air. html $(document).ready(function(){ . by To Jumpha ...

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Society

Is Tinder actually OK?

Online dating apps have transformed the dating market, yet their broader effects remain unclear. We study Tinder’s impact on college students using its initial marketing focus on Greek organizations for identification. We show that the full-scale launch of Tinder led to a sharp, persistent increase in sexual activity, but with little corresponding impact on the […] The post Is Tinder actually OK? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION. Related StoriesSolve for the China tech equilibriumRepubli...

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