Best of #econtwitter - Week of February 21, 2021 [2/2]
Welcome readers old and new to this week’s edition of Best of Econtwitter. Thanks to those sharing suggestions, over email or on Twitter @just_economics.
This is part two of two; part one is here.
Paper summary threads
![Twitter avatar for @tamaybes](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/tamaybes.jpg)
A recent paper about innovation over the long run reveals a very neat snapshot of the composition of inventions over time. Using data on US patents, it identifies the following key waves:
nber.org/system/files/w…
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FEuypm-qXcAAtl0l.png)
![Twitter avatar for @KathAStapleton](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/KathAStapleton.jpg)
Some important new points from @JosephEStiglitz & @akorinek on AI and development:
1. Big difference between looking at impacts of AI within a country & globally. When benefits accrue in one country & costs in another, need winners to compensate losers across borders
![Twitter avatar for @nberpubs](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_40/nberpubs.jpg)
NBER @nberpubs
![Twitter avatar for @KiraboJackson](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/KiraboJackson.jpg)
Nine credible studies looked at what happened to test scores when capital spending increased for K12 public schools. Most found nothing at first. Only two found stat sig impacts after a few years (left). But *on average* looks like a compelling increase over time (right).
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FEuogssHXIAIi51g.png)
![Twitter avatar for @albrgr](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/albrgr.jpg)
Interesting paper from Greg Clark and Neil Cummins arguing for a null effect and widespread publication bias in the literature on compulsory schooling impacts on health and income lse.ac.uk/Economic-Histo…
Wish they had a better income measure than house prices though.
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FEum00NbUcAYPQVL.png)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FEum08mjVEAEU299.jpg)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FEum1_oEVIAA6cBk.jpg)
![Twitter avatar for @MatthewAKraft](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/MatthewAKraft.jpg)
We say "Teachers are the largest school-based factor influencing student achievement"
What if we're wrong?
New @WallaceFdn report by @JasonAGrissom @annaegalite @Dr_ConstanceL shows principals have large direct effects for more kids + indirect effects.
wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-cent…
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FEuXtl1zWQAM24ns.png)
More education threads from this week: technology in education RCT number one, number two; RCT on peer tutoring
![Twitter avatar for @page_eco](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/page_eco.jpg)
Very interesting paper looking at national identity.
👉Alsace-Lorraine regions were contested between 🇫🇷 & 🇩🇪
👉 Both countries repressed regional identities
👉 Regional identities got stronger afterwards
by @sirdeh & @KaiGehring1
forthcoming @AEAjournals
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FEuWdFmxUYAA2TTn.jpg)
![Twitter avatar for @Matt__Graham](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/Matt__Graham.jpg)
NEW PAPER
"Measuring Misperceptions?"
The one-word answer is "no." There is a substantial gap between the beliefs researchers describe and the beliefs surveys measure.
Paper: m-graham.com/papers/Graham_…
Presenting today (Tu 2/17) at 2 pm eastern: jawspolisci.network
[1/n]
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FEubgtYzXcAQRVmX.png)
![Twitter avatar for @NateHMiller](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/NateHMiller.jpg)
How much are markets likely to self-correct after an otherwise anticompetitive merger? I address this in a new working paper with wunderkind Peter Caradonna and frequent coauthor @GloriaSheu:
“Mergers, Entry, and Consumer Welfare”
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
(1/N)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FEuXE7hsXUAUKWys.jpg)
![Twitter avatar for @JoelvdWeele](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/JoelvdWeele.jpg)
1/ Tobacco & oil firms famously foment doubt about the harmful impact of their actions. In a new pub in @EJ_RES w/ @foerster_manuel we show people do the same: they justify selfishness by "casting doubt” on its impact, reducing others' prosociality: bit.ly/3jYHdnh
Thread
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FEub8pDjWYAAHiB_.png)
![Twitter avatar for @SephorahMangin](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/SephorahMangin.jpg)
My paper "Efficiency in search & matching models: A generalized Hosios condition" is now published in JET.
The main result applies to any market with frictional meeting process, but it’s particularly relevant for macroeconomists who study unemployment.
authors.elsevier.com/a/1cW7w50waSOD3
![Twitter avatar for @A_Schwa](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/A_Schwa.jpg)
Using Medicare claims data on heart attack outcomes, I find shrinkage measures create big, hidden, performance "taxes". For hospital heart attack mortality measures, the tax is about 40% on average. For smaller hospitals in the bottom size quintile, the tax is ~80%. (6/11)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FEul-TI8UcAQpjd6.png)
![Twitter avatar for @jonj](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/jonj.jpg)
🚨 New paper in press @ JESP 🚨
With ⬆️ racial diversity one might expect ⬆️ interactions btw White and non-White Americans
Instead we find that ⬆️ racial diversity prompt White Americans to structure environments to ⬇️ contact with non-White others
1/
psyarxiv.com/yzpr2
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FEuW9npFXMAUhnqK.png)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FEuW9zf4WYAMF5IB.png)
![Twitter avatar for @AjaycencyMatrix](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/AjaycencyMatrix.jpg)
Lots of observational studies find that granting land tenure to farmers has big impacts on investment.
That's NOT what Heather Huntington and I find in our large randomized controlled trial (forthcoming JDE doi.org/10.1016/j.jdev… ).
![Twitter avatar for @instrumenthull](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/instrumenthull.jpg)
Just posted a new (short) working paper!
It’s on the interpretation of "marginal outcome tests" for racial bias, as recently popularized by Arnold et al. (2018) and others
bit.ly/2ZbijY4
Here's a quick summary thread 👇
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FEuR6dapXAAkjhbK.png)
More: power subsidies in Indian agriculture; robustness to misspecification in macro models; bureaucrat allocation
Interesting discussions
![Twitter avatar for @ben_golub](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/ben_golub.jpg)
Something I'd like to understand better:
This far into the pandemic, I'm surprised not to be seeing big Slacks organized around research topics.
What I have in mind is a substitute for conference or department hallway talk - the same in some respects, different in others.
1/
![Twitter avatar for @arpitrage](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/arpitrage.jpg)
Some good innovation here
![Twitter avatar for @JIntlEcon](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_40/JIntlEcon.jpg)
Journal of International Economics @JIntlEcon