Best of #econtwitter - Week of July 26, 2020
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Best of Econtwitter. Recommendations always welcome over email or on Twitter @just_economics.
New papers
![Twitter avatar for @JeffDenning](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/JeffDenning.jpg)
We've updated our working paper "Why Have College Graduation Rates Increased?" with @EricEide1 @merrilldub and two new coauthors @KJMumford and @Richwpatt
We have added some evidence on why GPAs are increasing
edworkingpapers.com/ai20-77
![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%2FEdYDa1zU0AAagQV.png)
![Twitter avatar for @NatashaRSarin](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/NatashaRSarin.jpg)
In a new NBER WP out today, @LHSummers and I estimate that investment in tax compliance can generate over $1T in the next decade.
NBER: nber.org/papers/w27571.…
A version is also out in Tax Notes today:
taxnotes.com/tax-notes-toda…
![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%2FEdYpa98UcAAWepP.png)
![Twitter avatar for @ryanbedwards](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/ryanbedwards.jpg)
New paper alert! 🚨🎉
Fight fire with finance: a randomized field experiment to curtail land-clearing fire in Indonesia
w/ Wally Falcon, Grace Hadiwidjaja, Matt Higgins, Roz Naylor and Sudarno Sumarto @FoodSecurity_SU @tnp2k @SMERUInstitute
Paper: bit.ly/30ATmWc
![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%2FEdb7O5JUcAIZNB_.png)
![Twitter avatar for @KClausing](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/KClausing.jpg)
(1/9) How to make a more equitable globalization? The tax system is essential. Of late, the labor share of income has fallen, yet capital is difficult to tax due to its international mobility. In a new draft, @gabriel_zucman, Emmanuel Saez and I propose a coordinated minimum tax.
![Twitter avatar for @mdoepke](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/mdoepke.jpg)
The impact of the Covid-19 recession on women's employment is unlike any other in history.
In a new paper with @janeor_econ, @TertiltMichele, and @TitanAlon, we explore what this implies for the recession, the recovery, and gender equality.
faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~mdo738/resear…
(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%2FEdXsRLgXsAAWN4t.png)
![Twitter avatar for @JakeVigdor](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/JakeVigdor.jpg)
Q: Why is rent so high? (median US renter paid 14% of income for rent in 1960, 24% by 2017.)
That’s the topic of my new paper with @evansuw alum Alanna Williams, presented this morning @nberpubs #NBERSI2020.
Want the answer (or at least a partial one)? Follow along! (1/11)
![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%2FEdoOCqiUEAAVue9.jpg)
![Twitter avatar for @ProfJAParker](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/ProfJAParker.jpg)
(1/7)I'm going to take this @JoeVavra Tweet as the taking off point to Tweet out my new-and-improved (and should be accepted "as is") paper on the dynamics of lending standards with @ludwigstraub and Mike Fishman. Link: s3.amazonaws.com/mitsloan-php/w…
![Twitter avatar for @JoeVavra](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_40/JoeVavra.jpg)
Joe Vavra @JoeVavra
Summaries of existing papers
Thanks to NBER SI, a lot of these this week:
![Twitter avatar for @onceuponA](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/onceuponA.jpg)
This paper is so interesting, and it's going to make (some) people mad. There was a great chart in the presentation—doesn't appear to be in the current paper draft—on what a small sliver of overall earnings medical school tuition is (2%). conference.nber.org/conf_papers/f1…
![Twitter avatar for @Jabaluck](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_40/Jabaluck.jpg)
Jason Abaluck @Jabaluck
^the thread here made a lot of doctors on twitter mad (see this chart); very important research. The original thread here.
![Twitter avatar for @arpitrage](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/arpitrage.jpg)
Really looking forward to seeing this paper by @TradeDiversion and @FelixTintelnot
jdingel.com/research/Dinge…
![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%2FEdoXzXkWkAIN4JN.png)
^thread
![Twitter avatar for @hmmlowe](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/hmmlowe.jpg)
A classic question in development economics is whether (and what types of) poverty traps exist. This new paper by Balboni, @orianabandiera, Burgess, @maitreesh, @anton_heil finds evidence for poverty traps in Bangladesh. Let me try to explain... [1/N]
dropbox.com/s/4tfuhclfvh6y…
![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%2FEdgafcPUYAAVP7S.png)
![Twitter avatar for @dmckenzie001](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/dmckenzie001.jpg)
@jhaushofer @VictoriaBaranov @hmmlowe @orianabandiera @maitreesh @anton_heil @BerkOzler12 In my overview of poverty traps with Aart Kraay in JEP aeaweb.org/articles?id=10… we argue that poverty traps are geographic - @cbb2cornell work and others found poverty traps for really poor people in remote places where cows are main production. 4/n
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,h_314,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc5e8345-a4bc-49cb-a7df-eee5959adc7f_625x625.png)
![Twitter avatar for @PennStateEcon](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/PennStateEcon.jpg)
Why do innovations often come from startups rather than more established firms?
Our current faculty Vijay Krishna & former PhD student Yu Awaya [now Rochester faculty] explain in their paper, "Startups and Upstarts", forthcoming in the JPE.
Link: drive.google.com/file/d/1L-u4TC… 1/4
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Data
![Twitter avatar for @arpitrage](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/arpitrage.jpg)
Nice new comprehensive land price data from FHFA team and Larson, Shui, Davis, Oliner:
fhfa.gov/PolicyPrograms…
![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%2FEdnm9zdXsAM9sLy.png)
![Twitter avatar for @kevinrinz](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/kevinrinz.jpg)
Also, if you want to play with the data on mean physician earnings by CZ and specialty that Josh mentioned, you can download them here:
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,h_314,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0383bfac-e9a4-4b50-9473-d9c5ce6bdf22_218x300.png)
![Twitter avatar for @arpitrage](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/arpitrage.jpg)
Looks like really cool data on mapping farms in case someone thinks of some good use cases.
![Twitter avatar for @heshan_cheri](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_40/heshan_cheri.jpg)
Shan He @heshan_cheri