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Jesse Rothstein

@jrothst.bsky.social

20K followers 1.1K following 220 posts

Economist, public policy wonk, professor at UC Berkeley, faculty director of California Policy Lab & Center for Studies in Higher Education

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Jesse Rothstein is an economist, and currently professor of public policy and economics at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2010, he was chief economist at the US Department of Labor. He is the founding director of the California Policy Lab, a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and is a member of the editorial boards of Education Finance and Policy, The Review of Economics and Statistics, American Economic Review, and Industrial Relations. .. more

Education 35%

Economics 31%

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Reposted by Joshua Goodman

Jesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · 1d

Reminder!

Sandy Black @econsandy.bsky.social · Aug 19

Society of Labor Economists (SoLE) Annual Conference will be May 1-2, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. Submission portal is now open! Deadline for submissions is October 31--don't forget to submit! It will be a great conference! (organized by me and @jrothst.bsky.social)

mailchi.mp/sole-jole/so...

SOLE 2026 Submissions Open

mailchi.mp

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Reposted by Dan Goldhaber, Joshua Goodman, Peter Bergman

Jesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · 10d

Come join us at the @capolicylab.bsky.social as our new policy director in Sacramento!

The California Policy Lab @capolicylab.bsky.social · 10d

Please share with your networks: The California Policy Lab is hiring a policy director to amplify our policy impact in Sacramento. We're looking for a seasoned policy professional with deep experience in California state government. First review date is Oct. 10th: capolicylab.org/careers/poli...

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Reposted by Caroline Krafft, Jesse Rothstein, Raúl Pacheco-Vega , and 1 more Caroline Krafft, Jesse Rothstein, Raúl Pacheco-Vega, Peter Bergman

The California Policy Lab @capolicylab.bsky.social · 10d

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Reposted by Jesse Rothstein, David S. Tanenhaus

Peter Sagal @petersagal.bsky.social · 29d

Read this, by @jamellebouie.net. These are the stakes.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/o...

Opinion | They Don’t Want to Live in Lincoln’s America

www.nytimes.com

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Jesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · Sep 10

New paper alert!

The @capolicylab.bsky.social and @thepeoplelab.bsky.social partnered with the CA Dept of Social Services and @codeforamerica.org to help low-income Californians find out about and claim tax credits and pandemic stimulus payments, and to learn what works in outreach.

The People Lab @thepeoplelab.bsky.social · Sep 9

New in @pnas.org! Light-touch government outreach boosted take-up of the Child Tax Credit & stimulus payments among very low-income families—while higher-touch strategies added little.

By: @elizabethlinos.bsky.social, J. Lasky-Fink, V. Dorie, @jrothst.bsky.social

🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Interventions to bolster benefits take-up: Assessing intensity, framing, and targeting of government outreach | PNAS

Behaviorally informed “nudges” are widely used in government outreach but are often seen as too modest to address poverty at scale. In four field e...

www.pnas.org

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Reposted by Jesse Rothstein

The People Lab @thepeoplelab.bsky.social · Sep 9

Interventions to bolster benefits take-up: Assessing intensity, framing, and targeting of government outreach | PNAS

Behaviorally informed “nudges” are widely used in government outreach but are often seen as too modest to address poverty at scale. In four field e...

www.pnas.org

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Reposted by Jesse Rothstein

reblong.bsky.social @reblong.bsky.social · Sep 4

If you live in the Bay Area, but stand in allegiance with DC’s protest against the national guard policing their city, and all the other violations of law and decency, join us, Saturday, 9/6
Where: Oakland city hall, 12th street BART
When: Saturday at 11. #freeDC #indivisible #nokings #50501protest

We Are All DC: A National March — Free DC

DC communities are joyful, powerful — and we're under attack. Armed National Guard soldiers are carrying guns through our neighborhoods. ICE and FBI agents are profiling, harassing, and violently arr...

freedcproject.org

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Jesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · Aug 28

Note that the first coauthor quoted is, in fact, an economist.

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Ben Casselman @bencasselman.bsky.social · Aug 26

Just received this statement from Lisa Cook:
"President Trump purported to fire me 'for cause' when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so. I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022."

Ben Casselman @bencasselman.bsky.social · Aug 26

President Trump said he is firing Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, "effective immediately." It's his most direct assault yet on Fed independence -- and a step that it is far from clear he can legally take.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/u... #EconSky

Trump Says He Is Removing Lisa Cook From Federal Reserve Board

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Jesse Rothstein

Berkeley Center for Studies in Higher Education @berkeleycshe.bsky.social · Aug 25

We are hiring an Executive Director for our Executive Leadership Academy (ELA)! Lead the next chapter of a program that's shaped 623 leaders.

Find out more and apply by Sept 22.

🔗 aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05083

#HigherEdJobs

Academic Coordinator I – Executive Director – Executive Leadership Academy - Center for Studies in Higher Education

University of California, Berkeley is hiring. Apply now!

aprecruit.berkeley.edu

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Reposted by Caroline Krafft, Jesse Rothstein, Robert Metcalfe , and 10 more Caroline Krafft, Jesse Rothstein, Robert Metcalfe, Joshua Goodman, Valerie Mueller, Miles Corak, Kathleen J. Mullen, Lauren Hersch Nicholas, Dominique Meurs, Scott A. Imberman, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, Martin Kreidl, Simon Wiederhold

Sandy Black @econsandy.bsky.social · Aug 19

SOLE 2026 Submissions Open

mailchi.mp

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Jesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · Aug 15

Pesto?

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Reposted by Jonathan Portes

Jesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · Aug 15

I would like to associate myself with this letter.

Key sentence: "It is unconscionable for Israel to treat civilians as liabilities to be contained rather than as human beings entitled to livable conditions."

The economics is secondary - but if it gives an excuse to make that point, good.

Joseph E. Stiglitz @josephestiglitz.bsky.social · Aug 14

To Prime Minister Netanyahu, an open letter from 23 economists at universities in the US and Europe. We urge you to read it.

drive.google.com/file/d/1D_Sv...

Letter to PM Netanyahu from 23 economists.pdf

drive.google.com

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Reposted by Mark A. Lemley, Simon Chapman, Jesse Rothstein , and 8 more Mark A. Lemley, Simon Chapman, Jesse Rothstein, Martin Gaynor, Alan Richardson, Silvia Secchi, Pamela K. Gilbert, Samantha Brennan, Alfie Kohn, Rebecca Zorach, Monisha Bajaj

Brian Tyler Cohen @briantylercohen.bsky.social · Aug 14

Armed Trump administration agents wearing masks just showed up outside of Gavin Newsom’s press conference.

This is what rising fascism looks like.

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Jesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · Aug 14

My campus email should be working now. I don't plan to check the myyahoo account, which I assume will be inundated by spam now.

Reposted by Dani Rodrik, Jonathan Portes, Matthew Bunn , and 10 more Dani Rodrik, Jonathan Portes, Matthew Bunn, Stephen P. Jenkins, Caroline Krafft, Jesse Rothstein, Simon Wren‐Lewis, Raffaella Ravinetto, Samuel Bentolila, Aaron Sojourner, Georg Weizsäcker, Dietmar Fehr, Raphaël Soubeyran

Joseph E. Stiglitz @josephestiglitz.bsky.social · Aug 14

To Prime Minister Netanyahu, an open letter from 23 economists at universities in the US and Europe. We urge you to read it.

drive.google.com/file/d/1D_Sv...

Letter to PM Netanyahu from 23 economists.pdf

drive.google.com

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Jesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · Aug 14

I've been hearing that emails to my berkeley.edu address from off campus are bouncing today. It seems to be some configuration issue.

For the time being, if you write to me please copy [email protected].

University of California, Berkeley: Home

UC Berkeley pushes the boundaries of knowledge, challenges convention and expands opportunity to create the leaders of tomorrow.

berkeley.edu

Jesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · Aug 13

I tried to explain university finances, indirect costs, and the extortionary demands that the Trump admistration is making of many universities.

Opportunity Lab @berkeleyolab.bsky.social · Aug 13

The landscape of US #highered is changing. @jrothst.bsky.social breaks down the conditions attached to donations, how endowments can be managed, and how research funding negotiations between universities and the federal government are unfolding in @laist.com:

What goes into a university budget? And how do endowments work? Let an expert be your guide

Million dollar settlements to regain federal funding? Rising tuition, but layoffs and course cuts? We're here to help.

laist.com

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Reposted by Jesse Rothstein

Opportunity Lab @berkeleyolab.bsky.social · Aug 13

What goes into a university budget? And how do endowments work? Let an expert be your guide

Million dollar settlements to regain federal funding? Rising tuition, but layoffs and course cuts? We're here to help.

laist.com

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Reposted by Menzie Chinn, Jesse Rothstein, Trevon D. Logan

Elizabeth Weber Handwerker @elizwebhand.bsky.social · Aug 4

Looking for a 2 page explanation of CES Benchmark revisions? I wrote one at www.congress.gov/crs-product/...

www.congress.gov

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Reposted by Claudia Sahm, Stephen P. Jenkins, David Brady , and 9 more Claudia Sahm, Stephen P. Jenkins, David Brady, Nancy Birdsall, Michael A. Clemens, Bruce Baker, Caroline Krafft, Jesse Rothstein, Peter Holmes, C. Kirabo Jackson, Christopher Peters, Dana R. Fisher

Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · Aug 1

"...escalates the President’s unprecedented attacks on the independence & integrity of the federal statistical system.

"The president seeks to blame someone for unwelcome economic news.

"...firing Dr. McEntarfer is without merit & undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics..."

President Trump called into question the integrity of the Employment Situation report that the BLS released this morning. He accused BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer of deliberately reporting false numbers to reflect poorly on this administration. This baseless, damaging claim undermines the valuable work and dedication of BLS staff who produce the reports each month. This escalates the President’s unprecedented attacks on the independence and integrity of the federal statistical system.
The President seeks to blame someone for unwelcome economic news. The Commissioner does not determine what the numbers are but simply reports on what the data show. The process of obtaining the numbers is decentralized by design to avoid opportunities for interference. The BLS uses the same proven, transparent, reliable process to produce estimates every month. Every month, BLS revises the prior two months’ employment estimates to reflect slower-arriving, more-accurate information.
This rationale for firing Dr. McEntarfer is without merit and undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics that are a cornerstone of intelligent economic decision-making by businesses, families, and policymakers. U.S. official statistics are the gold standard globally. When leaders of other nations have politicized economic data, it has destroyed public trust in all official statistics and in government science.

We call on Congress to respond immediately, to investigate the factors that led to Commissioner McEntarfer’s removal, to strongly urge the Commissioner’s continued service, and ensure that the nonpartisan integrity of the position is retained. The statement from the President undermines these tenets and politicizes data which cannot and should not be used for political points.

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Reposted by David Levinson, Stephen P. Jenkins, Timothy J. Bartik , and 11 more David Levinson, Stephen P. Jenkins, Timothy J. Bartik, Michael A. Clemens, Jesse Rothstein, Lars Vilhuber, Guy Grossman, Joshua Goodman, Aaron Sojourner, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, Douglas N. Harris, Michael J. Hicks, Cullen S. Hendrix, Goldie Blumenstyk

Michael R Strain @michaelrstrain.bsky.social · Aug 1

Dr. Erika McEntarfer has devoted her career to public service. She has conducted herself as BLS Commissioner with great integrity. There is no evidence whatsoever that BLS data are politically biased.

#econsky

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Reposted by Fatih Guvenen, Berk Özler, Aaron Sojourner , and 1 more Fatih Guvenen, Berk Özler, Aaron Sojourner, Simon Galle

Jesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · Jul 29

This piece is very moving, and reflects how I am feeling about the Israel/Gaza calamity.

Silence in the Face of Gaza's Starvation is Absolute Betrayal of Holocaust Victims
By Orit Kamir
Originally published in Haaretz

substack.com/home/post/p-...

Thanks to @deanbaker13.bsky.social for posting it.

Column on the Responsibility of Israelis to Speak Up Against Mass Starvation in Gaza

I generally restrict my comments here to economic issues, but some things are hard to ignore.

substack.com

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Reposted by Peter Bergman

Jesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · Jul 26

I just donated to Sameer Project and World Central Kitchen. Please join me. Links in the below post.

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Reposted by Caroline Krafft, Jesse Rothstein, Efrén O. Pérez

Jesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · Jul 26

This has changed a lot in the last couple decades - start and end dates are both much earlier. My untested hypothesis is that it is an effort to get more of the school year before the spring standardized testing dates.

Reposted by Jesse Rothstein

Jonathan Ladd @jonmladd.bsky.social · Mar 2

The things for Dems to ask for before any votes for appropriations:
1) compliance with past federal laws before any new appropriations law
2) Elon Musk out of government
3) only a 1-2 month funding bill to ensure Trump has to come back to Congress regularly and thus Congress can ensure compliance.

LOLGOP ❌👑❌ @thefarce.org · Feb 28

Johnson needs Dem votes to keep the government open.

AND he wants those votes to legitimate Elon's lawless destruction.

This is the Democrats' best chance to educate the public about the coup in progress.

Zero votes for Elon's coup must be our demand.

Right?

punchbowl.news/archive/2282...

Yet the challenges facing Johnson are numerous, especially whether he can cut bipartisan deals in a deeply divided Washington. Johnson will have to negotiate on a six-month-long CR with Democrats. That’s where he is going to get into some choppy waters. FWIW: Trump endorsed a CR Thursday evening.
In our conversations with Johnson, the Louisiana Republican acknowledges that he’ll need Democrats to pass a CR. Yet he also seems intent on codifying some of the DOGE cuts in a CR package. There’s no way Democrats will go for that. So how will Johnson thread that needle? He’ll make the political argument that Democrats are standing up for what Republicans dismiss as waste, fraud and abuse. But he doesn’t have much time to do this before the March 14 deadline.

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Reposted by Jesse Rothstein

Jesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · Feb 19

This will show up in the March report, to be released on April 4. Why not in the February report, coming out March 7? Because that asks for employment in the pay period including Feb. 12, and the firings were nearly all too late for that.

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Reposted by Jesse Rothstein, David S. Knight, Monika Piazzesi

Jesse Rothstein @jrothst.bsky.social · Feb 19

It seems almost unavoidable at this point that we are headed for a deep, deep recession. Just based on 200K+ federal firings & pullback of contracts, the March employment report (to be released April 4) seems certain to show bigger job losses than any month ever outside of a few in 2008-9 and 2020.

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Reposted by Jesse Rothstein

Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · Apr 18

The only appropriate response to this is impeachment and removal from office. Every moment the political press spends spinning out theories about 2026 and immigration polling is a minute they are not spending asking Republicans in Congress about their plans to enforce the rule of law

A screenshot of a tweet by the official White House account.

Text: “Fixed it for you, @NYTimes.
Oh, and by the way, @ChrisVanHollen - he's NOT coming back.”

There is also a screenshot of the front page of the NyT with a large headline and photo about Van Hollen meeting with Abrego Garcia. They have edited the headline with red ink handwriting to say “ Senator meets with deported ms-13 illegal alien in El Salvador who’s never coming back.”

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