Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Nathan Lane @nathanlane.bsky.social · 9h

Meritocracy is back

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 22h

Trump said he deserved a cut for brokering the TikTok deal, and at once there was agreement that his son Baron would have a top executive slot... though he hasn't asked for it, and has no apparent qualifications to hold it. This is how Trump 2.0 works. www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025...

Barron Trump tipped for top TikTok job

US president’s 19-year-old son could be appointed to the app’s board

www.telegraph.co.uk

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Nathan Lane @nathanlane.bsky.social · 1d

“IMF is fully aligned” with Bessent bailout - IMF head

Alas, I get the Fund’s role here

I don’t get the claim that Argentina has “robust” policy for increasing reserves

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 3d

EVERCORE, on Argentina bailout:

There are concerns “Bessent could try to push the Fed to open up a swap line directly with the Argentine central bank at the Fed’s credit risk. .. Bessent is likely hoping that an initial down payment on domestic farm support will give him enough political cover ..”

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Felix Hamer • electricfelix @electricfelix.bsky.social · 4d

Xiaoying You: "Nearly 80% of CATL’s overseas investment has been in Europe. The company has pumped $12.3 billion into three production hubs, according to the September analysis. Its German facility is up and running, while its plants in Hungary and Spain are under construction." #battchat

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Rafe Meager (they/them) @economeager.bsky.social · 4d

(1) banger
(2) i wish non-economists would realise just how much time each economics paper takes to write (because of our norms about how thorough each paper has to be)

Seema Jayachandran @seema.bsky.social · 4d

We just spent 6 months to add 1 figure to this paper. Some people said, "Couples aren't prioritizing men's careers. Men just have better earnings opportunities when moving."

Earnings effects of moves for couples on the left, singles on the right. Negligible gap between single men and women.

Event study coefficients that show that men's earnings rise more than women's among couples following a cross-commuting zone move (left panels). The pattern is muted or reverses among single men and single women (right panels).

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SIEPR @siepr.bsky.social · 4d

New paper from SIEPR's Jared Bernstein @jaredb-econ.bsky.social and Daniel Posthumus delves into U.S. manufacturing's slide and what to do about it. Key insights: The 2000s China Shock tells only part of the story, and Trump tariffs will only make the underlying problem worse.

tinyurl.com/bbrmb28f

table showing how U.S. manufacturing output and productivity have declined since 1970.

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Nathan Lane @nathanlane.bsky.social · 4d

Something about it resonates w me tbh

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Industrial Policy Group @industrialpolicy.bsky.social · 5d

Our co-founder @nathanlane.bsky.social featured on @visiblehandpod.bsky.social for a fascinating conversation on South Korea's Industrial Policy! 🙌

The Visible Hand Podcast @visiblehandpod.bsky.social · 11d

Nathan Lane on South Korea's Industrial Policy: www.thevisiblehand.uk/episodes/epi...

Episode 96: Nathan Lane on South Korea’s Industrial Policy — The Visible Hand

www.thevisiblehand.uk

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Todd Tucker @toddntucker.com · 5d

Despite Liberation Day tariffs, beef imports up 30 percent in first half of year, writes @taylornrogers.ft.com et al
www.ft.com/content/5fad...

Billionaire beef baron says US not producing enough to satisfy protein craze

JBS’s Wesley Batista says strong US demand is pushing country towards imports despite Trump’s tariffs

www.ft.com

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Nathan Lane @nathanlane.bsky.social · 5d

I spoke with the Visible Hand podcast about South Korean industrial policy www.thevisiblehand.uk/episodes/epi...

Episode 96: Nathan Lane on South Korea’s Industrial Policy — The Visible Hand

www.thevisiblehand.uk

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Michael Derby @michaelsderby.bsky.social · 6d

Italy trying to get US to call off mega tariff on imported pasta that will double prices for American consumers. Via Reuters

Rome calls on US to reconsider extra tariff on pasta imports

With almost $800 million in exports, the U.S. is one of Italy's top three export markets for pasta, a staple of the country's culinary heritage and a substantial export commodity.

www.reuters.com

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Nathan Lane @nathanlane.bsky.social · 6d

Milei's need for a US bailout understandably makes headlines.

But also contradictory:

Milei's contempt for markets doing...what markets would do.

There are many reasons why traders would rationally sell pesos (FT).

But no no *this* sell-off is due to enemies & haters.

www.ft.com/content/0425...

Argentina’s wily currency traders drain Javier Milei’s dollars

Labyrinthine restrictions and chronic instability spawn strategies to profit from foreign exchange policies

www.ft.com

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Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 6d

A 2-mile-long suspension bridge between Italy and Sicily — the world’s longest of its type — is scheduled to open by 2032. Opponents say it’s a costly waste of time.

Can Italy Finally Build the World’s Longest Suspension Bridge?

Italy is planning a mega-bridge to Sicily. Locals want none of it.

bloom.bg

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Samuel Moyn @samuelmoyn.bsky.social · 7d

Joey Fishkin on the compact balkin.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-...

Balkinization: The Art of Replacing the Law with the Deal

A group blog on constitutional law, theory, and politics

balkin.blogspot.com

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Ben Fritz @benfritz.bsky.social · 9d

The most important human story in the entertainment industry right now is the severe downturn in film and TV production in LA and how it's affecting middle-class crew workers. I spoke to dozens of them for this story about the depressed Hollywood economy. www.wsj.com/business/med...

L.A.’s Entertainment Economy Is Looking Like a Disaster Movie

Work is evaporating, businesses are closing, longtime residents are leaving, and Los Angeles’s creative middle class is hanging on by a thread.

www.wsj.com

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Max Read @maxread.info · 8d

today's newsletter: a consideration of the many wonderful cars in One Battle After Another, in particular Willa's 2005 Yaris, Sensei's T-Bird Super Coupe and Bob's boosted 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R

The Oscar Should Go to Bob Ferguson's 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R

'One Battle After Another' as a car movie

maxread.substack.com

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 7d

Rowan helped push the President of U Penn out. Now he wants to use the power of the government, including tax dollars, to persuade universities to surrender their academic freedom. Because, he believes, he and other rich men know how to run a university better than the faculty.

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Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 8d

“A list of the 321 canceled grants obtained by Heatmap tells a different story. While much of the funding was awarded to blue state-based companies, the intended projects would have benefitted communities elsewhere, including in Texas, Florida, and Louisiana.”

The Department of Energy’s Latest Cuts Will Hit Red States, Too

A list of terminated grants obtained by Heatmap contains a number of grants that will cost jobs and revenue in Republican-led states.

heatmap.news

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Nathan Lane @nathanlane.bsky.social · 8d

We’re hiring @ LSE

We have *multiple* economist positions—assistant and associate professor—here at LSE International Development.

Our economics group is expanding and we have exciting stuff planned.

We’re keen on big picture economists.

Feel free to DM me questions.

American Economic Association: JOE Listings - August 1, 2025 - January 31, 2026

www.aeaweb.org

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NBER @nber.org · 9d

Knowledge spillovers are key to growth but hard to estimate. Randomly giving out energy-efficient motors to leather-goods firms in Bangladesh led to strong local spillovers, from Ritam Chaurey, Gaurav Nayyar, Siddharth Sharma, and @ericverhoogen.bsky.social https://www.nber.org/papers/w34296

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Jonas Nahm @jonasnahm.com · Sep 12

1/ New report from @bentleyallan.bsky.social's Net Zero Policy Lab: As the US withdraws from green tech industries and pressures allies to follow suit, China is stepping in to power the developing world's energy transition. The scale is staggering.

www.netzeropolicylab.com/china-green-...

China Green Leap Outward — Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab

A new China Low Carbon Technology FDI Database

www.netzeropolicylab.com

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Nathan Lane @nathanlane.bsky.social · 10d

Gm

Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 10d

The European Union will restrict steel imports into the market as local producers struggle with the impact of overcapacity and trade barriers.

EU to Ramp-Up Tariffs on Steel Imports, Mirroring US Duties

The European Union will restrict steel imports into the European market as local producers struggle with the impact of overcapacity coming from Asia and trade barriers from the US and other trading partners.

bloom.bg

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 12d

I fully understand how difficult it is to remain focused on any one particular atrocity but this really ought to be a serious scandal and people need to pay heavy prices for this

Michael Paarlberg @mpaarlberg.bsky.social · 12d

I think the Trump admin assumed no one would try to find out who the people on the boats they blew up really were

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Rohan Sandhu @rohansandhu.bsky.social · 12d

In a new case study, Sebastian Buck and I unpack the origins & functioning of a €3 billion investment instrument established by the German state of Saarland. Since 2022, the fund has made investments with the twin aims of stabilizing existing industries and enabling long-term transformation⬇️

Dani Rodrik @drodrik.bsky.social · 12d

How one German state (Saarland) combined institutional vision with an override of fiscal rules to set the stage for the transformation of its economic base away from old, dirty industries. www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/wien...

Regional Economic Transformation in Germany: The Origins and Evolution of the Saarland Transformation Fund

www.hks.harvard.edu

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Nathan Lane @nathanlane.bsky.social · 15d

(This is to say nothing of Twitter's unrelating parade of "hey, let me show the worst of humankind" content)

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