Alexander Wulfers
@alexanderwulfers.com
Economics and business editor @ F.A.S., @faznet.bsky.social. Host @ Was kostet die Welt? Economic historian at heart.
Öffentliche Güter wie Schulen und Krankenhäuser könnten helfen, die soziale Ungleichheit zu bekämpfen – wenn sie denn dort wären, wo arme Menschen leben. Unsere Datenanalyse zeigt: In Deutschland ist das Gegenteil der Fall.
Ungleiche Chancen: Gymnasien gibt's nur für Reiche
Je mehr der Staat organisiert, umso besser für die Armen: So heißt es oft. Doch Bildung und Gesundheit zeigen: Staatliche Angebote sind oft dort, wo es den Leuten sowieso gut geht.
www.faz.net
January 11, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Öffentliche Güter wie Schulen und Krankenhäuser könnten helfen, die soziale Ungleichheit zu bekämpfen – wenn sie denn dort wären, wo arme Menschen leben. Unsere Datenanalyse zeigt: In Deutschland ist das Gegenteil der Fall.
Reposted by Alexander Wulfers
There we go. That there’s a headline.
Who’s who at X, the deepfake porn site formerly known as Twitter
A look inside Elon Musk’s big tent
www.ft.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:08 PM
There we go. That there’s a headline.
Ein paar Denkanregungen fürs neue Jahr: IfW-Präsident Moritz @schularick.bsky.social blickt im FAS-Interview auf 2026. So viele neue Schulden und trotzdem so wenig Wirtschaftswachstum? "Irgendwann stoßen Sie an die Grenzen der Mathematik." Zum Schluss gibt's trotzdem einen Hauch von Optimismus.
IfW-Ökonom Schularick über die Krise der deutschen Wirtschaft
Der Ökonom Moritz Schularick sagt, warum Deutschland zu sehr auf die Autoindustrie hofft, was bei den Verteidigungsausgaben schiefläuft und wie aus der Krise eine Chance werden kann.
www.faz.net
December 31, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Ein paar Denkanregungen fürs neue Jahr: IfW-Präsident Moritz @schularick.bsky.social blickt im FAS-Interview auf 2026. So viele neue Schulden und trotzdem so wenig Wirtschaftswachstum? "Irgendwann stoßen Sie an die Grenzen der Mathematik." Zum Schluss gibt's trotzdem einen Hauch von Optimismus.
Reposted by Alexander Wulfers
New post!
There was a lot of innovation in medicine and biomedical research this year, and I've tried to summarize the biggest ones in this blogpost.
Medical breakthroughs in 2025. Plus a serious note at the end.
www.scientificdiscovery.dev/p/medical-br...
There was a lot of innovation in medicine and biomedical research this year, and I've tried to summarize the biggest ones in this blogpost.
Medical breakthroughs in 2025. Plus a serious note at the end.
www.scientificdiscovery.dev/p/medical-br...
Medical breakthroughs in 2025
... and a happy new year.
www.scientificdiscovery.dev
December 28, 2025 at 6:37 PM
New post!
There was a lot of innovation in medicine and biomedical research this year, and I've tried to summarize the biggest ones in this blogpost.
Medical breakthroughs in 2025. Plus a serious note at the end.
www.scientificdiscovery.dev/p/medical-br...
There was a lot of innovation in medicine and biomedical research this year, and I've tried to summarize the biggest ones in this blogpost.
Medical breakthroughs in 2025. Plus a serious note at the end.
www.scientificdiscovery.dev/p/medical-br...
the world is getting better
meanwhile.... medicine has taken INSANE leaps and bounds in the last 2 years.
we're out here curing HIV and leukemia and creating 100% efficacy vaccines against all sorts of cancers, and now this??
between this and renewable energy outstripping fossil fuels in efficiency, the future is bright
we're out here curing HIV and leukemia and creating 100% efficacy vaccines against all sorts of cancers, and now this??
between this and renewable energy outstripping fossil fuels in efficiency, the future is bright
Wanna see real-life miracles? Fund scientific research.
A team of US scientists just cured Alzheimer’s in mice — and there is now hope that the disease can be reversed in humans.
futurism.com/health-medic...
A team of US scientists just cured Alzheimer’s in mice — and there is now hope that the disease can be reversed in humans.
futurism.com/health-medic...
December 31, 2025 at 10:25 AM
the world is getting better
Reposted by Alexander Wulfers
Reposted by Alexander Wulfers
Christian Meier, Nahost-Korrespondent der @faznet.bsky.social. Bitte lesen.
www.faz.net/aktuell/feui...
www.faz.net/aktuell/feui...
Wie aus Israel berichten? Zur Kritik an Sophie von der Tann
Die ARD-Korrespondentin Sophie von der Tann wird wegen ihrer Beiträge zu Israel und Gaza kritisiert. In überschießender Weise. Die Kampagne gegen sie ist Teil von Bestrebungen, kritische Berichterstat...
www.faz.net
December 3, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Christian Meier, Nahost-Korrespondent der @faznet.bsky.social. Bitte lesen.
www.faz.net/aktuell/feui...
www.faz.net/aktuell/feui...
"Kein Land freut sich mehr über Trump als China", sagte der MIT-Ökonom David Autor mir im Interview. Es gab aber durchaus auch Gründe für Optimismus in diesem Gespräch, zum Beispiel in Bezug auf die Jobverluste durch KI. Vielleicht kommt doch alles nicht so schlimm?
MIT-Ökonom David Autor über Deindustrialisierung und Künstliche Intelligenz
In Deutschland herrscht Angst vor Deindustrialisierung und Jobverlusten durch die KI. Der amerikanische Ökonom David Autor liefert Argumente für mehr Optimismus.
www.faz.net
December 3, 2025 at 2:36 PM
"Kein Land freut sich mehr über Trump als China", sagte der MIT-Ökonom David Autor mir im Interview. Es gab aber durchaus auch Gründe für Optimismus in diesem Gespräch, zum Beispiel in Bezug auf die Jobverluste durch KI. Vielleicht kommt doch alles nicht so schlimm?
Reposted by Alexander Wulfers
basically believe that this mostly depends on when you got Properly Online - before a certain cut-off your normal internet experience was high agency/high effort, but it eventually became low agency/low effort, and it's impossible to create a social media experience that caters to both groups
yes I think @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com has talked about this, it's deeply alienating to find out that the vast majority of people do not want the curated timeline / engagement / discussion version of social media that I find to be the only good version of the experience
November 12, 2025 at 3:31 PM
basically believe that this mostly depends on when you got Properly Online - before a certain cut-off your normal internet experience was high agency/high effort, but it eventually became low agency/low effort, and it's impossible to create a social media experience that caters to both groups
Reposted by Alexander Wulfers
This a big deal: "China’s carbon dioxide emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months"
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past 18 months, analysis finds
World’s biggest polluter on track to hit peak emissions target early but miss goal for cutting carbon intensity
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:20 AM
This a big deal: "China’s carbon dioxide emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months"
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
Handelsökonomin Pinelopi Goldberg glaubt nicht, dass es für die Globalisierung noch einen Weg zurück gibt. Donald Trump hat einen Teufelskreis ausgelöst, an dessen Ende das Streben nach Autarkie steht.
Handelsexpertin Goldberg über Trump: „Es gibt keinen Weg zurück aus dem Wirtschaftskrieg“
Amerikas wichtigste Handelsexpertin glaubt: Donald Trump hat einen Teufelskreis in Gang gesetzt, der alles immer teurer macht – sogar wenn er gar nicht mehr im Amt ist.
www.faz.net
November 10, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Handelsökonomin Pinelopi Goldberg glaubt nicht, dass es für die Globalisierung noch einen Weg zurück gibt. Donald Trump hat einen Teufelskreis ausgelöst, an dessen Ende das Streben nach Autarkie steht.
Pretty wild: Americans are getting shorter. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The decline in the physical stature of the U.S. population parallels the diminution in the rate of increase in life expectancy
The U.S. healthcare and food-provisioning systems have failed to create an environment in which the human biological organism can flourish. Consequent…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Pretty wild: Americans are getting shorter. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
China zeigt in diesen Tagen dem Westen wie nie zuvor seine Abhängigkeit bei kritischen Rohstoffen. Das ist die eine Lesart der aktuellen geopolitischen Lage.
Es gibt aber noch eine andere: Vielleicht waren die vergangenen Wochen gerade der Anfang vom Ende des chinesischen Monopols.
Es gibt aber noch eine andere: Vielleicht waren die vergangenen Wochen gerade der Anfang vom Ende des chinesischen Monopols.
Die Chance des Westens: Warum Chinas Monopol auf Seltene Erden bröckelt
Im Konflikt um Seltene Erden hat der Westen Zeit gewonnen. Chinas Monopol beginnt schon jetzt zu bröckeln.
www.faz.net
November 2, 2025 at 5:46 PM
China zeigt in diesen Tagen dem Westen wie nie zuvor seine Abhängigkeit bei kritischen Rohstoffen. Das ist die eine Lesart der aktuellen geopolitischen Lage.
Es gibt aber noch eine andere: Vielleicht waren die vergangenen Wochen gerade der Anfang vom Ende des chinesischen Monopols.
Es gibt aber noch eine andere: Vielleicht waren die vergangenen Wochen gerade der Anfang vom Ende des chinesischen Monopols.
Reposted by Alexander Wulfers
I’m really starting to suspect that most of the tech bros haven’t actually read Tolkien, as they certainly don’t understand it.
The gentle hobbits save the “hard men” of Gondor, largely through compassion and selflessness. Not the other way around. The Christian parable is barely hidden!
The gentle hobbits save the “hard men” of Gondor, largely through compassion and selflessness. Not the other way around. The Christian parable is barely hidden!
Elon Musk: "It is time for the English to ally with the hard men, like Tommy Robinson, and fight for their survival or they shall surely all die" 29th October 2025. 2 million views in its first hour.
October 29, 2025 at 9:31 AM
I’m really starting to suspect that most of the tech bros haven’t actually read Tolkien, as they certainly don’t understand it.
The gentle hobbits save the “hard men” of Gondor, largely through compassion and selflessness. Not the other way around. The Christian parable is barely hidden!
The gentle hobbits save the “hard men” of Gondor, largely through compassion and selflessness. Not the other way around. The Christian parable is barely hidden!
"a critic of contemporary democracy" would be someone who thinks it might be nice to have a few more referenda or who has weirdly strong opinions on FPTP vs. proportionate voting. Curtis Yarvin is a far-right nationalist who thinks some races are more suitable to slavery than others. wtf @ox.ac.uk
The End of the End of History
The second Oakeshott Lecture of 2025 - with perennially viral tech philosopher Curtis Yarvin and eminent historian David Starkey
From San Francisco via Dimes Square, the Oakeshott Lectures bring Curti...
talks.ox.ac.uk
October 20, 2025 at 5:09 PM
"a critic of contemporary democracy" would be someone who thinks it might be nice to have a few more referenda or who has weirdly strong opinions on FPTP vs. proportionate voting. Curtis Yarvin is a far-right nationalist who thinks some races are more suitable to slavery than others. wtf @ox.ac.uk
i was trying to remember the time i went to see Joel Mokyr speak in 2019 and found that they actually recorded the talk. i think it gives a good impression of what an inspiring speaker he is. The book he was referring to is coming out soon! podcasts.ox.ac.uk/china-and-we...
China and the West: Many Great Divergences
Part of Panel 4: Technology, Institutions and Divergence: Arguments and Counterarguments About Rise and Fall, Success and Failure Chair: Christopher McKenna (Oxford)
podcasts.ox.ac.uk
October 13, 2025 at 9:06 PM
i was trying to remember the time i went to see Joel Mokyr speak in 2019 and found that they actually recorded the talk. i think it gives a good impression of what an inspiring speaker he is. The book he was referring to is coming out soon! podcasts.ox.ac.uk/china-and-we...
"Bob Fogel said to me once: For economics to work without economic history is like an evolutionary biologist without paleontology. You just miss 99.5% of all the species that ever walked on this earth." Joel Mokyr www.youtube.com/live/__0sGvj...
LIVE: Nobel Prize in economics winner Joel Mokyr speaks
YouTube video by Reuters
www.youtube.com
October 13, 2025 at 8:47 PM
"Bob Fogel said to me once: For economics to work without economic history is like an evolutionary biologist without paleontology. You just miss 99.5% of all the species that ever walked on this earth." Joel Mokyr www.youtube.com/live/__0sGvj...
Reposted by Alexander Wulfers
Mokyr's work could not have been done today in most economics departments, but the irony is that his work would not fit in history departments today, either. Methodologically he seems more 'history' than 'economics' to economists, but the content and reasoning are too 'economics' for most historians
October 13, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Mokyr's work could not have been done today in most economics departments, but the irony is that his work would not fit in history departments today, either. Methodologically he seems more 'history' than 'economics' to economists, but the content and reasoning are too 'economics' for most historians
Reposted by Alexander Wulfers
That's like four economics awards in a row with a substantial economic-history component, right? That strikes me as a remarkable shift. www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists...
October 13, 2025 at 10:02 AM
That's like four economics awards in a row with a substantial economic-history component, right? That strikes me as a remarkable shift. www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists...
Reposted by Alexander Wulfers
One of my favorite moments from Nobel Prize history:
The Nobel Committee couldn’t reach Stanford professor Paul Milgrom to let him know that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics, so his fellow winner, Robert Wilson, went over to his house in the middle of the night to wake him up!
The Nobel Committee couldn’t reach Stanford professor Paul Milgrom to let him know that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics, so his fellow winner, Robert Wilson, went over to his house in the middle of the night to wake him up!
October 10, 2025 at 12:43 PM
One of my favorite moments from Nobel Prize history:
The Nobel Committee couldn’t reach Stanford professor Paul Milgrom to let him know that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics, so his fellow winner, Robert Wilson, went over to his house in the middle of the night to wake him up!
The Nobel Committee couldn’t reach Stanford professor Paul Milgrom to let him know that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics, so his fellow winner, Robert Wilson, went over to his house in the middle of the night to wake him up!
Wow
I am delighted to share that Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee will join our Department of Economics @econ.uzh.ch at the University of Zurich on July 1, 2026, as Lemann Foundation Professors of Economics.
🧵 1/7
🧵 1/7
October 10, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Wow
Reposted by Alexander Wulfers
In her lunch with the FT the OnlyFans CEO says her company pays more tax than the entire British fishing industry. Quite a stat.
October 4, 2025 at 9:09 AM
In her lunch with the FT the OnlyFans CEO says her company pays more tax than the entire British fishing industry. Quite a stat.
Im Dezember hat Simon Johnson den Nobelpreis gewonnen. Jetzt hatte ich Gelegenheit mit ihm zu sprechen über den "Stresstest" für die Institutionen in den USA, die überschätzte Künstliche Intelligenz, und die Branchen, in denen Europa jetzt noch die Führungsrolle übernehmen kann.
Nobelpreisträger Simon Johnson über KI, Donald Trump und Europa
Simon Johnson bekam den Nobelpreis für Wirtschaft. Hier sagt er, warum er das Potential der KI für überschätzt hält, wie Donald Trump der Wirtschaft schadet und wo Europa jetzt eine Führungsrolle einn...
www.faz.net
October 1, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Im Dezember hat Simon Johnson den Nobelpreis gewonnen. Jetzt hatte ich Gelegenheit mit ihm zu sprechen über den "Stresstest" für die Institutionen in den USA, die überschätzte Künstliche Intelligenz, und die Branchen, in denen Europa jetzt noch die Führungsrolle übernehmen kann.
Was macht gute Arbeit aus? Und wie wirkt sich die Künstliche Intelligenz darauf aus, ob wir unsere Arbeit als gut empfinden? Darüber habe ich mit einem gesprochen, der es wissen muss: Christopher Pissarides, Arbeitsmarktökonom und Nobelpreisträger.
Renommierter Volkswirt: Christopher Pissarides und das Glück der Arbeit
Für seine Ideen zur Arbeitslosigkeit hat Christopher Pissarides den Nobelpreis bekommen. Heute beschäftigt ihn, was eigentlich gute Arbeit ist – und ob Künstliche Intelligenz dazu beiträgt.
www.faz.net
September 25, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Was macht gute Arbeit aus? Und wie wirkt sich die Künstliche Intelligenz darauf aus, ob wir unsere Arbeit als gut empfinden? Darüber habe ich mit einem gesprochen, der es wissen muss: Christopher Pissarides, Arbeitsmarktökonom und Nobelpreisträger.