Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Tatyana Deryugina @tderyugina.bsky.social · 22h

Hey #EconSky working in environmental econ! Looking for things to do this weekend? Why not write up a 2-3 page proposal for a cool conference-publication combo, happening in May 2025 in Washington, DC?

Submit your proposal (or paper) here by Oct 20: conference.nber.org/confsubmit/b...

Submission: 8th Annual NBER Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy Conference, Page 1 of 2 - MyNBER

conference.nber.org

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Georgetown Center for Economic Research @gcer-gu.bsky.social · 2d

🎉 Congratulations to Professor Ivana Komunjer on being elected a Fellow of the Econometric Society
@econometric.bsky.social one of the highest distinctions in the field of economics! Since 1931, only 1,254 scholars have received this honor 🧵 [1/3]

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · 10d

Head-scratching WaPo article says solar tax credits are slowing adoption, and ending them will (by mid-century) result in more solar panels on roofs.

Explain *that*, Econ 101 professors.

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Column | Solar tax credits are ending. Here’s why that could be good for solar.

It could force the industry to address the issues that have made installing solar more expensive in the U.S. than elsewhere in the developed world.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Sep 8

A bittersweet day. Long-time EPA chief economist and @aereorg.bsky.social fellow @AlMcGartland (other site) is retiring. His dedication to practical, public-spirited, and good-humored policymaking will be missed at the EPA. Here's hoping his voice continues to be heard and influence felt.

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ClimateFran @climatefran.bsky.social · Sep 4

Its not just climate science that's wrong in DOE's dreadful climate report - the economics is terrible too!

salatainstitute.harvard.edu/environmenta...

Environmental economists respond to Trump administration climate report - The Salata Institute

The economists tell the Department of Energy that its findings are “woefully out of date” and rely on “an array of fallacies.”

salatainstitute.harvard.edu

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Sep 3

ICE and DHS are proposing (again!) to limit student visas to 4 years before requiring reauthorization. Makes no sense for PhD programs.

See something, say something. Comment here by Sept 29.

www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media

Unlike most nonimmigrant classifications, which are admitted for a fixed time period, aliens in the F (academic student), J (exchange visitor), and most I (representatives of foreign information media...

www.federalregister.gov

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ClimateFran @climatefran.bsky.social · Sep 2

DOE's embarrassment of a "climate science" report is 150 pages where as this response from the scientific community is 500.

My take: It takes much more effort to refute nonsense than it does to generate it, a tax on the time of all who care about fact and accuracy
sites.google.com/tamu.edu/doe...

DOEresponseSite

On July 29, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a report from its Climate Working Group (CWG). This report features prominently in the EPA's reconsideration of its 2009 Endangerment Finding...

sites.google.com

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Tatyana Deryugina @tderyugina.bsky.social · Aug 27

Over 125 economists signed the open letter calling on the President, Congress, and the American public to uphold the principles of Federal Reserve independence and not remove Lisa Cook without due process.

There's still time to sign! And please share.

#EconSky

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Open letter

Click here to add your signature. An Open Letter from Economists in Support of Governor Lisa Cook and Federal Reserve Independence To the President, Members of Congress, and the American public: We wr...

docs.google.com

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Aug 12

3/3 Ergo ... "A pre-tax price of $3 per gallon would imply the marginal social benefit of the fuel is nearly 7 times the ($0.44) marginal social cost."

Huh? That ignores the private cost, presumably around $3. Adding that to even their discounted SCC means *total* social costs exceed $3 by a lot.

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Aug 12

2/3 "assume a relatively high SCC of, say, $75. Deflated by a MCPF value of 1.5 that would result in a carbon tax of $50, which equates to about $0.44 per gallon of gas."

Why are we deflating the SCC by the deadweight loss from raising revenue? (Also, since when is $75 "relatively high"?)

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Aug 12

Three amazing points in one paragraph of the DOE report on GHGs.

www.energy.gov/articles/dep...

1/3 The Social Cost of Carbon "is not intended to measure the private marginal benefits ... of fossil fuels." Correct! (But not relevant. That's why it's the called the Social *Cost* of Carbon.)

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Jul 24

👇especially #6 and #7.

6. Clear writing comes from clear thinking.

7. If readers don’t understand your writing, that’s your fault, not theirs.

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · Jul 23

Some professional news: After more than a decade of columnizing at The Washington Post, I'm taking the buyout.
This is my last column. It is my advice to any other lucky pundits who land a perch like this -- with 11 principles I've aspired to, even if I haven't always achieved them:
wapo.st/3TU2fGw

Opinion | 11 tips for becoming a columnist

Here’s my advice for handling the awesome responsibility of this job.

wapo.st

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · Jul 23

Some professional news: After more than a decade of columnizing at The Washington Post, I'm taking the buyout.
This is my last column. It is my advice to any other lucky pundits who land a perch like this -- with 11 principles I've aspired to, even if I haven't always achieved them:
wapo.st/3TU2fGw

Opinion | 11 tips for becoming a columnist

Here’s my advice for handling the awesome responsibility of this job.

wapo.st

410 720 4.5K

Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Jul 10

Published papers can become suddenly more important. This 2017 paper is among the most read and cited #JAERE papers in the last 12 months.

*Subsidizing EV charging stations would be twice as effective as subsidizing EVs.*

By Shanjun Li, Lang Tong, Jianwei Xing, and Yiyi Zhou
tinyurl.com/bhrt3zsj

The Market for Electric Vehicles: Indirect Network Effects and Policy Design | Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists: Vol 4, No 1

Abstract The market for plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) exhibits indirect network effects due to the interdependence between EV adoption and charging station investment. Through a stylized model, we d...

tinyurl.com

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Jul 9

Brander and Taylor (1988): tariffs on imports of open-access resources can be pareto-improving. Now @prakrati.bsky.social shows the converse empirically in #JAERE. Bans on environmental service exports (waste imports) can be environmentally beneficial.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...

Global Impact of a Unilateral Waste Trade Regulation | Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists: Vol 0, No ja

www.journals.uchicago.edu

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Jul 9

Those annoying text messages work.

State government appeals to save energy largely failed when broadcast over radio and television, but succeeded via text.

New in #JAERE from Dylan Brewer and Jim Crozier.

cc: @aereorg.bsky.social

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

Who heeds the call to conserve in an energy emergency? Evidence from smart thermostat data | Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists: Vol 0, No ja

www.journals.uchicago.edu

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Jul 3

I wear mine often. Good shirt; good cause.

Tatyana Deryugina @tderyugina.bsky.social · Jul 3

Here's your periodic reminder of how to easily support Ukraine: buy & wear an "Economists for Ukraine" t-shirt!

www.bonfire.com/economists-f...

Economists for Ukraine T-Shirt | Bonfire

Profits from this fundraiser will be used to meet under-served needs in Ukraine.. Over 5 million Ukrainians have left the country since the war, and over 7 million have...

www.bonfire.com

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Tatyana Deryugina @tderyugina.bsky.social · Jul 3

Here's your periodic reminder of how to easily support Ukraine: buy & wear an "Economists for Ukraine" t-shirt!

www.bonfire.com/economists-f...

Economists for Ukraine T-Shirt | Bonfire

Profits from this fundraiser will be used to meet under-served needs in Ukraine.. Over 5 million Ukrainians have left the country since the war, and over 7 million have...

www.bonfire.com

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Jun 27

WaPo op-ed supports Carbon Tariffs for three reasons (and my rebuttals):
1. Revenue (that's all tariffs, not just carbon tariffs)
2. Protect US industry (again, all tariffs)
3. The US has no domestic carbon price (huh?)

wapo.st/46bDgWo

Opinion | A carbon tariff is the right way to confront China on trade

Climate-friendly tariffs would penalize countries that undercut U.S. companies with dirtier production.

wapo.st

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Jun 9

Tax cuts that balance the federal budget:

Year 1) Pass 10-year budget that cuts taxes in yr 1 and raises them in yrs 2-10.
Year 2) Treat yr 1 as baseline, pass new budget that cuts taxes in yr 2 and raises them in yrs 3-11.
Year 3) Treat yr2 as baseline, .... you get the idea.

Problem solved!

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Jun 4

@jaereaere.bsky.social

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Jun 3

Is the double dividend back? Maybe if we include distributional concerns, according to Frederick van der Ploeg, Armon Rezai, and Miguel Tovar Reaños in @jaereaere.bsky.social
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

Third-Best Carbon Taxation: Trading Off Emission Cuts, Equity, and Efficiency | Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists: Vol 12, No 4

Abstract We analyze carbon taxes, lump-sum climate dividends, and changes to the level and progressivity of the income tax system that optimally trade off carbon emissions, equity, and efficient raisi...

www.journals.uchicago.edu

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Jun 3

Efficient solar investment depends not only on *where* panels are installed, but *when*. Insightful new paper in ‪@jaereaere.bsky.social‬ by Nicolas Astier and Nicolas Hatem.

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

Dynamic (Mis)allocation of Investments in Solar Energy | Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists: Vol 12, No 4

Abstract Because they differ in terms of technology, size, and location, solar photovoltaic installations exhibit very heterogeneous levelized costs of producing electricity. Therefore, the present va...

www.journals.uchicago.edu

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Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein.bsky.social · May 14

NEW: Judge orders release of Georgetown's Badar Khan Suri, saying Trump admin went after him on social media but produced no evidence he's affiliated with Hamas or poses a danger. DOJ said case belongs in immigration court not USDC. w/@kyledcheney www.politico.com/news/2025/05...

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Catherine Wolfram @cwolfram.bsky.social · May 10

UK sanctioning "as many as 100 oil tankers that it says are part of a shadow fleet of vessels helping Russia to move its oil," which could expand the number of ships the country has designated by up to 75%.

With increased enforcement and lower oil prices, It would be a great time to lower the cap.

UK to Sanction Up to 100 Oil Tankers in Russia’s Shadow Fleet

The UK sanctioned senior executives in an oil trading network it says has been helping Moscow keep exports flowing, part of sweeping measures that will also include up to 100 ships.

www.bloomberg.com

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · May 6

Treasury economists got this right back in 2024. home.treasury.gov/news/feature...

Rent, House Prices, and Demographics

Laura Feiveson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for MicroeconomicsArik Levinson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Climate and Energy EconomicsSydney Schreiner Wertz, EconomistFor the past two decades, rents ...

home.treasury.gov

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · May 6

@ezrakleinbot.bsky.social and @dkthomp.bsky.social get this wrong in 𝐴𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒: “... in the late 1970s, home construction started to fall behind the pace of population growth.” Actually, the number of US dwellings grew faster than population in the 70s and 80s, and kept pace in the 90s.

Plot showing housing growth faster than population growth.

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Apr 16

Spectacular paper. Congrats.

"Uncertainty" (my scare quotes) has been wielded rhetorically by opponents of regulation. But one way to reduce regulatory uncertainty is to stop opposing the regulation.

Now Ashley et al. show that regulatory uncertainty can prolong unprofitable investments.

Ashley Langer @alanger.bsky.social · Apr 16

Recently the President ordered that coal generators don’t need to comply with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS). My forthcoming JPE paper with Gautam Gowrisankaran and Wendan Zhang on uncertainty surrounding MATS, so it seems like it’s time for a thread! www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Regulatory Relief for Certain Stationary Sources to Promote American Energy

1. Coal-fired electricity generation is essential to ensuring that our Nation's grid is reliable and that electricity is affordable for the

www.whitehouse.gov

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Ashley Langer @alanger.bsky.social · Apr 16

Recently the President ordered that coal generators don’t need to comply with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS). My forthcoming JPE paper with Gautam Gowrisankaran and Wendan Zhang on uncertainty surrounding MATS, so it seems like it’s time for a thread! www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Regulatory Relief for Certain Stationary Sources to Promote American Energy

1. Coal-fired electricity generation is essential to ensuring that our Nation's grid is reliable and that electricity is affordable for the

www.whitehouse.gov

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Arik Levinson @ariklevinson.bsky.social · Apr 15

If the paper title has a question mark, is the answer ever "yes"?
(See what I did there.)
aka "Betteridge's law"

VoxDev @voxdev.bsky.social · Apr 15

🆕 Do carbon offsets work? Evidence from the world’s largest offset programme

Today on VoxDev, Raphael Calel (Georgetown University), Jonathan Colmer (University of Virginia), Antoine Dechezleprêtre (OECD) & Matthieu Glachant (Mines Paris) outline research on India: voxdev.org/topic/energy...

Do carbon offsets work? Evidence from the world’s largest offset programme

Carbon offset programmes allow polluters to pay others to reduce emissions on their behalf. In theory, this can achieve the same emissions reductions at a lower cost, but only if the payment actually ...

voxdev.org

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