Aaron Schwartz
@aschwartz.bsky.social
MD-PhD professing at the University of Pennsylvania. Health, economics, and health economics.
Pinned
Our study testing AI/LLM assistance in health care delivery has been released as a World Bank working paper. Good for folks without NBER access. You can find the paper here. documents.worldbank.org/en/publicati...
PSA: Regal theaters are showing Casablanca on the big screen today nationwide.
If you haven’t seen it, check it out! It is hilarious, clever, touching, beautiful.
If you haven’t seen it, check it out! It is hilarious, clever, touching, beautiful.
a woman is smiling in a black and white photo while sitting at a table with a lamp in the background .
ALT: a woman is smiling in a black and white photo while sitting at a table with a lamp in the background .
media.tenor.com
February 14, 2026 at 3:04 PM
PSA: Regal theaters are showing Casablanca on the big screen today nationwide.
If you haven’t seen it, check it out! It is hilarious, clever, touching, beautiful.
If you haven’t seen it, check it out! It is hilarious, clever, touching, beautiful.
This tech and piloting talent has made for incredible viewing.
Drones have brought viewers closer to the athletes than ever before. The pilots behind them have to be at the top of their game, too. on.wsj.com/4rmalH2
Everyone Watching the Olympics Is Buzzing About $150,000 Flying Robots
Drones have brought viewers closer to the athletes than ever before. The pilots behind them have to be at the top of their game, too.
on.wsj.com
February 13, 2026 at 12:16 PM
This tech and piloting talent has made for incredible viewing.
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
"As it is the power of exchanging that gives occasion to the division of labour, so the extent of this division must always be limited by the extent of that power, or, in other words, by the extent of the market."
It actually rules that theres a professor of rare moths, and an author specializing in hockey related romance novels.
February 12, 2026 at 1:54 PM
"As it is the power of exchanging that gives occasion to the division of labour, so the extent of this division must always be limited by the extent of that power, or, in other words, by the extent of the market."
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
I love being a labor economist, where null is interesting if your model is still convincing.
Anytime a student tells me they are worried they didn't find statistically significant results, I remind them of David Card. Two Nobel winning papers had null results (NJ/PA minimum wage and Mariel Boatlift)
Anytime a student tells me they are worried they didn't find statistically significant results, I remind them of David Card. Two Nobel winning papers had null results (NJ/PA minimum wage and Mariel Boatlift)
I have a new paper. We look at ~all stats articles in political science post-2010 & show that 94% have abstracts that claim to reject a null. Only 2% present only null results. This is hard to explain unless the research process has a filter that only lets rejections through.
February 12, 2026 at 1:13 PM
I love being a labor economist, where null is interesting if your model is still convincing.
Anytime a student tells me they are worried they didn't find statistically significant results, I remind them of David Card. Two Nobel winning papers had null results (NJ/PA minimum wage and Mariel Boatlift)
Anytime a student tells me they are worried they didn't find statistically significant results, I remind them of David Card. Two Nobel winning papers had null results (NJ/PA minimum wage and Mariel Boatlift)
Fascinating and intuitive. This post covers Glaeser (2003)-like misallocation losses over and above Harberger triangles. It also describes how small supply shocks can drastically tip allocations when prices can’t adjust.
I'm super excited for my new paper with Alex Tabarrok
and Mark Whitmeyer.
tl;dr: price controls cause chaos. That chaos causes misallocation. We develop new tools to measure that misallocation, which is 1-9 the size of the Harberger triangle www.economicforces.xyz/p/price-cont...
and Mark Whitmeyer.
tl;dr: price controls cause chaos. That chaos causes misallocation. We develop new tools to measure that misallocation, which is 1-9 the size of the Harberger triangle www.economicforces.xyz/p/price-cont...
Price controls cause chaos
Price controls are worse than you think
www.economicforces.xyz
February 12, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Fascinating and intuitive. This post covers Glaeser (2003)-like misallocation losses over and above Harberger triangles. It also describes how small supply shocks can drastically tip allocations when prices can’t adjust.
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
Federal government employment is down 324k since the start of 2025 amidst DOGE cuts—that's more than 10% of the Federal workforce
The large drop in October was caused by many workers who had been on deferred resignation becoming officially unemployed
The large drop in October was caused by many workers who had been on deferred resignation becoming officially unemployed
February 11, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Federal government employment is down 324k since the start of 2025 amidst DOGE cuts—that's more than 10% of the Federal workforce
The large drop in October was caused by many workers who had been on deferred resignation becoming officially unemployed
The large drop in October was caused by many workers who had been on deferred resignation becoming officially unemployed
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
This event is today! There's still time to sign up if you want to learn more about the health economics job market in places outside of economics departments.
Next month, the AcademyHealth Health Economics Interest Group is hosting a webinar on navigating the job market for health economists. Here about what hiring committees look for when evaluating candidates. Also probably helpful for non-economists!
Sign up here: wustl-hipaa.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Sign up here: wustl-hipaa.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
February 10, 2026 at 3:30 PM
This event is today! There's still time to sign up if you want to learn more about the health economics job market in places outside of economics departments.
It’s been frigid for too many weeks. Time to throw on the cold weather classic.
February 9, 2026 at 2:00 AM
It’s been frigid for too many weeks. Time to throw on the cold weather classic.
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
we admit grad students based on their ability to learn existing knowledge, but recommend them based on their ability to create new knowledge. we can’t predict how a person will be as a researcher based only on their undergrad record
#econsky #academicsky
marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/02/inte...
#econsky #academicsky
marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/02/inte...
Interview in China (accompanying new edition of Who Gets What and Why)
marketdesigner.blogspot.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:40 PM
we admit grad students based on their ability to learn existing knowledge, but recommend them based on their ability to create new knowledge. we can’t predict how a person will be as a researcher based only on their undergrad record
#econsky #academicsky
marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/02/inte...
#econsky #academicsky
marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/02/inte...
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
Excited to share: the Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) Fund officially launched this week as an independent nonprofit.
Coefficient Giving is proud to be an anchor funder. 🧵
Coefficient Giving is proud to be an anchor funder. 🧵
February 7, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Excited to share: the Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) Fund officially launched this week as an independent nonprofit.
Coefficient Giving is proud to be an anchor funder. 🧵
Coefficient Giving is proud to be an anchor funder. 🧵
One of the most important scientific achievements of the last 50 years was making the causal links between prior viral infections (e.g. EBV) and subsequent serious diseases.
My Op Ed in Today's Washington Post: "The long-lasting effects of viruses — and the anti-vaccine movement. For some people, a viral infection can have devastating long-term effects."
wapo.st/4qjFtWk
wapo.st/4qjFtWk
February 6, 2026 at 3:52 PM
One of the most important scientific achievements of the last 50 years was making the causal links between prior viral infections (e.g. EBV) and subsequent serious diseases.
This is an important issue I’ve come across in our research on denials. Most health insurer claims denials (according to their label at least) have nothing to do with coverage rules.
📊Explore the latest issue of the HPC DataPoints series, “Evidence of Administrative Complexity: Health Insurance Claim Denials in Massachusetts.”
🔗: masshpc.gov/publications...
#HealthPolicy
🔗: masshpc.gov/publications...
#HealthPolicy
February 5, 2026 at 9:05 PM
This is an important issue I’ve come across in our research on denials. Most health insurer claims denials (according to their label at least) have nothing to do with coverage rules.
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
The Washington Post gutted the health team which I helped to lead despite our stories being among the most widely read, impactful and adept at reaching new audiences.
February 5, 2026 at 4:17 PM
The Washington Post gutted the health team which I helped to lead despite our stories being among the most widely read, impactful and adept at reaching new audiences.
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
We have a new paper in JAMA Internal Medicine!
Patient race is widely used in medical algorithms...but it's unclear how patients feel about this.
We conduct the first nationally-representative YouGov survey to find out, producing four findings with practical clinical implications. 1/
Patient race is widely used in medical algorithms...but it's unclear how patients feel about this.
We conduct the first nationally-representative YouGov survey to find out, producing four findings with practical clinical implications. 1/
February 4, 2026 at 6:24 PM
We have a new paper in JAMA Internal Medicine!
Patient race is widely used in medical algorithms...but it's unclear how patients feel about this.
We conduct the first nationally-representative YouGov survey to find out, producing four findings with practical clinical implications. 1/
Patient race is widely used in medical algorithms...but it's unclear how patients feel about this.
We conduct the first nationally-representative YouGov survey to find out, producing four findings with practical clinical implications. 1/
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
My manuscript "The Economics of Noncompete Clauses" is now out in the Journal of Economic Perspectives.
Few topics have garnered more debate and policy attention over the last few years. This article brings us up to speed on the debate and the current answers.
pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/...
Few topics have garnered more debate and policy attention over the last few years. This article brings us up to speed on the debate and the current answers.
pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/...
February 4, 2026 at 5:18 PM
My manuscript "The Economics of Noncompete Clauses" is now out in the Journal of Economic Perspectives.
Few topics have garnered more debate and policy attention over the last few years. This article brings us up to speed on the debate and the current answers.
pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/...
Few topics have garnered more debate and policy attention over the last few years. This article brings us up to speed on the debate and the current answers.
pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/...
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
A non-journalist friend asked me — is losing 300 people from a newsroom a lot?
I pointed out there are about 200 journalists at the Philadelphia Inquirer and about 100 at the Baltimore Banner. Imagine losing both those publications in a day.
I pointed out there are about 200 journalists at the Philadelphia Inquirer and about 100 at the Baltimore Banner. Imagine losing both those publications in a day.
February 5, 2026 at 1:32 AM
A non-journalist friend asked me — is losing 300 people from a newsroom a lot?
I pointed out there are about 200 journalists at the Philadelphia Inquirer and about 100 at the Baltimore Banner. Imagine losing both those publications in a day.
I pointed out there are about 200 journalists at the Philadelphia Inquirer and about 100 at the Baltimore Banner. Imagine losing both those publications in a day.
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
"When researchers cannot specify and be transparent about what equity means in their work, it risks becoming an aesthetic rather than a commitment."
Sharp piece by Choi et al outling several issues with contemporary research that have increasingly troubled me.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Sharp piece by Choi et al outling several issues with contemporary research that have increasingly troubled me.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Advancing the Science and Scholarship of Health Equity
Health equity research has advanced substantially during the past 2 decades and has emerged as a foundational element of population health science and scholarship.1 JAMA Health Forum has embraced thi...
jamanetwork.com
February 4, 2026 at 3:44 PM
"When researchers cannot specify and be transparent about what equity means in their work, it risks becoming an aesthetic rather than a commitment."
Sharp piece by Choi et al outling several issues with contemporary research that have increasingly troubled me.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Sharp piece by Choi et al outling several issues with contemporary research that have increasingly troubled me.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Evan Starr's new JEP paper on non-compete clauses includes some important discussion of physicians. Worth a read if you are interested in health care labor markets. pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/...
pubs.aeaweb.org
February 4, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Evan Starr's new JEP paper on non-compete clauses includes some important discussion of physicians. Worth a read if you are interested in health care labor markets. pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/...
There are phenomenal speakers. Sign up, students.
Next month, the AcademyHealth Health Economics Interest Group is hosting a webinar on navigating the job market for health economists. Here about what hiring committees look for when evaluating candidates. Also probably helpful for non-economists!
Sign up here: wustl-hipaa.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Sign up here: wustl-hipaa.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
February 4, 2026 at 4:57 PM
There are phenomenal speakers. Sign up, students.
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
One week from today!
Next month, the AcademyHealth Health Economics Interest Group is hosting a webinar on navigating the job market for health economists. Here about what hiring committees look for when evaluating candidates. Also probably helpful for non-economists!
Sign up here: wustl-hipaa.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Sign up here: wustl-hipaa.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
February 3, 2026 at 5:08 PM
One week from today!
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
This made me weepy
February 4, 2026 at 1:38 AM
This made me weepy
Reposted by Aaron Schwartz
#AHRQ federal employees by GS series using OPM data as of Nov 2025. Running an Agency with no finance, grant, IT, contract & comms Feds. All replaced by contractors and farmed out to other agencies.
@firedbutfighting.bsky.social @standupforscience.bsky.social @donmoyn.bsky.social
@firedbutfighting.bsky.social @standupforscience.bsky.social @donmoyn.bsky.social
February 3, 2026 at 7:48 PM
#AHRQ federal employees by GS series using OPM data as of Nov 2025. Running an Agency with no finance, grant, IT, contract & comms Feds. All replaced by contractors and farmed out to other agencies.
@firedbutfighting.bsky.social @standupforscience.bsky.social @donmoyn.bsky.social
@firedbutfighting.bsky.social @standupforscience.bsky.social @donmoyn.bsky.social