Ben Barr
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benjaminbarr.bsky.social
Ben Barr
@benjaminbarr.bsky.social
1.9K followers 2K following 230 posts

Professor in Applied Public Health Research. Head WHO collaborating centre for policy research on the determinants of health equity.
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/population-health/staff/benjamin-barr/ . Was once an anthropologist, maybe I still am. .. more

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Public Health 46%
Medicine 29%
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Reposted by Michael Barnett, Ben Barr, Daniel Kuehn , and 3 more

jakemgrumbach.bsky.social
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 17h
New QJE for the minimum wage literature uses IRS data to study effects on small and medium size businesses. The effects seem…very good

academic.oup.com/qje/article/...
Who's Afraid of the Minimum Wage? Measuring the Impacts on Independent Businesses Using Matched U.S. Tax Returns* Nirupama L Rao, Max Risch The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 141, Issue 1, February 2026, Pages 373-427, https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjaf053 Published: 10 December 2025 Article history V PDF • Split View 66 Cite P Permissions < Share V Abstract A common concern surrounding minimum wage policies is their impact on independent businesses, which are often feared to be less able to bear or pass on cost increases. We examine how these typically small and medium-size firms accommodate minimum wage increases along product and labor market margins using a matched owner-firm-worker panel data set drawn from the universe of U.S. tax records over a 10-year period, and using state minimum wage changes as identifying variation. We find that on average, firms in highly exposed industries do not substantially reduce employment-they do not lay off workers but moderately reduce part-time hiring. Instead, these firms are able to fully finance the new labor costs with new revenues, leaving average owner profits unchanged. Higher wage floors, however, forestall entry, particularly for less productive firms, reducing the number of independent firms operating in these industries by roughly 2%. Yet these industries do not shrink; instead, incumbent responses and strong positive selection among entrants reshape industries that rely heavily on low-wage workers, yielding fewer but more productive firms after the cost shock. We also take a worker-level perspective to examine how potentially vulnerable individuals are affected by minimum wage increases. Using panels of low-earning and young workers, we find that their average earnings rise substantially with the minimum wage, while they are no less likely to be employed. Worker transitions indicate that minimum wage increases boost retention and that worker reallocation from independent firms toward corporations buffers dis…

Reposted by Ben Barr

healthwatch.bsky.social
Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social · 18h
The truth is the NHS would recover from the pandemic regardless, but more quickly without the obstacles of funding cuts, poorly planned reforms and managers chasing unachievable performance targets using magical methods like ‘data cleaning’
www.bmj.com/content/392/...
Waiting lists, emergency department stays, and cancer treatment: After 18 months how is Labour performing on the NHS?
Labour swept into power last year with bold promises to revitalise the NHS. Jane Feinmann examines its progress on key health commitments Saving the NHS from “the biggest crisis” in its history was o...
www.bmj.com

Reposted by Ben Barr

ritahamad.bsky.social
Rita Hamad @ritahamad.bsky.social · 22h
Cool new paper by colleagues @hsph.harvard.edu on school districts as proxies for neighborhood. District boundaries are underutilized in #pophealth research, limiting our ability to understand health impacts of school exposures. doi.org/10.1016/j.ss... @iaphs.bsky.social @capolicylab.bsky.social 1/

Reposted by Ben Barr

essobecker.bsky.social
Sascha O. Becker @essobecker.bsky.social · 1d
Important paper on "Deaths of Despair and the Decline of American Religion" by Tyler Giles, Dan Hungerman and Tamar Oostrom

👉 doi.org/10.1093/jeea...

Reposted by Ben Barr, Lisa Scullion

ruthpatrick0.bsky.social
Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 1d
End of working week but this article from @madeleinepower.bsky.socialn is a must-read. A plethora of names to describe 'food aid' conceals the reality they're all experienced as food banks, with the key fault line not *type* of provision but *demographic* factors www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Free and equal? The realities of lived experiences of food aid in the UK | Journal of Social Policy | Cambridge Core
Free and equal? The realities of lived experiences of food aid in the UK
www.cambridge.org

Reposted by Ben Barr

benbgeiger.bsky.social
Ben Baumberg Geiger @benbgeiger.bsky.social · 1d
Job opportunity - we need a fab new colleague to do quant research on work, welfare and mental health within
@kingscsmh.bsky.social (closes 8 Feb)

This is funded until Apr/28, but we'll support you in bids to extend it - please do circulate to suitable ppl!
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQD294/p...
Postdoctoral Research Associate in Work, Welfare & Mental Health at King's College London
Apply now for the Postdoctoral Research Associate in Work, Welfare & Mental Health role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.
www.jobs.ac.uk

Reposted by Ben Barr

imcmillan.bsky.social
Ian McMillan @imcmillan.bsky.social · 1d
I wait outside the closed shop and listen to the hum of the parcel machine. The shopkeeper arrives and tells me it’s Friday. I carry the papers in. The shopkeeper’s colleague arrives singing ‘It’s Friday!’ The Woman From The Care Home says ‘Friday at last! But I’m working tomorrow!’

Reposted by Ben Barr

imcmillan.bsky.social
Ian McMillan @imcmillan.bsky.social · 1d
Early stroll. I’ll leave that gleaming penny for someone else to pick up. A white van drives slowly down the pavement. The sky’s stained glass. A dropped rubber band as a description of a dance move. Uncorked birdsong.

benjaminbarr.bsky.social
Ben Barr @benjaminbarr.bsky.social · 2d
Yeh - the Bard of Barnsley is here
@imcmillan.bsky.social

Reposted by Elizabeth Saunders, Stephan Lewandowsky, Steve Peers , and 7 more

peterstefanovic.bsky.social
Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 2d
BREAKING: The UK is sending a single military officer to Greenland at the request of Denmark to participate in a multi-nation exercise

Reposted by Ben Barr

bigissue.com
Big Issue @bigissue.com · 3d
A new trial gave homeless people £2,000 to spend however they choose. What they spent the money on may surprise you.
Homeless people were given free money, no strings attached. Here's what happened
www.bigissue.com

Reposted by Ben Barr

jamiegollings.bsky.social
Jamie Gollings @jamiegollings.bsky.social · 3d
Would you take £12.5k now in exchange for pushing back your state pension by a year?

I'm currently exploring the idea of a Citizens Advance, which Andrew Lewin MP, its originator, makes the case for in a great blog piece for Best for Britain

bestforbritain.substack.com/p/would-you-...

(1/2)
Would you delay your pension to get on the housing ladder?
By Andrew Lewin MP
bestforbritain.substack.com

Reposted by Ben Barr

assocmhp.bsky.social
Association of Mental Health Providers @assocmhp.bsky.social · 3d
New ONS analysis shows stark health inequalities facing LGB+ people in England and Wales, with a 1.3× higher risk of death and significantly higher rates of suicide, drug overdose and alcohol-related disease. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

#MentalHealth #LGBT #Data
LGB+ people in England and Wales ‘much’ more likely to die by suicide than straight people
ONS analysis also shows LGB+ people more likely to die from drug overdoses and alcohol-related disease
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Ben Barr

walkerbragman.bsky.social
Walker Bragman @walkerbragman.bsky.social · 3d
Full story: www.importantcontext.news/p/nih-direct...
NIH Director Accepts Award From Anti-Vax Dark Money Group Founded By Accused Sexual Harasser
Jay Bhattacharya reunited with his old ally Jeffrey Tucker weeks after the political operative was revealed to have faced a sexual harassment scandal.
www.importantcontext.news

Reposted by Ben Barr, Michelle Everson

carolecadwalla.bsky.social
Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 4d
If you want to understand why the Ministry of Defence’s ‘strategic partnership’ with Palantir is so profoundly dangerous, please read my latest piece open.substack.com/pub/broligar...

Reposted by Nancy­ Knowlton­, Ben Barr, Richard Waite , and 1 more

ourworldindata.org
Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · 4d
The world dedicates a Poland-sized area of land to producing liquid biofuels such as bioethanol & biodiesel. Is there a more efficient way to generate energy?

Putting solar panels on the land used for biofuels, e.g., would produce enough electricity for all cars and trucks worldwide to go electric.
How much energy can be produced on global land currently used for liquid biofuels? Bar comparison showing energy per year from land currently used for liquid biofuels: Biofuels for transport — 1,400 TWh per year; Solar panels on the same land — 32,000 TWh per year. Side annotations: 31,000 TWh shown for context as the amount of electricity the world generated in 2024; 7,000 TWh per year shown as the amount of electricity the world would need to power all of its cars and trucks if they were electric. Note: This assumes the world uses 32 million hectares of land to grow crops for liquid biofuels, based on net land use which subtracts land allocated to co-products such as animal feed, and assumes solar PV uses 1 hectare of land per GWh. Data source: Energy Institute; Cerulogy; Ember; and author calculations. Chart is licensed CC BY to Our World in Data.

Reposted by Ben Barr

smcommission.bsky.social
Social Mobility Commission @smcommission.bsky.social · 4d
These cities show a sign of hope in the future of social mobility and levelling the playing field across the UK.

👉You can find out more in State of the Nation 2025 report bit.ly/3YxBycS

Reposted by Ben Barr

gavinfreeguard.bsky.social
Gavin Freeguard @gavinfreeguard.bsky.social · 4d
Wes Streeting at the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk Government 2026 conference: 'the British state is like a shopping trolley with a wonky wheel' and needs direction

Reposted by Ben Barr

ctvnewsottawa.bsky.social
CTV News Ottawa @ctvnewsottawa.bsky.social · 4d
Job cuts coming to Statistics Canada
Job cuts coming to Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada confirms it is cutting 850 positions and 12% of its executive team as the government shrinks the public service. CTV’s Stefan Keyes reports.
bit.ly

Reposted by Ben Barr, Stuart White

theguardian.com
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 5d
Imprisoned hunger striker linked to Palestine Action tells friend: ‘I’m dying’
Imprisoned hunger striker linked to Palestine Action tells friend: ‘I’m dying’
Francesca Nadin visited Heba Muraisi, 31, in a Wakefield prison at the weekend and says ‘her body is shutting down’ * UK politics live – latest updates A prisoner linked to Palestine Action who is on day 71 of a hunger strike has told a friend: “I’m dying.” Francesca Nadin visited Heba Muraisi, 31, at HMP New Hall, in Wakefield, on Saturday for the first time since the protest began and said she was taken aback by her friend’s appearance. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Andrew Scott , and 7 more

kevinschofied.bsky.social
Kevin Schofield @kevinschofied.bsky.social · 5d
Amazingly, Zahawi only got round to deleting the below after the press conference announcing his defection to Reform.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Peter Thorne, Steve Peers , and 11 more

jamesdaustin.bsky.social
James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 5d
Kemi, this is just a population density map

Reposted by Ben Barr

feralrobots.bsky.social
Feral T. Robot, Oil Swamp Utility Bot #7629 @feralrobots.bsky.social · 5d
On the one hand, it's on Fox, it's bullshit, & I'm repeating myself.
On the other, short of the Furies themselves, the most terrifying women in the ancient Greek world were the maenads, & Fox just put the idea of maenads in the streets of America out into the aether like it's nothing.

Reposted by Diane Coyle, Colin F. Camerer, Paul Glasziou , and 32 more

ediparolev.bsky.social
Justin @ediparolev.bsky.social · 7d
“Uruguay did what most nations still call impossible: it built a power grid that runs almost entirely on renewables—at half the cost of fossil fuels. The physicist who led that transformation says the same playbook could work anywhere—if governments have the courage to change the rules.”
Uruguay’s Renewable Charge: A Small Nation, A Big Lesson For The World
Uruguay built a power grid that runs 99% on renewables—at half the cost of fossil fuels. Here’s how its bold energy overhaul became a global model.
www.forbes.com

Reposted by Ben Barr

jlynch13.bsky.social
Julia Lynch @jlynch13.bsky.social · 8d
Had a great conversation about democracy and health and our new book GETTING BETTER: THE POLICY AND POLITICS OF REDUCING HEALTH INEQUALITIES (link in bio) for the Andrea Mitchell Center's podcast series. @profbambra.bsky.social @profkatsmith.bsky.social
Give it a listen!
The Andrea Mitchell Center Podcast: Episode 7.13: Democracy as a Public Health Intervention
Interviewer: JOSHUA ROSE. In this episode of the Andrea Mitchell Center podcast, Joshua Rose speaks with Penn Political Science Professor JULIA LYNCH about her book Getting Better: The Policy and Poli...
mitchellcenter.libsyn.com

Reposted by Ben Barr, Mike Daube

adphuk.bsky.social
Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) @adphuk.bsky.social · 8d
Interesting new research highlighting the impact the places where we live & work has on our health & wellbeing, and highlighting that health harming products are more prevalent in the most deprived areas, potentially worsening health inequalities ⬇️

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Unequal high streets? A spatial analysis of inequalities in health-related amenities in England from 2014-2024
There are persistent inequalities in health-related behaviours in England which are stratified by region and deprivation. These are influenced by the …
www.sciencedirect.com

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Ben Barr, Christoph Bertram , and 8 more

yveilleuxlepage.bsky.social
Dr Yannick Veilleux-Lepage @yveilleuxlepage.bsky.social · 8d
🧵In my expert opinion as a researcher of vehicle ramming attacks, what has been publicly described in the video evidence does not support the claim that Renee Nicole Good was attempting a deliberate ramming attack when she was shot in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026. 1/7

Reposted by Ben Barr

medrxivpreprint.bsky.social
medRxivpreprint @medrxivpreprint.bsky.social · 8d
Reducing mental health inequalities through hypothetical interventions in early childhood: Evidence from mediation analysis using the UK Millennium Cohort Study https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.07.26343647v1

Reposted by Robert West, Brendan Nyhan, Tom Clark , and 13 more

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9d
Walz: "I couldn't help but think, and it scares me a bit -- 'The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most important directive.' It certainly feels like that in this moment."

Reposted by Ben Barr

flipchartrick.bsky.social
Rick @flipchartrick.bsky.social · 9d
Military support for a president who threatens Europe on several fronts, citing an alliance and ‘special relationship’ that clearly no longer exists, posted on a platform owned by a billionaire who has called for the overthrow of the British government.

Our defence dilemma in one tweet.