Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Jul 14

When I got tenure, I decided to use it start a new research agenda, studying US science in the 20th century, how it became dominant, what held it back, and what we can do better. Here's the first pub (with Scott Kim).

Econometrica @ecmaeditors.bsky.social · Jul 14

Analyzing scientists' biographies during the baby boom, we find that mothers have a unique life cycle pattern of productivity. Children reduce the productivity of mothers but not fathers, with important implications for promotions and participation. buff.ly/39WbYRH

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Econometrica @ecmaeditors.bsky.social · Jul 14

Analyzing scientists' biographies during the baby boom, we find that mothers have a unique life cycle pattern of productivity. Children reduce the productivity of mothers but not fathers, with important implications for promotions and participation. buff.ly/39WbYRH

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Jun 3

Stephen Miller is Wrong about American Science www.forbes.com/sites/stuart...

Immigration Research Shows Stephen Miller Wrong About American Science

Stephen Miller, the chief architect of Trump immigration policy, argues that American scientific achievement owes little to immigrants.

www.forbes.com

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Apr 17

Jacob French and I are hiring a pre-doc in Applied Micro apply.interfolio.com/166572

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

apply.interfolio.com

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Alex Imas @aleximas.bsky.social · Apr 7

This, from my colleague
Brent Neiman says it all.

Trump admin used the results from his paper to justify tariff rates. Except they used the completely wrong number.

Staggering 🤯

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/o...

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Mar 13

A personal anecdote: a Syrian surgeon amputated my step-Dad's leg last Christmas, assisted by a Syrian surgeon. There's an enormous shortage of doctors in our rural town, long wait times, even with life-threatening disease. Zero capacity. And I did not see a single German-born physician.

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Mar 13

Effects on US innovation were disastrous. After the quotas US scientists patented 30% less in the pre-quota fields of ESE-based scientists relative to other fields. Research with @mulysan.bsky.social & Sahar Parsa: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/h80j9...

www.dropbox.com

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Mar 13

Eastern & Southern Europeans (ESE) had the same response to the 1920s quotas act. Intended to limit low-skilled immigration to the US the quotas exempted university scientists and students. Still, the US lost an estimated 122 ESE-born professors & 670 scientists who would have come as students 2/n

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Mar 13

Some Germans want Syrians to return home - unless they are doctors. That won't work: "If my family and friends aren't allowed to stay, then I don't want to either." 1/n wapo.st/3DDxUYd

6,000 Syrians work as doctors in Germany. Some weigh whether to stay or go.

Syrian doctors have established themselves in Germany, filling critical health-care gaps. But Assad’s fall and anti-migrant sentiment have some torn.

wapo.st

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Mar 12

Dunno what this says about me, but I saw "Moby Dick" at the Met last night and absolutely loved it, down to the "squarely undulating minor-key references to Philip Glass, John Adams and Britten..." Go see it if you can!
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/a...

Review: ‘Moby-Dick,’ the Opera, Cuts the Blubber

Streamlining Melville’s sprawling novel, Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s moody, monochromatic 2010 adaptation has come to the Metropolitan Opera.

www.nytimes.com

Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Mar 10

Phew. All that takeout I'm buying is increasing productivity. Thank you @goolsbee.bsky.social, Chad Syverson, NYUStern PhD student Rebecca Goldgof & Joe Tatarka www.nber.org/papers/w33555

The Curious Surge of Productivity in U.S. Restaurants

Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

www.nber.org

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Mar 5

When German Alexander rammed his car into a group of people in Mannheim on Monday, killing two, wounding 25, he was stopped by Afzal from Pakistan. It's funny how we only hear names and place of birth when they match our fear and prejudice.

Erik Marquardt @erik-marquardt.eu · Mar 4

Gestern hat ein deutscher Alexander ein schreckliches Attentat in Mannheim verübt. Gestoppt wurde er von Afzal aus Pakistan.
Dass ihr so wenig davon hört liegt daran, dass Vorname und Herkunft für viele offensichtlich nur interessant sind, wenn man das für rechte Hetze missbrauchen kann.

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Erik Marquardt @erik-marquardt.eu · Mar 4

Gestern hat ein deutscher Alexander ein schreckliches Attentat in Mannheim verübt. Gestoppt wurde er von Afzal aus Pakistan.
Dass ihr so wenig davon hört liegt daran, dass Vorname und Herkunft für viele offensichtlich nur interessant sind, wenn man das für rechte Hetze missbrauchen kann.

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Feb 24

There is still some sanity in this world, at least when it comes to footwear. Birkenstocks argued that their sandals are "art" to get copyright protection. German courts said "nope" www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/s...

Are Birkenstocks a Work of Art? A German Court Says No.

The famous sandal company lost a battle over copyright law, leaving room for imitations to spawn.

www.nytimes.com

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Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · Feb 19

the grownups are back in charge

USDA accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is now trying to rehire them www.nbcnews.com/politics/dog...

USDA accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is now trying to rehire them

An Agriculture Department spokesperson told NBC News that officials are "working to swiftly rectify the situation."

www.nbcnews.com

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Feb 11

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/o...

Opinion | Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers, Timothy Geithner, Jacob Lew, Janet Yellen: DOGE Is a Threat to U.S. Democracy. (Gift Article)

Former Secretaries Rubin, Summers, Geithner, Lew and Yellen argue that DOGE is a threat to America.

www.nytimes.com

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Feb 10

A plagiarism check did not find evidence of plagiarism, so is publishing accusations of poor citation practices in footnotes (25 years ago, please check mine). And when that's not working they go after the dissertation of @robert-habeck.de wife. Ok....

Robert Habeck @robert-habeck.de · Feb 10

Ich rechne damit, dass heute, Vorwürfe gegen meine Doktorarbeit, die ich vor 25 Jahren geschrieben habe, veröffentlicht werden. Ich habe mich entschieden, das Ganze transparent zu machen. Denn ich kenne die Vorwürfe – und konnte sie vorab prüfen lassen.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYyA...

Zu meiner Dissertation | Robert Habeck

YouTube video by Robert Habeck

www.youtube.com

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Robert Habeck @robert-habeck.de · Feb 10

Ich rechne damit, dass heute, Vorwürfe gegen meine Doktorarbeit, die ich vor 25 Jahren geschrieben habe, veröffentlicht werden. Ich habe mich entschieden, das Ganze transparent zu machen. Denn ich kenne die Vorwürfe – und konnte sie vorab prüfen lassen.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYyA...

Zu meiner Dissertation | Robert Habeck

YouTube video by Robert Habeck

www.youtube.com

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Feb 8

Felt this, as we were trying to estimate how seeing Marie Curie affected girls' choice to pursue science. Part of our data was gone. I never thought that in this country censorship would prevent me from doing my research. wapo.st/4hPMU3A

Opinion | A sample of the government webpages Trump doesn’t want you to see

Dozens of government webpages disappeared as part of his plan to reshape the U.S. government to his liking. Not even NASA was spared.

wapo.st

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Feb 7

Germany needs about 400,000 immigrants per year to keep its economy going. IAB's Enzo Weber & @yuliyakosyakova.bsky.social explain why (in German) www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...

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Frank Sauer @drfranksauer.bsky.social · Feb 6

ESA now puts the probability of Earth impact at 1.8%, NASA (miraculously not dismantled yet by Musk and Trump) at 1.9%.

NASA data suggest a yield of roughly 8MT TNT equiv. Big, but Tsar Bomba was bigger 🤓

tl;dr: it's very unlikely to hit. And there's zero chance we'll be wiped out as a species.

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Feb 5

Kim is great, really smart and thoughtful. And like @tkehoe.bsky.social I admire Kim for his service and very much hope he succeeds in influencing US economic policy.

Tim Kehoe 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇦 @tkehoe.bsky.social · Feb 4

Prof. Kim Ruhl (UMN PhD 2004) of University of Wisconsin-Madison has been named as one of 3 members of President Trump's Council of Economic Advisors. I admire Kim for his service to our country, and I hope he is able to have a favorable influence on US economic policy.
news.wisc.edu/uw-madison-e...

UW–Madison economics professor Kim Ruhl appointed as member of President’s Council of Economic Advisers

Established by Congress in 1946, the CEA comprises three economists who advise the U.S. president on a wide range of economic policy issues based on data, research and evidence.

news.wisc.edu

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Feb 5

"The feeling of not being wanted in that country" is an issue not only in Germany but also in the US, historically and today. In "Immigration and Innovation. Lessons from the Quota Act" we find that students, who were exempted, did not come to the US after the quotas if their countries were targeted

Frau Nora @fraunora.bsky.social · Feb 5

Und jetzt mal zu guter und wichtiger journalistischer Arbeit:

Das Feature: "Migrationsdebatte – Das Gefühl, in Deutschland nicht gewollt zu sein" zeigt eine Perspektive auf, die aktuell zu kurz kommt.

Finde auch gut, das explizit konstruktive Ansätze genannt werden.

Migrationsdebatte: Das Gefühl, im Land nicht gewollt zu sein

Immer mehr Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund überlegen, Deutschland zu verlassen, auch gut qualifizierte und integrierte. Grund sind auch die AfD-Erfolge.

share.deutschlandradio.de

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Feb 5

Sounds fascinating!

Frau Nora @fraunora.bsky.social · Feb 5

Und jetzt mal zu guter und wichtiger journalistischer Arbeit:

Das Feature: "Migrationsdebatte – Das Gefühl, in Deutschland nicht gewollt zu sein" zeigt eine Perspektive auf, die aktuell zu kurz kommt.

Finde auch gut, das explizit konstruktive Ansätze genannt werden.

Migrationsdebatte: Das Gefühl, im Land nicht gewollt zu sein

Immer mehr Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund überlegen, Deutschland zu verlassen, auch gut qualifizierte und integrierte. Grund sind auch die AfD-Erfolge.

share.deutschlandradio.de

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Feb 4

Inspiring: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/o...

Overlooked No More: Annie Easley, Who Helped Take Spaceflight to New Heights (Gift Article)

She broke barriers at NASA and contributed to its earliest space missions as a rocket scientist, mathematician and computer programmer.

www.nytimes.com

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Tim Kehoe 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇦 @tkehoe.bsky.social · Feb 4

Prof. Kim Ruhl (UMN PhD 2004) of University of Wisconsin-Madison has been named as one of 3 members of President Trump's Council of Economic Advisors. I admire Kim for his service to our country, and I hope he is able to have a favorable influence on US economic policy.
news.wisc.edu/uw-madison-e...

UW–Madison economics professor Kim Ruhl appointed as member of President’s Council of Economic Advisers

Established by Congress in 1946, the CEA comprises three economists who advise the U.S. president on a wide range of economic policy issues based on data, research and evidence.

news.wisc.edu

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Feb 4

I'm shocked by the implied decline in inequality between 1913 and 1958. Did WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII disproportionately destroy top wealth? Using the same measures for 1913 and the rest of the graph, 1913 may look as bad as today. So what happened in the first half of the 20th century?

Gabriel Zucman @gabrielzucman.bsky.social · Feb 4

Longer-term perspective on the rise of US oligarchy

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Petra Moser @pmoser.bsky.social · Feb 4

What's up with 1913 and 1958?

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Gabriel Zucman @gabrielzucman.bsky.social · Feb 4

Longer-term perspective on the rise of US oligarchy

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