Jonathan A. Parker
@profjaparker.bsky.social
Economist. Evidence-based economics and finance, humor, and frustration with extremism and divisiveness.
http://mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu/japarker/
to verify that this is me.
http://mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu/japarker/
to verify that this is me.
Journal of Economic Perspectives
Vol. 40 No. 1 Winter 2026
www.aeaweb.org
February 4, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Journal of Economic Perspectives
Vol. 40 No. 1 Winter 2026
www.aeaweb.org
February 4, 2026 at 4:39 PM
And it looks like we picked the wrong week to schedule our five fly outs if we were actually interested in hiring anyone
January 24, 2026 at 11:01 PM
And it looks like we picked the wrong week to schedule our five fly outs if we were actually interested in hiring anyone
Thank you for your attention to this post
January 23, 2026 at 9:16 PM
Thank you for your attention to this post
The Republican Party in America has abandoned rule of law.
Walz: "What's happening in MN defies belief. News reports simply don't do justice to the level of chaos & disruption & trauma the federal govt is raining down... This long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement. Instead, it's a campaign of organized brutality against the people of MN"
January 15, 2026 at 12:55 PM
The Republican Party in America has abandoned rule of law.
Reposted by Jonathan A. Parker
Republicans: The problem isn’t guns. It’s mental health.
Also Republicans: *slash mental health funding*
Also Republicans: *slash mental health funding*
HHS terminates thousands of grants for substance use, mental health worth billions
HHS terminates thousands of grants for substance use, mental health worth billions
The Department of Health and Human Services told grantees funding their projects was no longer aligned with agency priorities.
dlvr.it
January 14, 2026 at 10:31 PM
Republicans: The problem isn’t guns. It’s mental health.
Also Republicans: *slash mental health funding*
Also Republicans: *slash mental health funding*
Reposted by Jonathan A. Parker
The federal government Friday agreed to pay $125,000 after a judge found a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent liable for civil assault for pointing a gun at a hotel maintenance man who came to the agent’s room to unclog a toilet.
Feds pay $125K after Border Patrol agent pointed gun at Portland hotel worker
The payout amount was finalized during a settlement conference Friday after a judge found the officer civilly liable for assault.
www.oregonlive.com
January 10, 2026 at 3:00 AM
The federal government Friday agreed to pay $125,000 after a judge found a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent liable for civil assault for pointing a gun at a hotel maintenance man who came to the agent’s room to unclog a toilet.
The choice facing America:
- Living through a Story of Fire and Ice
- A Story of Firing Ice
- Living through a Story of Fire and Ice
- A Story of Firing Ice
January 10, 2026 at 1:26 PM
The choice facing America:
- Living through a Story of Fire and Ice
- A Story of Firing Ice
- Living through a Story of Fire and Ice
- A Story of Firing Ice
Reposted by Jonathan A. Parker
Not happy to see my MIT colleague Jonathan Ruane out there giving stock picking advice . . . This is NOT @MITFinance
January 8, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Not happy to see my MIT colleague Jonathan Ruane out there giving stock picking advice . . . This is NOT @MITFinance
The proposed Republican ban on institutional investors buying homes is a panicky and short-sighted policy that will not lower American’s cost of living. Investors buy homes to rent them to Americans.
January 7, 2026 at 6:33 PM
The proposed Republican ban on institutional investors buying homes is a panicky and short-sighted policy that will not lower American’s cost of living. Investors buy homes to rent them to Americans.
Trumponomics — massive deficit spending and still damaging the working class
NEW from me:
The US is losing blue-collar jobs for the first time since early COVID or the Great Recession—the country has lost 65k jobs over the last year as manufacturing, transport, & mining employment decline, while growth in construction has nearly zeroed out
www.apricitas.io/p/america-is...
The US is losing blue-collar jobs for the first time since early COVID or the Great Recession—the country has lost 65k jobs over the last year as manufacturing, transport, & mining employment decline, while growth in construction has nearly zeroed out
www.apricitas.io/p/america-is...
America is Losing Blue Collar Jobs
For the First Time Since Early COVID & the Great Recession, the US is Losing Jobs in Manufacturing, Construction, & Other Blue Collar Industries
www.apricitas.io
January 6, 2026 at 11:42 PM
Trumponomics — massive deficit spending and still damaging the working class
Good thing Trump effectively pulled the U.S. out of NATO, or we would be defending Greenland at the same time we attack it.
January 6, 2026 at 11:18 PM
Good thing Trump effectively pulled the U.S. out of NATO, or we would be defending Greenland at the same time we attack it.
Reposted by Jonathan A. Parker
This was a great panel, and if you care about economic data, you should definitely listen to the whole thing.
But for those of you who would rather get some highlights, here's what I found most interesting: 🧵
But for those of you who would rather get some highlights, here's what I found most interesting: 🧵
ICYMI: Here's video of the panel -- "The State of Government Economic Statistics" -- that I moderated at the ASSA meetings. Karen Dynan, William Beach, Loretta Mester, Seth Carpenter, and Jed Kolko www.aeaweb.org/webcasts/202...
The State of Government Economic Statistics
www.aeaweb.org
January 6, 2026 at 8:22 PM
This was a great panel, and if you care about economic data, you should definitely listen to the whole thing.
But for those of you who would rather get some highlights, here's what I found most interesting: 🧵
But for those of you who would rather get some highlights, here's what I found most interesting: 🧵
Nice paper showing the endogenous tightening of lending standards (as in my papers with Mike Fishman and @ludwigstraub.bsky.social ).
"This paper uses data on banks' private risk assessments to show that banks produce more information in bad times"
New paper by Weitzner & Howes:
www.restud.com/bank-informa...
#REStud #EconSky
New paper by Weitzner & Howes:
www.restud.com/bank-informa...
#REStud #EconSky
January 6, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Nice paper showing the endogenous tightening of lending standards (as in my papers with Mike Fishman and @ludwigstraub.bsky.social ).
My best understanding is that AFA attendance at ASSA is not down at all relative to pre-pandemic. The AFA sessions in Loews that I attended were crowded.
Two facts worth noting about this:
1. Empirically, it is true that AEA registration is way down compared to 10 years ago, driven primarily by the lack of the job market at the conference. However, the decline that was so precipitous post-Covid has leveled off, and if anything rebounded last year:
1. Empirically, it is true that AEA registration is way down compared to 10 years ago, driven primarily by the lack of the job market at the conference. However, the decline that was so precipitous post-Covid has leveled off, and if anything rebounded last year:
January 5, 2026 at 8:46 PM
My best understanding is that AFA attendance at ASSA is not down at all relative to pre-pandemic. The AFA sessions in Loews that I attended were crowded.
Reposted by Jonathan A. Parker
Amid all the Venezuela fallout, spare a thought for the poor Barclays analyst who downgraded Venezuelan debt a mere 14 hours before Maduro was ousted, citing the low likelihood of a political transition.
full alphaville here: www.ft.com/content/bbc4...
with help from @robinwigglesworth.ft.com
full alphaville here: www.ft.com/content/bbc4...
with help from @robinwigglesworth.ft.com
The pitfalls of sell-side research in the Trump era: Venezuela edition
‘ . . . with our change in view having been quickly overtaken by events . . .’
www.ft.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Amid all the Venezuela fallout, spare a thought for the poor Barclays analyst who downgraded Venezuelan debt a mere 14 hours before Maduro was ousted, citing the low likelihood of a political transition.
full alphaville here: www.ft.com/content/bbc4...
with help from @robinwigglesworth.ft.com
full alphaville here: www.ft.com/content/bbc4...
with help from @robinwigglesworth.ft.com
The US will be run like Venezuela until the transition
January 3, 2026 at 9:01 PM
The US will be run like Venezuela until the transition
Sometimes I leave campus and discover that MIT does not have a monopoly on creating breathtaking innovations in America
January 2, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Sometimes I leave campus and discover that MIT does not have a monopoly on creating breathtaking innovations in America
2025 sucked. And it’s going out true to form.
January 1, 2026 at 3:15 AM
2025 sucked. And it’s going out true to form.
Reposted by Jonathan A. Parker
Reposted by Jonathan A. Parker
Denmark lost more troops per capita in the post 9/11 war on Afghanistan. Saying they “are not a good ally” because they won’t surrender their territories to the US is lunacy. We are betraying our allies to satisfy the whims of a would-be Emperor for whom the US is not enough.
They’re again advocating against Denmark when it comes to Greenland
December 27, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Denmark lost more troops per capita in the post 9/11 war on Afghanistan. Saying they “are not a good ally” because they won’t surrender their territories to the US is lunacy. We are betraying our allies to satisfy the whims of a would-be Emperor for whom the US is not enough.