Ioana Marinescu
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imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu
@imarinescu.bsky.social
4.8K followers 780 following 260 posts

Economist @PennSP2, former principal economist DOJ #Antitrust. #AI, labor, IO, public, macro. Member, Anthropic Economic Advisory Council. Better the world through knowledge. www.marinescu.eu

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Ioana Elena Marinescu is an associate professor of public policy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a columnist for Libération, whose research is widely covered in the popular media. .. more

Economics 64%
Public Health 10%
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imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Nov 14
New @brookings.edu paper w. @kordinglab.bsky.social : Artificial Intelligence Saturation & the Future of Work. Wages can ↗️&↘️with #AI automation, as humans are pushed into physical jobs. In the longer run, intelligence saturation limits benefits from #AI. www.brookings.edu/articles/art... #EconSky
(Artificial) Intelligence saturation and the future of work | Brookings
In a new working paper, UPenn's Konrad Kording and Ioana Marinescu present a novel framework for assessing AI and the future of work
www.brookings.edu

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · 12h
“In my mind, I see like little marbles or something,” Marinescu said. “It's like, plop, plop, plop, plop. Widget, widget, widget, widget.”
That's my very smart quote in this @marketplace.org episode about productivity measurement #EconSky
www.marketplace.org/story/2025/1...
How do "widgets" fit into our services-based economy?
Widgets are a general stand-in for any produced good. But how do we think about widgets when goods are only a fraction of what we produce?
www.marketplace.org

Reposted by Miles Corak

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · 21h
The impact of AI on the labor market seen through the computational neuroscience lens 👇. Our Brookings paper is now posted on SSRN.
kordinglab.bsky.social Konrad Kording @kordinglab.bsky.social · 2d
Our paper that argues that the physical domain with its slow scaling should eventually dominate the fast scaling intelligence domain is now live on ssrn papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com

Reposted by Miles Corak, Ioana Marinescu

kordinglab.bsky.social
Konrad Kording @kordinglab.bsky.social · 2d
Our paper that argues that the physical domain with its slow scaling should eventually dominate the fast scaling intelligence domain is now live on ssrn papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner, Erica L. Groshen

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · 11d
Welcome to #ASSA2026 in my home town! Please say hi if you see me in the corridors 😊! I look forward to seeing some of you tonight at the LERA research panel & reception w. Jared Bernstein @ericagroshen.bsky.social @darrickhamilton.bsky.social #EconSky

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Dec 12
I am honored to be part of The Digitalist Papers, Volume 2 (www.digitalistpapers.com), 21 essays exploring the implications of the transformative economic power of artificial intelligence, setting the stage for change comparable to the Industrial Revolution but with far greater speed and scope.
Digitalist Papers
www.digitalistpapers.com

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Dec 12
How can we respond to the impact of transformative #AI on the labor market? In this Digitalist Paper, I propose: AI “adjustment insurance” (AI-AI) to help workers with transitory job losses, and a “digital dividend” to support those permanently without work. www.digitalistpapers.com/vol2/marinescu

Reposted by Ina Ganguli

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Nov 25
Got my @econ5k.bsky.social T-shirt, #EconSky, and you should too if you're an econ runner! I hope to see you in Philly in January #ASSA2026 sites.google.com/view/econ5k/...

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Nov 21
Your truly on Musk’s post-work society prediction. fortune.com/2025/11/20/e...

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Nov 19
Good morning, chilly Amherst! Looking forward to my talk today on #AI saturation & the future of work, and to seeing dear colleagues & meeting new ones! #AcademicLife

Reposted by Ioana Marinescu

far.ai
FAR.AI @far.ai · Nov 18
It's a wrap on the AGI Journalism Workshop in D.C., co-hosted with the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism.

▸ AGI timelines, jobs, misalignment, U.S.–China policy & regulation
▸ @hlntnr.bsky.social, @akorinek.bsky.social, @imarinescu.bsky.social, @gleave.me, @alexbores.nyc, @deanwb.bsky.social + more

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Nov 14
Takeaways:
👉#AI returns saturate if physical lags
👉Wages often rise & fall as intelligence automates
👉Wage declines require shrinking intelligence-job share
👉Policy: pace deployment + invest in physical capacity; don’t bet on a “singularity”

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Nov 14
Result 4 (simulation). Here we simulate adding more AI, during and after automation. (1) Wage effects of adding more AI saturate. (2) Higher substitutability between physical and intelligence can lead to wage declines during automation but allows for unbounded wage growth post-automation.

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Nov 14
Result 3 (simulation):when intelligence and physical are more substitutable, automation of intelligence has a larger positive effect on output.
➡️What’s better for workers’ wages is worse for output, trade-offs.

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Nov 14
Result 2 (simulation): when intelligence and physical are more substitutable, automation of intelligence has a more positive wage effect early on but a more negative effect later.
➡️Cautionary tale, early wage gains may not persist!

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Nov 14
Result 1: as automation of intelligence by #AI progresses, output increases and there’s an increase in the share of workers in the physical sector \beta (i.e., in person work, including e.g. cooking, teaching and surgery).

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Nov 14
Model: Output is produced with intelligence and physical sectors (CES), each powered by humans and capital (AI is the capital in the intelligence sector). Labor optimally reallocates between physical and intelligence to maximize wages.

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Nov 14
Is intelligence saturation plausible?
(1) More intelligent people are not proportionately more successful.
(2) Adding more scientific researchers yields lower and lower additional output
(3) Prior tech (ICT) revolution had limited growth impacts.

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Nov 14
Why distinguish physical and intelligence? Intelligence saturation: intelligence can make physical inputs maximally efficient, but the impact saturates.
➡️Physical and intelligence sectors are complements, you need more of both to increase output.

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Nov 14
We've made an interactive tool you can play with to see how wages would evolve with automation & with adding exponentially more #AI, depending on parameters of your choice. Have fun (but maybe read the paper first 😈)! intelligencesaturation.org

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Oct 30
Application link here: www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
Schmidt Sciences hiring AI Institute Fellow in Residence in New York, NY | LinkedIn
Posted 7:38:39 PM. SummarySchmidt Sciences invites recent PhD graduates in AI and computer science to apply for a…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.
www.linkedin.com

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Oct 29
#AI research fellow job at Schmidt Sciences. You can take it as a year of leave from your university too. One of the areas of focus is AI’s impact on the labor market #EconSky 👇

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Oct 15
The conversation is based on my paper here: www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Monopsony Power in the Labor Market: From Theory to Policy
Labor markets are not perfectly competitive: Monopsony power enables employers to pay workers less than the marginal revenue product of labor. We review three theoretical frameworks explaining monopso...
www.annualreviews.org

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Oct 15
Listen to our conversation on competition and #monopsony in the labor market, and the #antitrust policy implications. I had a lot of fun talking to David Fisher from AAI, like we had to cut out some of the laughing 🤭. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
www.antitrustinstitute.org/work-product...
From Labor Market Theory to Antitrust Policy: A Conversation with Ioana Marinescu - American Antitrust Institute
On this episode of Ruled by Reason, AAI Senior Counsel David O. Fisher talks with leading economist Ioana Marinescu about the theoretical frameworks underpinning labor monopsony and how they apply … C...
www.antitrustinstitute.org

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Oct 14
Nice to see our work covered here 👇
pennpsc.bsky.social Population Studies Center @pennpsc.bsky.social · Oct 14
New research from PSC researcher @pgonalon.bsky.social with @imarinescu.bsky.social shows that the high cost of U.S. childcare breeds family income inequality.

Learn more in OMNIA: bit.ly/48W3iOT

Read the study in American Sociological Review:
bit.ly/4h60nVY

Reposted by Ioana Marinescu

pennpsc.bsky.social
Population Studies Center @pennpsc.bsky.social · Oct 14
New research from PSC researcher @pgonalon.bsky.social with @imarinescu.bsky.social shows that the high cost of U.S. childcare breeds family income inequality.

Learn more in OMNIA: bit.ly/48W3iOT

Read the study in American Sociological Review:
bit.ly/4h60nVY

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Oct 13
Congratulations to my mentor and co-author Philippe Aghion!!!! His broad contributions to economics and boundless creative energy are truly inspiring.

Reposted by E. Richard Gold, Ioana Marinescu

npr.org
NPR @npr.org · Oct 13
Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt won the Nobel memorial prize in economics Monday for their research on how technological innovation fuels economic growth and creative destruction. n.pr/4oh42lZ
3 share Nobel Prize in Economics for work on technology, growth and creative destruction
Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt won the Nobel memorial prize in economics Monday for their research on how technological innovation fuels economic growth and creative destruction.
n.pr

Reposted by Ioana Marinescu

cepr.org
Centre for Economic Policy Research @cepr.org · Sep 25
AI Acquihires: Competition Risks, Talent Battles and Economic Spillovers Webinar - 8 October @ 17:00 CEST

🗣️Jonathan Kanter @lugaricano.bsky.social @imarinescu.bsky.social @igorletina.bsky.social Hans Zenger

Moderator: @florianederer.bsky.social
Register: cepr.org/events/ai-ac...
#EconSky

imarinescu.bsky.social
Ioana Marinescu @imarinescu.bsky.social · Sep 21
Some context: I used to ask “what are you working on?” but I learned some people would rather not talk about it for various reasons. So the more general “what are you excited about in your field?” lets them EITHER talk about what they’re working on or some other interest.