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Jeffrey Lin

@jeffrlin.bsky.social

6.4K followers 390 following 190 posts

Economist studying cities, regions, and growth. West Philly dad. Views are my own. https://jlin.org/

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Jeffrey Lin @jeffrlin.bsky.social · Sep 16

📈📉 🔔 New paper🔔 In the era of AI and rapid Natural Language Processing (NLP) advances, how should economists choose the right NLP model? Our work provides insights focusing on a patent analysis application. With @inaganguli.bsky.social, Vitaly Meursault & Nick Reynolds. 1/

Patent Text and Long-Run Innovation Dynamics: The Critical Role of Model Selection

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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Reposted by Jeffrey Lin

Henry G Overman @henryoverman.bsky.social · 2d

Thanks to everyone who came to the @urbaneconomics.bsky.social North American Meetings in Montreal and to all those who worked behind the scenes to make it happen. Our next meeting will be in Barcelona, 8-9 May 2026. Call for papers coming soon.

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Streetfilms/Clarence Eckerson Jr. @streetfilms.bsky.social · 8d

Very exciting! The seminal 1980 documentary "The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces" by William H. "Holly" Whyte has been RESTORED and screening in NYC this week!

I wanted to honor his work and used his words in the companion book and produced this 11 years ago.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU2v...

William “Holly” Whyte in His Own Words, “The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces” (1980)

YouTube video by Streetfilms®

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Jeffrey Lin

Stephen Redding @reddingecon.bsky.social · 20d

Excited to see the new Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics (Volume 6), edited jointly with Dave Donaldson come out: www.sciencedirect.com/handbook/han.... Fantastic set of chapters on recent advances and pointing the way to exciting further research @treballen.bsky.social @siepr.bsky.social

Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics | Volume 6, Issue 1: Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier

Read the latest chapters of Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics at ScienceDirect.com, Elsevier’s leading platform of peer-reviewed scholarly literature

www.sciencedirect.com

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Jeffrey Lin @jeffrlin.bsky.social · 22d

Check out our conversation on Densely Speaking with Zach about this research from earlier this year. @gregshill.com

open.spotify.com/episode/6HcN...

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Jeffrey Lin @jeffrlin.bsky.social · 22d

Neat paper!

Jeffrey Lin @jeffrlin.bsky.social · 22d

Check out our conversation on Densely Speaking with Zach about this research from earlier this year. @gregshill.com

open.spotify.com/episode/6HcN...

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Zach Liscow @zliscow.bsky.social · 26d

🚨NEW RESULTS (w/ Slattery & Nober)
- When gov't engineers retire, highway projects cost more: the engineers pay for themselves 6 times over
- Improving gov’t engineer quality from the 25th to 75th percentile reduces costs by 14%, equal to 3x avg. engineer pay

Paper: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

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Jeffrey Lin @jeffrlin.bsky.social · 22d

Some interesting ideas in this paper!

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City Nolan @ndhapple.bsky.social · Sep 2

"SEPTA cuts made Philly schools’ attendance tumble significantly

Early district data show 63% of city schools showed an increase in late arrivals, and 54% had more students absent." -- www.inquirer.com/education/ph...

SEPTA cuts hurt Philly schools’ attendance

Early district data show 63% of city schools showed an increase in late arrivals, and 54% had more students absent.

www.inquirer.com

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Reposted by Jeffrey Lin

Jarrett Walker @humantransit.bsky.social · Aug 22

I wrote an unusually strongly worded thing about the transit crisis in Pennsylvania, which is coming soon to Oregon and Illinois. humantransit.org/2025/08/the-...

The Fall of Philadelphia — Human Transit

The Pennsylvania State Senate has decided that the transit system of America’s fifth largest city should be substantially destroyed. Similar dramas are playing out in Illinois, Oregon, and Rhode Isla...

humantransit.org

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City Nolan @ndhapple.bsky.social · Aug 21

What's happening in Philly is heartbreaking and infuriating.

Defector @defector.com · Aug 21

Doomsday for SEPTA is bad news for everyone: defector.com/doomsday-for...

Doomsday For SEPTA Is Bad News For Everyone | Defector

SEPTA, the fifth-largest public transit system in the country, is days away from drastic service cuts that would decimate transportation in Philadelphia and its surrounding counties. Plagued by a…

defector.com

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Jeffrey Lin @jeffrlin.bsky.social · Aug 20

Daniel Immerwahr in the @newyorker.com on 1970s arsons and Bench Ansfield‘s new book (and brief mention of my paper with Ellen, Hartley and You).

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Did Racial Capitalism Set the Bronx on Fire?

To some, the fires lit in New York in the late seventies signalled rampant criminality; to others, rebellion. But maybe they were signs of something else entirely.

www.newyorker.com

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Jeffrey Lin @jeffrlin.bsky.social · Aug 20

Daniel Immerwahr in the @newyorker.com on 1970s arsons and Bench Ansfield‘s new book (and brief mention of my paper with Ellen, Hartley and You).

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Did Racial Capitalism Set the Bronx on Fire?

To some, the fires lit in New York in the late seventies signalled rampant criminality; to others, rebellion. But maybe they were signs of something else entirely.

www.newyorker.com

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Jeffrey Lin @jeffrlin.bsky.social · Aug 18

Hey Charlie. Glad you had this experience and hoping you find your footing again soon. Rooting for you!

Reposted by Jeffrey Lin

Erika McEntarfer @erikamcentarfer.bsky.social · Aug 18

A key challenge for BLS is adequate funding for data collection and modernization. During my tenure I tried to identify the causes. One person told me, ‘your problem is that while BLS has no enemies you also have no friends’ meaning no powerful interest groups advocating for economic data.

John Cassidy @johncassidysays.bsky.social · Aug 18

Every business day, big capitalist institutions depend on having access to unbiased economic statistics. It's time for them to step up and help protect the B.L.S. and other statistical agencies from Trump's encroachments.

My latest column:

www.newyorker.com/news/the-fin...

Big Business and Wall Street Need to Stand Up for Honest Data

In nominating an inexperienced MAGA partisan for commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Donald Trump is chipping away at an essential foundation of the American economy.

www.newyorker.com

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Joshua Goodman @joshua-goodman.com · Aug 14

The latest JEP has an extraordinary set of papers on the economics of housing.

My favorite? The one showing that most people incorrectly believe that increasing housing supply won't lower housing costs.

Subsidizing home-buying is popular even though it raises costs. 🤦

www.aeaweb.org/issues/814

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Michael Wiebe @michaelwiebe.bsky.social · Aug 14

Interesting new essay on rising housing costs in the Journal of Economic Perspectives:

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kottke.org @kottke.org · Aug 12

The Only Time Prince & Miles Davis Jammed Together Onstage: Watch the New Year’s Eve, 1987 Concert. [openculture.com]

The Only Time Prince & Miles Davis Jammed Together Onstage: Watch the New Year’s Eve, 1987 Concert

A too-precious genre of internet meme depicts departed public figures who did not know each other in life meeting in heaven with hugs, high-fives, and wincingly earnest exchanges.

www.openculture.com

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Lars Vilhuber @larsvil.bsky.social · Aug 4

isi-web.org/statement/st...
#bls #statistics

Statement about dismissal of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer in the United States | The International Statistical Institute

The ISI expresses its deep concern regarding the reported dismissal of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer in the United States.

isi-web.org

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Michael Clemens @mclem.org · Aug 5

Please read this piece.

“Though I am a congenital optimist, for the first time I believe that if the behavior that this administration has exhibited in just its first six months continues and is amplified for its full four years, the America you know will be gone.”

The opposite of Conservatism.

Opinion | The America We Knew Is Rapidly Slipping Away

www.nytimes.com

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COPAFS @copafs.bsky.social · Aug 2

AEA Statement on Dismissal of BLS Comm.

"The independence of the federal statistical agencies is essential to the proper functioning of a modern economy. Accurate, timely, and impartial statistics are the foundation upon which households, businesses, and policymakers make critical decisions."

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Julia Coronado @jc-econ.bsky.social · Aug 1

NABE strongly condemns the baseless
removal of BLS Commissioner McEntarfer & the unfounded accusations leveled against the work of the agency. This unprecedented attack on the US statistical system threatens the long-standing credibility of our data

files.constantcontact.com/668faa28001/...

The National Association for Business Economics (NABE) strongly condemns the baseless
removal of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer and the unfounded
accusations leveled against the work of the agency. This unprecedented attack on the U.S.
statistical system threatens the long-standing credibility of our economic data infrastructure.

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Lars Vilhuber @larsvil.bsky.social · Aug 2

With government statistics, it's pretty simple. If you liked the February, March, and April numbers, then you have to accept all the next ones, too. They are produced in the exact same way, it's what the computer spits out, based on the inputs provided. You do not get to cherry pick your stats.

Erica Groshen @ericagroshen.bsky.social · Aug 2

The Friends of #BLS protest the firing of BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.

The rationale for firing her is without merit and undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics that are a cornerstone of intelligent economic decision-making by businesses, families, and policymakers.

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Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · Aug 1

What to make of POTUS's attempt to fire the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)?

Let's run down what knowledgable people are saying...

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Erica Groshen @ericagroshen.bsky.social · Aug 2

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