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Kristina McElheran

@kmcelheran.bsky.social

1.9K followers 1.4K following 230 posts

Associate Prof at University of Toronto. Digitization scholar studying firm use of technology, productivity, strategy, and the future of work.

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Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · Sep 1

Beware of coverage of AI-related pre-prints...unless they are mine. ;-)

The A.I.-Profits Drought and the Lessons of History

Like the steam engine, electricity, and computers, generative artificial intelligence could take longer than expected to transform the economy.

www.newyorker.com

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Reposted by Kristina McElheran

The Onion @theonion.com · 5h

Industrial Revolution Provides Millions Of Out-Of-Work Children With Jobs https://theonion.com/industrial-revolution-provides-millions-of-out-of-work-1819571223/

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Reposted by Kristina McElheran

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 1d

“The effects can be unintentionally hilarious: CPAC Hungary, for instance, proclaimed itself to be ‘the epicenter of the global fight against globalism.’” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Is America contagious?

Scholars in political extremism are documenting the global spread of right-wing populism.

www.motherjones.com

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Reposted by Kristina McElheran

Melanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 1d

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

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Reposted by Kristina McElheran

KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘 @kojamf.bsky.social · 3d

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

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Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 3d

This is really good!

lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 3d

Time to repost a classic.

clarkesworldmagazine.com/kim_02_24/

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Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 3d

My students, who are forced by me to grapple with the economic and social implications of AI, often gravitate towards”explainable AI.” This clip will be excellent for that discussion…it’s more convincing than when I say it.

⚡️🌙 @dystopiabreaker.xyz · 3d

anyway, here is 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics winner Geoffrey Hinton discussing what we know about large AI models on 60 Minutes.

Reposted by Kristina McElheran

Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 3d

This is so good from Cory Doctorow on all the tricks Amazon uses to get both consumers to pay more, and how businesses on the platform end up paying it 45-51 cents on every dollar.

Plus he rightly calls for regulatory change, not just individual consumer action
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?

Sick of scrolling through junk results, AI-generated ads and links to lookalike products? The author and activist behind the term ‘enshittification’ explains what’s gone wrong with the internet – and ...

www.theguardian.com

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Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 4d

This exact impulse is why I’m so stressed and tired almost all the time. Know Thine Enemy.

Rafe Meager (they/them) @economeager.bsky.social · 4d

i wish i had infinite lifetimes to learn all about this stuff

Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 4d

*This! Thank your for articulating why I think this is a terrible model for studying firms.

Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 4d

Good fit for my morning writing on why this is a deeply problematic mental model for how we think about technology use in firms. Exogenous shocks/random assignment of tech to organizations is a weird thing to want to extrapolate off of…

Paul Hünermund @p-hunermund.com · 4d

Mini thread trying to debunk the "RCT or bust" propaganda. Looking forward to a chilled Saturday morning on Bluesky. 😉

Paul Hünermund @p-hunermund.com · 4d

I disagree. That's exactly where the "RCT is the gold standard" metaphor goes wrong, in my view. RCTs are a powerful tool, but they don't exist in their Platonic ideal. In reality, you'll need to make trade-offs, e.g., with respect to the population you can expose to randomization.

Reposted by Kristina McElheran

Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 4d

"Solar energy is anticipated to be the world’s main source of energy by 2050" hell yeah

Solar: main source of EU electricity in June with 22%

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Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 4d

I don’t like to make predictions about the future of AI, but my guess is that the replication-focused journals are going to come into their own very, very soon…

Beth Popp Berman @epopppp.bsky.social · 4d

Interesting article/paper.

I'm much less anti-AI than a lot of people on my feed. But pretty skeptical it can simulate human behavior effectively for social scientific purposes -- at least in cases where variation among humans, rather than acting like an average human, is what's important.

AI-generated ‘participants’ can lead social science experiments astray, study finds

Data produced by “silicon samples” depends on researchers’ exact choice of models, prompts, and settings

www.science.org

Reposted by Kristina McElheran

Ben Casselman @bencasselman.bsky.social · 8d

Three responses I'm hearing a lot of here:
1. "Aha! Any excuse to hide the bad numbers!"
2. "The numbers were cooked anyway so who cares?"
3. "Fine, we'll just rely on private data."
Let's address all three in a 🧵:

Ben Casselman @bencasselman.bsky.social · 8d

Friday's jobs report will provide key evidence on whether slower hiring is turning into deeper weakness in the labor market.
If there is a jobs report on Friday at all.
My story on how a shutdown could leave us flying blind at a vital moment for the economy. #EconSky
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/b...

Government Shutdown Could Delay Economic Data at a Critical Moment

www.nytimes.com

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Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 9d

It’s the “experiment” part that implies causal inference.

Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 9d

I’m ready to lose it over folks who still think the Solow Paradox was unresolved and that AI is the first novel technology ever encountered by firms.

Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 9d

How much “random allocation” of people to cities actually happens? And, if it’s truly random, does this represent a reality we care about? (Most people move for many-faceted reasons, etc.). And if it’s a shock, how is the control group not also treated? And so on….

Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 9d

I’m increasingly irked by the term “natural experiment.”

Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 9d

So much irritation embedded in the intro, and yet this is the modal approach to motivating a paper.

I also immediately question whether we really know little about it…or if there just isn’t an Econ paper by an author with an A or B last name at the top of a Google Scholar search on it.

Dan Lewer @danlewer.bsky.social · 9d

When research papers start out with "little is known about X", you must wonder if people actually need to know about X

Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 10d

Often bad ideas proliferate because people think a good idea must also be novel. On the contrary, if it’s really a good idea you’re unlikely to be the first to have had it

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Reposted by Kristina McElheran

Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 9d

Who buys an economic research center for $375M? What are the assets, price data?
www.ft.com/content/4501...

UChicago sells prized institute amid high debt and low returns

Endowment of famed finance school posted weak investment gains as it borrowed heavily to invest in research capacity

www.ft.com

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Reposted by Kristina McElheran

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 9d

1. The $20 billion taxpayer-funded rescue package for Argentina, announced last week by the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, delivers an enormous windfall to hedge fund billionaire Rob Citrone.

Citrone has a longstanding personal and professional relationship with Bessent.

Trump’s Argentina bailout enriches one well-connected billionaire

A $20 billion taxpayer-funded rescue package for Argentina is a gift for a hedge fund manager with personal and professional ties to the Treasury Secretary

popular.info

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Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 10d

Valuable chuckle today!

Andrea Matranga @andreamatranga.bsky.social · 10d

Error Bar would be a great name for a stats themed drinking establishment.
You know where we could go when the article gets rejected

Reposted by Kristina McElheran

NBER @nber.org · 12d

Examining the recent slow growth in manufacturing productivity, from Enghin Atalay, Ali Hortaçsu, Nicole Kimmel, and Chad Syverson https://www.nber.org/papers/w34264

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Reposted by Kristina McElheran

Zach Weinersmith @zachweinersmith.bsky.social · 14d

Wow www.bbc.com/news/article...

Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time

One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.

www.bbc.com

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Reposted by Kristina McElheran

Jan Kabatek 🇺🇦 @jankabatek.com · 14d

The list of social media platforms that Australia is considering to ban (under the new restrictions for Aussie teenagers) includes—yes, you read that right—GitHub.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Not just 'big fish': eSafety reveals new platforms may be forced to ban teens

WhatsApp, Roblox, Reddit and Discord are among an expanded list of platforms which may be covered by the teen social media ban, the ABC can reveal.

www.abc.net.au

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Kristina McElheran @kmcelheran.bsky.social · 14d

Now do oversight of faculty expense reports. “I see a $29 lounge pass was included in the fee to check the bag you needed for your 15-day trip away from your family for research in the public interest. This must be subtracted from the amount on your cc statement accompanying the 3 receipts.”

ProPublica @propublica.org · 14d

NEW: GOP lawmakers cite Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage as a national model for federal Medicaid work requirements that are set to take effect in 2027.

A new report shows the program has spent twice as much on administrative costs as on health care.

By @savmargaret.bsky.social

Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement Program Spent Twice as Much on Administrative Costs as on Health Care, GAO Says

Republican lawmakers cite Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage as a national model for federal Medicaid work requirements that are set to take effect in 2027. A new report shows the program has spent at lea...