Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Mark Hallerberg @mhallerberg.bsky.social · 14d

German Finance Minister Klingbeil speaks at the Jacques Delors Centre at Hertie concerning Germany‘s role in Europe. He said the right things about the need for what would amount to a capital markets union.

Reposted by Mark Hallerberg

Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · Aug 22

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Ben Casselman @bencasselman.bsky.social · Aug 22

The U.S. has enjoyed a decades-long economic advantage thanks to its reputation as the safest place in the world for investors to put their money and for entrepreneurs to build their businesses.

President Trump may be chipping away at that advantage.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/b... #EconSky

Trump’s Attacks on Institutions Threaten a Bulwark of Economic Strength

www.nytimes.com

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Mark Hallerberg @mhallerberg.bsky.social · Jul 25

Interesting article, but something is missing here. German breads are more complex, often having little to no wheat in them. A bakery near us replaced all wheat with spelt. More generally white bread is rare. This may also explain the difference with the US. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/w...

Is the Bread in Europe Better for You?

www.nytimes.com

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Mark Hallerberg @mhallerberg.bsky.social · Jun 26

Welcome @epssnet.bsky.social ! I plan to be in Belfast at the first conference next year.

EPSS @epssnet.bsky.social · Jun 26

🚨 Big News for European Political Science 🚨

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the European Political Science Society (EPSS): a new, member-led, not-for-profit association built to support our scholarly community.

🔗 epssnet.org

Here’s a thread with everything you need to know.

🧵

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Mark Hallerberg @mhallerberg.bsky.social · Jun 24

The DFG Excellence Cluster @scripts-berlin.eu is hiring a key member of staff, our Managing Director. This person will work with a great group of academics across Berlin, including with me. Note that one needs both German and English. More here: www.fu-berlin.de/universitaet...

PS-SCRIPTS_GF_2025

www.fu-berlin.de

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Mark Hallerberg @mhallerberg.bsky.social · Jun 18

Berlusconi appointed himself as Treasury Minister. He even attended an ECOFIN meeting in this role. Why not an American President as Fed Chair? Especially one who has a lot of parallels to Berlusconi? (Just to be clear—I do NOT think this is a good idea. But Trump‘s comment does not surprise me.)

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · Jun 18

Folks are rightly cracking lots of jokes about this. I'll simply note, again, that a more polite & elitist version of this was precisely the critique wrongly leveled at Jay Powell for 3 long years by several of the most prominent economists in the National Conversation™️:

bsky.app/profile/mcop...

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Jun 18

Trump: "Maybe I should go to the Fed. Am I allowed to appoint myself? Am I allowed to appoint myself at the Fed? I'd do a much better job."

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Reposted by Mark Hallerberg

Johannes Buggle @jcbuggle.bsky.social · Jun 6

We are opening three full professor positions in beautiful Innsbruck!

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Reposted by Mark Hallerberg

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · Jun 10

Absolutely grotesque abuse of government power. Lying to educators in order to entrap children. No wonder they want to hide their identity.

Kye @gxldsociety.bsky.social · Jun 10

BREAKING: Federal agents in plain clothes and unmarked cars tried to snatch 1st graders from LA elementary schools—told staff they had “parental consent.”

They lied. When pressed, they HID THEIR IDS. DHS admits they sent them. This wasn’t a welfare check. It was a test run for a police state.

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Mark Hallerberg @mhallerberg.bsky.social · Jun 8

This makes me so angry. You don’t call in the National Guard on a peaceful protest. A protest the THE POLICE say is a peaceful protest.

Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · Jun 8

👇👇

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Reposted by Mark Hallerberg

Berlin University Alliance @berlinualliance.bsky.social · May 30

#Vorgestellt: Erforschen, wie die liberale Gesellschaftsordnung 🗽 als Grundlage der #Demokratie global und regional herausgefordert wird – dem widmet sich @scripts-berlin.eu : einer der fünf Berliner #Exzellenzcluster, die ab 2026 durch die @dfg.de gefördert werden. @freieuniversitaet.bsky.social

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zur Förderung Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)!

SCRIPTS widmet sich der Erforschung der aktuellen Herausforderungen und verschärften Auseinandersetzungen, denen liberale Gesellschaftsmodelle weltweit ausgesetzt ist. Ziel ist es, die Ursachen, Dynamiken und Konsequenzen dieser Entwicklungen aus globaler, vergleichender und historischer Perspektive zu analysieren. In der zweiten Förderphase liegt der Schwerpunkt auf der Resilienz demokratischer Gesellschaftsmodelle.

SCRIPTS vereint die Expertise von fünf führenden Berliner Forschungseinrichtungen und fördert die interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit von Wissenschaftler*innen aus verschiedenen Fachbereichen. Neben der Forschung legt SCRIPTS großen Wert auf den Wissensaustausch mit der Gesellschaft und Politik. Durch öffentliche Veranstaltungen, Vortragsreihen und Ausstellungen, Workshops und Hintergrundgespräche werden Forschungsergebnisse einem breiten Publikum ebenso wie politischen Entscheidungsträger*innen zugänglich gemacht.

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Mark Hallerberg @mhallerberg.bsky.social · May 26

Great speech at the #HertieSchool from Christine Lagarde on what it would take for the euro to overtake the dollar as the world’s main reserve currency

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Mark Hallerberg @mhallerberg.bsky.social · May 22

Good news!

SCRIPTS Berlin @scripts-berlin.eu · May 22

SCRIPTS is celebrating! 🎉
We have been awarded a second round of funding through the DFG’s Excellence Strategy!

We're excited to continue exploring how democracies adapt under pressure—our new focus: democratic resilience. More to come as we prepare for SCRIPTS 2.0!

#Democracy #ExcellenceStrategy

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Reposted by Mark Hallerberg

Noah Barkin @noahbarkin.bsky.social · May 16

Japan and the EU are holding out for a fair, balanced deal with Trump even if it takes months. First to the finish line doesn’t always mean victory, as the UK showed by sealing a quick deal in which it caved to many US demands.
on.ft.com/42XHzCW

Japan to hold out for better trade deal with US

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s unpopular government fears concessions could prompt electoral backlash

on.ft.com

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Reposted by Mark Hallerberg

Dominik Mai @dominikmai.bsky.social · May 15

Noch immer kommen Menschen zur Skalitzer Straße 32 in #Kreuzberg, legen Blumen nieder, zünden Kerzen an - und erinnern an Margot #Friedländer, die hier mit ihrer Familie lebte, bis am 20. Januar 1943 die Gestapo kam und sie sich im Untergrund verstecken musste.

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Reposted by Mark Hallerberg

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · May 14

So per @georgeeaton.bsky.social's useful insider account, it seems Labour's theory of growth is the Swedish export model of the late 20th century, which relied on squeezing low productivity manufacturing firms out of business so as to keep exports competitive. Quite bold for a service-led economy.

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Reposted by Mark Hallerberg

Thu Nguyen @onethuthree.bsky.social · May 13

Don't miss out on this! We are very delighted to welcome Christine Lagarde at @delorsberlin.bsky.social on Monday, 26 May for a keynote speech on Europe's role and economic leadership in a fragmented world.

Seats are limited, link for registration here: www.delorscentre.eu/en/events-at...

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Reposted by Mark Hallerberg

DGAP @dgap.org · May 9

To start off our new event series “Remaking America?” with @scripts-berlin.eu, we will welcome Mark DiPlacido on 15 May to discuss Donald Trump's tariffs & 🇺🇸 #trade policy. His remarks will be further discussed with @mhallerberg.bsky.social & the event moderated by @thousandfriend.bsky.social.

Remaking America

buff.ly

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Reposted by Mark Hallerberg

Tom Scocca @tomscocca.bsky.social · Apr 25

"The Agriculture Department will not require poultry companies to limit salmonella bacteria in their products, halting a Biden Administration effort to prevent food poisoning from contaminated meat."

www.seattletimes.com/business/usd...

USDA withdraws a plan to limit salmonella levels in raw poultry

The Agriculture Department says it is withdrawing a plan to limit salmonella bacteria in poultry products.

www.seattletimes.com

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Mark Hallerberg @mhallerberg.bsky.social · Apr 24

Tech is where Europe is most vulnerable. Initiatives like this one are a good start.

France and Germany unveil Docs, a homegrown alternative to Google Docs

The Trump administration has set out to drastically reshape the relationship between the US and Europe. In response, Brussels is scrambling to adapt to this new reality,...

www.techspot.com

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Reposted by Mark Hallerberg

YouGov @yougov.co.uk · Apr 16

57% of Britons would rather have the EU as a close trading partner than the US, amid suggestion that closer alignment with Europe could endanger a trade deal with the US

EU: 57% (+4 from 21 Jan)
US: 16% (-5)

yougov.co.uk/topics/econo...

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Reposted by Mark Hallerberg

🕊 Sharon ~ NHDogLover ⚖️ 🗽 @nhdoglover.bsky.social · Apr 16

A top scientist at Harvard who has spent years unraveling the mysteries of tuberculosis woke up Tuesday morning and discovered an order from the federal government telling her to halt her research.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/15/m...

Leading Harvard scientist ordered to halt research in funding freeze - The Boston Globe

Researchers may have to kill macaques, a kind of primate used in a vaccine study, due to the order.

www.bostonglobe.com

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Mark Hallerberg @mhallerberg.bsky.social · Apr 10

This is very cool. I hope others copy this excellent work, and that we all learn from greater data transparency

Ben Zaranko @benzaranko.bsky.social · Apr 10

Rather than doom-scrolling/trying to desperately learn what a ‘Treasury basis trade’ is, why not play with our new tool instead?

Allows you to see, in lots of detail, how much the government spends on different things in each region (£, £ per person, % GDP). I’ll post some nice examples later.

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Mark Hallerberg @mhallerberg.bsky.social · Apr 10

This agreement on the citizenship laws is a big deal, and the right decision. It is also against what Merz said on the campaign.

Maarten Vink @maartenpvink.bsky.social · Apr 10

Good to see the new CDU/CSU and SPD coalition 🇩🇪 keeps the main elements of the 2024 modernisation of German citizenship law in place. Incl dual citizenship and 5 yrs residence req. 👏

Only element that is cancelled is the fast-track naturalisation (after 3 yrs) or 'Turbo-Einbürgerung'.

Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht: Wir schaffen die „Turboeinbürgerung“ nach drei Jahren ab. Darüber hinaus halten wir an der Reform des Staatsbürgerschaftsrecht fest.

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Reposted by Mark Hallerberg

Ursula von der Leyen @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu · Apr 10

Finally, we are stepping up our work to lift barriers in our own single market. This crisis has made one thing clear: in times of uncertainty, the single market is our anchor of stability and resilience.

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Mark Hallerberg @mhallerberg.bsky.social · Apr 7

Excellent piece from @andrearoemmele.bsky.social in @spiegel.de today. Indeed, time to change the status quo in Germany’s democracy

(S+) Meinung: Demokratie in Gefahr: Es braucht Disruption – aber ohne Kettensäge!

Union und SPD scheinen immer noch zu zögern, statt visionär zu denken. Um die künftigen Herausforderungen zu meistern, sollten die Koalitionäre die »German Angst« überwinden.

www.spiegel.de

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