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Reposted by Zach Liscow

Arpit Gupta @arpitrage.bsky.social · 9d

Connecticut is going to spend $1 billion on a moveable bridge to serve *one* boat that goes up and down the river.

The Army Corps of Engineers was inflexible on this issue despite the cost bloat. Should be a go to example for “marble cake federalism.”

By @zliscow.bsky.social interviewed by Ruiz

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Zach Liscow @zliscow.bsky.social · 11d

Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't realized that. So I just put up a version with the appendix on SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

State Capacity for Building Infrastructure

<p>Recent legislation has brought the goal of getting the most out of public infrastructure funds to the fore. The high cost of building major infrastructure in

papers.ssrn.com

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Reposted by Zach Liscow

David Gamage @davidgamage.bsky.social · 18d

On Sep 24 (Wednesday), Ed Fox (Michigan), Zach Liscow (Yale) and Michael Love (Columbia), will present the draft paper, “Corporate vs. Pass Through Taxation: the Role of Economic Rents and Legibility”, at the Mizzou Law Tax Policy Colloquium, from 2:00 to 3:15 pm Central Time. 1/

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Zach Liscow @zliscow.bsky.social · 20d

🚨New paper! I propose specific actions to reform permitting, balancing a reduction in back-end litigation with more robust and inclusive front-end planning, preserving core values while adapting to modern needs.

www.brookings.edu/articles/ref...

Reforming permitting to build infrastructure | Brookings

This paper proposes legislative actions to reform environmental policy regulations which made building U.S. infrastructure expensive and slow.

www.brookings.edu

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Reposted by Zach Liscow

Zak Yudhishthu @zyudhishthu.bsky.social · 20d

The US has a lot of lawyers per capita, and unsurprisingly it has a lot of lawsuits per capita, which probably matters for our ability to build things. Info by way of @zliscow.bsky.social
pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/...

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Zach Liscow @zliscow.bsky.social · 21d

I had a great time talking with Santi Ruiz @ifp.bsky.social about how to reduce infrastructure costs. Here's the podcast.

www.statecraft.pub/p/what-is-am...

What is America’s Infrastructure Cost Problem?

“I'm part of the problem”

www.statecraft.pub

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Reposted by Zach Liscow

Ron Davis @ronpdavis.bsky.social · 22d

Fantastic talk on cutting transit construction costs and getting lots more great transit with @zliscow.bsky.social, @stephanie-pollack.bsky.social and @egoldwyn.bsky.social at @yimbytown.bsky.social.

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Reposted by Zach Liscow

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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Reposted by Zach Liscow

Chris Cunningham @econcunningham.bsky.social · 25d

This is a really important paper. American infrastructure is expensive because we outsourced the capacity design (or perhaps even bid) effectively.

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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Reposted by Zach Liscow

Kevin Thurman @kmthurman.bsky.social · 25d

The implication of the outsourcing of state capacity loom large over this paper. The results are clear but it’s more impactful if you read between the lines

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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Reposted by Zach Liscow

Natanael, Tech janitor @natanael.bsky.social · 25d

Investing in competence pays off, another result "cost cutting" conservatives don't understand

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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Reposted by Zach Liscow

City Nolan @ndhapple.bsky.social · 26d

Hello!

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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Reposted by Zach Liscow

Colin Camerer @cfcamerer.bsky.social · 25d

Tl;dr Engineers print money

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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Reposted by Zach Liscow

Steve Cicala @stevecicala.bsky.social · 25d

Wow, this is fantastic.

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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Reposted by Zach Liscow

bikepedantic @bikepedantic.bsky.social · 25d

Rhetorical question: What do we think is going to result from the culling of experienced engineers (and other subject matter experts) at the Fed level too?

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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Reposted by Zach Liscow

Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 25d

Key point for those of us trying to figure out ST3 costs. State capacity is a key piece of the puzzle.

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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Reposted by Zach Liscow

Brendan Dawe @dawe.bsky.social · 25d

Probably true in Canada and for more than just highways I would reckon

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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Reposted by Zach Liscow

Spokane Rising @spokanerising.com · 25d

Hmmm, maybe we should hire in-house civil engineers instead of relying on massive multinational consulting firms to do our work for us?

Imagine that!

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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Zach Liscow @zliscow.bsky.social · 26d

Nice policy writeup on the piece from the Tobin Center for Economic Policy at Yale: tobin.yale.edu/research/exp...

Experienced state employees can deliver big savings on infrastructure

To build quickly and for less, states should be willing to pay (a lot) more to retain the best engineers

tobin.yale.edu

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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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Reposted by Zach Liscow

Erika McEntarfer @erikamcentarfer.bsky.social · Aug 2

It has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy. It is vital and important work and I thank them for their service to this nation.

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Zach Liscow @zliscow.bsky.social · Jun 4

No way to run a railroad
www.wsj.com/economy/cpi-...

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Zach Liscow @zliscow.bsky.social · May 27

🚨NEW PAPER🚨 w/ Elmendorf & Hubbard. We find:
- Growth-enhancing policies almost certainly cannot stabilize federal debt on their own
- But such policies can reduce the tax hikes/spending cuts needed to stabilize debt
- We need more research here

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

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Reposted by Zach Liscow

Greg Shill @gregshill.com · Mar 21

🚨 New episode of Densely Speaking pod! @jeffrlin.bsky.social and I interview Yale Law prof & former Chief OMB Economist @zliscow.bsky.social about his paper, Procurement and Infrastructure Costs.

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

Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

S4E6 - Procurement and Infrastructure Costs (Zach Liscow)

Densely Speaking · Episode

open.spotify.com

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Reposted by Zach Liscow

Eric Goldwyn @egoldwyn.bsky.social · Mar 25

Finally got around to listening to @gregshill.com, @jeffrlin.bsky.social, and @zliscow.bsky.social talking about procurement, megaprojects, road repavings, and Zach’s extensive body of work on these topics. Excellent stuff! densely-speaking.pinecast.co/episode/c070...

S4E6 - Procurement and Infrastructure Costs (Zach Liscow)

# Procurement and Infrastructure Costs (Zach Liscow) [Zach Liscow](https://law.yale.edu/zachary-liscow) is Professor of Law at Yale Law School. From 2022-23, he was the Chief Economist at the White H...

densely-speaking.pinecast.co

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