Marginal Revolution https://marginalrevolution.com/ Small Steps Toward A Much Better World Mon, 01 Jun 2026 13:10:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://marginalrevolution.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/cropped-MR-logo-thumbnail-32x32.png Marginal REVOLUTION https://marginalrevolution.com/ 32 32 42693868 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/the-chimera-of-universal-coverage-in-a-large-diverse-country.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-chimera-of-universal-coverage-in-a-large-diverse-country The chimera of universal coverage in a large, diverse country https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957621194/0/marginalrevolution~The-chimera-of-universal-coverage-in-a-large-diverse-country.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/the-chimera-of-universal-coverage-in-a-large-diverse-country.html#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2026 18:18:34 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93119 Our findings suggest that policies intended to subsidize health insurance of higher income groups, for example, the enhanced premium subsidies, are far less efficient than policies intended to further expand public insurance to low-income groups, for example, in non-expansion states. That is from a new NBER working paper by Anuj Gangopadhyaya & Robert Kaestner.

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Our findings suggest that policies intended to subsidize health insurance of higher income groups, for example, the enhanced premium subsidies, are far less efficient than policies intended to further expand public insurance to low-income groups, for example, in non-expansion states.

That is from a new NBER working paper by Anuj Gangopadhyaya & Robert Kaestner.

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]]> https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/the-chimera-of-universal-coverage-in-a-large-diverse-country.html/feed 49 93119 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/monday-assorted-links-562.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=monday-assorted-links-562 Monday assorted links https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957618737/0/marginalrevolution~Monday-assorted-links.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/monday-assorted-links-562.html#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:17:59 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93114 1. Progress Ireland. 2. Some new results on tatonnement? 3. The new Paul McCartney album is his best since the 2004 Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.  Here is a song by song analysis.  For an 83-year-old, it is an astonishing and I think unparalleled achievement. 4. “Our findings suggest that the aggregate value of […]

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]]> 1. Progress Ireland.

2. Some new results on tatonnement?

3. The new Paul McCartney album is his best since the 2004 Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.  Here is a song by song analysis.  For an 83-year-old, it is an astonishing and I think unparalleled achievement.

4. “Our findings suggest that the aggregate value of data is about 1.5% of GDP.”

5. Turkmenistan notes.

6. Seminar teaching rich kids how to manage their wealth (WSJ).

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]]> https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/monday-assorted-links-562.html/feed 29 93114 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/europe-demands-family-dynasties.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=europe-demands-family-dynasties Europe Demands Family Dynasties https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957608657/0/marginalrevolution~Europe-Demands-Family-Dynasties.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/europe-demands-family-dynasties.html#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:17:12 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93112 In the US, someone with wealth is free to give it away more or less as they see fit (spousal claims excepted, which partly reflect marital co-ownership). In much of Europe, however, there is forced heirship–a large fraction of wealth must be handed down to children which makes it harder to direct large portions of […]

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]]> In the US, someone with wealth is free to give it away more or less as they see fit (spousal claims excepted, which partly reflect marital co-ownership). In much of Europe, however, there is forced heirship–a large fraction of wealth must be handed down to children which makes it harder to direct large portions of wealth to charities, foundations, or non-family causes compared to the US. (Louisiana, with its French-Spanish civil law roots, is the one state with forced heirship and even it mostly gutted it in 1995.)

Here is an excellent post by John Arnold who, if he were European, would be required to give 75% of his wealth to his three children instead of spending it on philanthropy as he and his spouse are now doing.

America’s cultural ideal has been the self-made entrepreneur while Europe’s was rooted in aristocracy, with status inherited rather than earned. Europe’s inheritance laws show this divide.

Many European countries have “forced heirship” laws that require people to leave 50-75% of their estates to their children. Want to leave the majority of your wealth to charity? not allowed. Your kids are estranged from you, struggling with addiction, or irresponsible? still required to give them the money. Want your kids to avoid a life of entitlement? tough.

Incredibly, these laws look back at transfers made during your lifetime. If you have 3 children in France, you’re required to bequeath them a minimum of 75% of your estate. Because French law calculates this based on your assets at death plus all lifetime gifts, giving away more than 25% of your wealth while alive means your heirs can legally sue to force charities or foundations to return the funds. This has limited the development of the nonprofit sector on the continent.

The cultural gap between an entrepreneurial society and one shaped by dynastic wealth is enormous. If you make it yourself, you tend to want your kids to do the same. If you inherit it, the primary goal is protecting the estate for the next gen.

Countries like Spain, France, and Italy legally entrench family dynasties, while America has historically sought to limit them through estate taxes. The result is not only a weaker culture of philanthropy and civil society in Europe, but also less economic dynamism.

It’s interesting that in Capital Piketty discusses required equal division to children as an egalitarian legacy of the revolution but, as far as I recall, never reflects on the fact that forced heirship prevents a French entrepreneur from giving his fortune away to charity. A case for laissez-faire, no?

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]]> https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/europe-demands-family-dynasties.html/feed 99 93112 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/uk-facts-of-the-day.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=uk-facts-of-the-day UK facts of the day https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957602102/0/marginalrevolution~UK-facts-of-the-day.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/uk-facts-of-the-day.html#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2026 06:30:45 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93117 At the peak, the year to March 2023, almost 1.5m immigrants came. The Office for National Statistics thinks that far fewer people left, so net migration amounted to 944,000. …Net migration to Britain last year amounted to 171,000—the lowest level since 2012, if the pandemic years are excluded. The human haul will probably be even […]

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At the peak, the year to March 2023, almost 1.5m immigrants came. The Office for National Statistics thinks that far fewer people left, so net migration amounted to 944,000.

…Net migration to Britain last year amounted to 171,000—the lowest level since 2012, if the pandemic years are excluded. The human haul will probably be even lower this year, largely because the number of economic migrants continues to fall fast…James Bowes of Warwick University thinks net migration might even turn negative in 2026…

The government’s attempt to filter for highly desirable immigrants is not working in practice. As expected, the number of visas given to care workers has plunged. But the number of visas given to IT professionals has also fallen, from about 28,000 in 2022 to 10,000 last year.

According to The Economist, most Britons still think immigration to the country is rising.  And it seems economically productive immigrants are being restricted too?:

Regardless of whether he or she arrived with a work visa or by other means, the average India-born employee in Britain earns £32,400 a year, whereas the average Nigeria-born employee earns £34,000. British-born people lag behind both, with average earnings of £30,900…

The Migration Observatory, a think-tank, has shown that people who arrive from outside the EU often earn little at first. Yet the wages of recent migrants have quickly exceeded the national average…

One of my fears is that, for informational and public choice reasons, it is unduly hard to crack down on unproductive immigrants only.

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]]> https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/uk-facts-of-the-day.html/feed 44 93117 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/the-political-right-continues-to-gain-ground-in-latin-america.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-political-right-continues-to-gain-ground-in-latin-america The political right continues to gain ground in Latin America https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957600263/0/marginalrevolution~The-political-right-continues-to-gain-ground-in-Latin-America.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/the-political-right-continues-to-gain-ground-in-latin-america.html#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2026 04:43:20 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93116 A leftist senator and a rightwing populist outsider who calls himself “The Tiger” will go to a run-off presidential election in Colombia this month after no candidate won outright in the first round of voting on Sunday. Iván Cepeda, a close ally of outgoing leftist president Gustavo Petro, will face Abelardo de la Espriella, a […]

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A leftist senator and a rightwing populist outsider who calls himself “The Tiger” will go to a run-off presidential election in Colombia this month after no candidate won outright in the first round of voting on Sunday.

Iván Cepeda, a close ally of outgoing leftist president Gustavo Petro, will face Abelardo de la Espriella, a combative former criminal defence lawyer who won the largest share of the vote on Sunday with 10.3mn votes, a 43.7 per cent share, though he fell short of the 50 per cent plus one required to win outright.

Cepeda came in second with 9.6mn votes, a 40.9 per cent share, with 99.9 per cent of ballots counted on Sunday evening. No other candidate reached 7 per cent of the vote.

Here is more from the FT.   Note the right-wing candidate was not expected to do this well, though at current margins I am not sure why people keep ending up surprised.

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]]> https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/06/the-political-right-continues-to-gain-ground-in-latin-america.html/feed 23 93116 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/the-returns-to-good-data-are-rising.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-returns-to-good-data-are-rising The returns to good data are rising https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957592220/0/marginalrevolution~The-returns-to-good-data-are-rising.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/the-returns-to-good-data-are-rising.html#comments Sun, 31 May 2026 18:55:46 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93106 When we want A.I. to solve real problems for real people, we need to make sure the data exists. That means cleaning up government data sets that are currently in a shambles (a project that the province of Alberta’s government found A.I. could make much faster and easier). It may also mean funding the creation of novel […]

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When we want A.I. to solve real problems for real people, we need to make sure the data exists. That means cleaning up government data sets that are currently in a shambles (a project that the province of Alberta’s government found A.I. could make much faster and easier). It may also mean funding the creation of novel data sets that could eventually give A.I. systems traction on scientific problems that are currently beyond our capability to solve. Those data sets — like the Protein Data Bank — would be public goods, and so would need to be funded by the public.

Here is a longer NYT column on AI from Ezra Klein.  And this:

But much of the A.I. capacity will remain in the private sector. So a public agenda for A.I. should also give the private sector reason to work on public problems. Like in Operation Warp Speed, the government could define the outcomes it wants — a drug, a solution — and guarantee a market if it’s found and distributed equitably.

Negativism is not going to win in this sphere.

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]]> https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/the-returns-to-good-data-are-rising.html/feed 24 93106 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/a-new-american-exceptionalism.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-new-american-exceptionalism A new American exceptionalism? https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957588827/0/marginalrevolution~A-new-American-exceptionalism.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/a-new-american-exceptionalism.html#comments Sun, 31 May 2026 15:51:11 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93105 From Paul Krugman: Let me be clear: I am not arguing that European productivity is mismeasured, and never said that. I am, instead, arguing that standard measures of productivity do not have the implications for cross-country comparisons of living standards and economic welfare that many people – including many economists – think they have. To put it […]

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]]> From Paul Krugman:

Let me be clear: I am not arguing that European productivity is mismeasured, and never said that. I am, instead, arguing that standard measures of productivity do not have the implications for cross-country comparisons of living standards and economic welfare that many people – including many economists – think they have. To put it a slightly different way: people are using data that is unsuited for the kinds of comparisons that they are trying to make. Thus, the conclusions that they are drawing from the data are misguided. But this is not to say that the data are wrong.

The apparent misunderstanding by Aghion et al of what I am trying to say is also reflected in their discussion. Their presentation mostly centers on arguing that European productivity growth is in fact lower than US productivity growth. This is puzzling, because I am not arguing that European productivity growth matches or exceeds US productivity growth. Like Aghion et al, I am fully aware that European productivity growth is lower than in the U.S. But this is not the actual issue that I am trying to address. My question is whether the standard comparison of European and US productivity growth rates is a good indicator of what is actually going on in the two economies over time.

OK, but if U.S. innovation drives global living standards, is that not a very strong argument for modest capital taxes in the United States, weak labor union privileges, high U.S. pharma prices, and so on?  Imagine a mix of the libertarian and corporatist agendas, rather than the social democratic policies Krugman typically has argued for.  I doubt however if Krugman sees it that way, but I am no longer sure why not.

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]]> https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/a-new-american-exceptionalism.html/feed 73 93105 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/sunday-assorted-links-569.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sunday-assorted-links-569 Sunday assorted links https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957577745/0/marginalrevolution~Sunday-assorted-links.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/sunday-assorted-links-569.html#comments Sun, 31 May 2026 07:29:19 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93101 1. A new theory of galaxy formation? 2. Using AI to sell your house (NYT). 3. Ryan Graves. 4. Henry Oliver on reading Proust and also The Golden Bowl, an excellent essay. 5. On Spotify and Apple Music, are now about half of new song releases done by AI? 6. Is Indian cultural soft power […]

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]]> 1. A new theory of galaxy formation?

2. Using AI to sell your house (NYT).

3. Ryan Graves.

4. Henry Oliver on reading Proust and also The Golden Bowl, an excellent essay.

5. On Spotify and Apple Music, are now about half of new song releases done by AI?

6. Is Indian cultural soft power somewhat receding?

7. Grok is this true?

8. Ten EU countries are breaching the fiscal rules (FT).

9. Tracking aircraft from space?

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]]> https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/sunday-assorted-links-569.html/feed 55 93101 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/lifestyle-and-living-standards-arbitrage.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lifestyle-and-living-standards-arbitrage Lifestyle and living standards arbitrage https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957575813/0/marginalrevolution~Lifestyle-and-living-standards-arbitrage.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/lifestyle-and-living-standards-arbitrage.html#comments Sun, 31 May 2026 05:13:38 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93103 Since the Eisenhower administration, the U.S. hasn’t collected comprehensive statistics on the number of citizens leaving. Yet data on residence permits, foreign home purchases, student enrollments and other metrics from more than 50 countries show that Americans are voting with their feet to an unprecedented degree. A millions-strong diaspora is studying, telecommuting and retiring overseas. […]

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Since the Eisenhower administration, the U.S. hasn’t collected comprehensive statistics on the number of citizens leaving. Yet data on residence permits, foreign home purchases, student enrollments and other metrics from more than 50 countries show that Americans are voting with their feet to an unprecedented degree. A millions-strong diaspora is studying, telecommuting and retiring overseas.

The new American dream, for some of its citizens, is to no longer live there.

In the cobblestoned streets of Lisbon, so many Americans are snapping up apartments that the newest arrivals complain they mostly hear their own language—not Portuguese. One of every 15 residents in Dublin’s trendy Grand Canal Dock district was born in the U.S., according to realtors, higher than the percentage of Americans born in Ireland during the 19th-century influx following the Potato Famine. In Bali, Colombia and Thailand, the strains of housing American remote workers paid in dollars have inspired locals to mount protests against a wave of gentrification.

More than 100,000 young students are enrolled abroad for a more affordable university degree. In nursing homes mushrooming across the Mexican border, elderly Americans are turning up for low-cost care.

On a conference call last month hosted by Expatsi, a relocation company, almost 400 Americans signed up to learn how to move to Albania. The former Stalinist state offers a special visa allowing U.S. citizens to live and work there, with no tax on foreign income for a year, no questions asked.

“Previously, the Americans leaving were super-adventurous and well-credentialed,” said Expatsi founder Jen Barnett, a 54-year-old Alabama native who moved to Yucatán, Mexico, in 2024.

“Now they’re ordinary people, like me,” she said as she ticked through growth numbers.

Here is more from the WSJ.  And we are not yet into the era of “AI-savvy Americans being paid lots to help foreign countries manage their own transitions.”

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]]> https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/lifestyle-and-living-standards-arbitrage.html/feed 38 93103 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/saturday-assorted-links-563.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=saturday-assorted-links-563 Saturday assorted links https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957553877/0/marginalrevolution~Saturday-assorted-links.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/saturday-assorted-links-563.html#comments Sat, 30 May 2026 16:21:20 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93097 1. Which foreign food chains have made it in NYC? 2. Testing products on AI-generated buyers. 3. Are Vatican pronouncements rising in status? 4. A saner Argentina take.  I notice that PTDS is spreading. 5. Yupsy-dupsy. 6. Japan lost three million people over the last five years (NYT). 7. The most 2020s art ever?

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]]> 1. Which foreign food chains have made it in NYC?

2. Testing products on AI-generated buyers.

3. Are Vatican pronouncements rising in status?

4. A saner Argentina take.  I notice that PTDS is spreading.

5. Yupsy-dupsy.

6. Japan lost three million people over the last five years (NYT).

7. The most 2020s art ever?

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]]> https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/saturday-assorted-links-563.html/feed 74 93097 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/80000-hours-the-book.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=80000-hours-the-book 80,000 Hours: The Book https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957538715/0/marginalrevolution~Hours-The-Book.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/80000-hours-the-book.html#comments Sat, 30 May 2026 11:16:52 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93099 Forty hours a week, fifty weeks a year, forty years: a career is about 80,000 hours. Yet it’s striking how little serious thought goes into career decisions relative to, say, choosing a mortgage. Indeed, you are almost supposed to tell a story about how a random incident changed your life. One summer a circus came […]

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]]> Forty hours a week, fifty weeks a year, forty years: a career is about 80,000 hours. Yet it’s striking how little serious thought goes into career decisions relative to, say, choosing a mortgage. Indeed, you are almost supposed to tell a story about how a random incident changed your life. One summer a circus came to town—and that’s the whole reason I became an economist! (True story!). Career advice, when it exists, often amounts to the platitude of “follow your passions!” Ugh. If you ask people what their passions are, music, arts and sports top the list but guess what? There aren’t enough jobs in those categories to go around.

Benjamin Todd’s newly updated book, 80,000 Hours is a unique examination of careers that runs the numbers in a serious way. The book is framed along Effective Altruism lines and it has some good public policy material. Pandemics, for example,

The world has plenty of religious cults, despots and would-be school shooters who might decide they want to take everyone else down with them…. The world [c]ould be one lab leak away from catastrophe.

Given what we know about the pace and accessibility of bioengineering tools, the chance that there will be a pandemic that kills over 100 million people during the next century seems high, plausibly similar or greater than the risk of large-scale nuclear war or climate change above six degrees. An engineered pandemic could also kill over 90% of the population,suggesting its overall scale is significantly larger.

But risks from pandemics are, even now, far more neglected than either of these. In comparison to $6bn–$10bn of philanthropic funding for climate change, and $1.6 trillion of total climate finance, pandemic prevention only receives $1bn of philanthropic funding, and total spending aimed at reducing the chance of worst-case pandemics is probably under $10bn.

See also my paper Pandemic Preparation Without Romance on what to do about it.

The opening chapters present the EA framing but most of the book has good advice even for the purely selfish–advice on building skills, networking and how to actually get a job. From what I have said so far, one might get the impression that the idea is to rationally choose your career at age 16 and then optimize your life around that plan. Not so! Todd rightly divides career paths into explore, build and deploy categories. Most people under-explore. It’s ok to jump around jobs and places, especially when you are young, so long as you are building skills and not just accumulating items for the CV. There’s evidence, for example, that scientists’ best work tends to follow periods of exploration with exploitation.

I also appreciate that Todd specifically warns about about armchair theorizing. Pro-and-con lists, for example, are ok but far less useful than getting out of the chair and actively exploring. Go talk with people, try something for a week, go somewhere. Look for cheap tests.

Start with what’s easiest. We often find people who want to, say, try out economics, who then apply for a master’s degree. That’s a huge investment of time. Instead, think about how you can learn This could mean first reading an economics textbook, or taking a single course.

You can think about creating a ‘ladder’ of tests. Start with the cheapest ways to test your options, then after each step, re-evaluate. A ladder might look like this:
a. Read our relevant career reviews, all our research on a given topic, and talk to LLMs about what the jobs are like (two to five hours).
b. Speak to someone in the area (two hours).
c. Speak to a friend to get an outside perspective on what’s best (two hours).
d. Speak to three more people who work in the area and read one or two books (twenty hours).
e. Given your findings, look for a relevant project that might take one to four weeks of work – like applying to jobs, volunteering in a related role, or doing a side project in the area – to see what it’s like and how you perform.
f. Only then consider taking on a two- to twenty-four month commitment – like a work placement, internship or graduate study. Being offered a trial position with an organization for a couple of months can be ideal because both you and the organization want to quickly assess your fit.

80000 Hours is The Random Walk Down Wall Street of career advice, the one book that really matters.

Explore, build rare and valuable skills, point them at a meaningful problem, and passion will follow rather than lead. And for those who don’t want to read a book, speak to an 80,000 Hours advisor. It’s a very cheap test.

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]]> https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/80000-hours-the-book.html/feed 45 93099 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/how-to-improve-british-procurement.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-improve-british-procurement How to improve British procurement https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957530024/0/marginalrevolution~How-to-improve-British-procurement.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/how-to-improve-british-procurement.html#comments Sat, 30 May 2026 07:33:59 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93102 Until two years ago, West London’s Greenford Tube station used to flood whenever it rained heavily. The train tracks are aboveground, but the ticket office would often get inundated. Sandbags still line the corridor. But in October 2023, a new family moved in nearby, determined to halt the water. The family members built their house […]

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Until two years ago, West London’s Greenford Tube station used to flood whenever it rained heavily. The train tracks are aboveground, but the ticket office would often get inundated. Sandbags still line the corridor.

But in October 2023, a new family moved in nearby, determined to halt the water. The family members built their house from scratch with local wood and kept odd hours, sleeping all day and working only at dawn and dusk. They even put their young children to work.

The new neighbors were beavers.

In West London, conservationists got a government license to resettle a family of five beavers in a 20-acre urban park near the Greenford Tube station. It used to be a golf course, with a creek running through it. Within weeks, the beavers dammed up the creek, creating a pond that holds water and stops it from spilling into the city. They also diverted the creek’s flow into smaller tributaries, creating a wetland that better absorbs heavy rainfall — mitigating the risk of flooding downstream…

The beavers have also allowed the city to scrap expensive plans to dig a reservoir and levee.

Here is the full story, via Mike Doherty.  Should you need a government license to resettle beavers?

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]]> https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/how-to-improve-british-procurement.html/feed 32 93102 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/supply-is-elastic-installment-1637.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=supply-is-elastic-installment-1637 Supply is elastic, installment #1637 https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957525653/0/marginalrevolution~Supply-is-elastic-installment.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/supply-is-elastic-installment-1637.html#comments Sat, 30 May 2026 05:18:59 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93098 With deadly precision, the Trump administration has launched dozens of attacks on small boats in the waters off South America, killing nearly 200 people in a campaign U.S. officials say is meant to curb the flow of illicit drugs to the United States. But almost nine months into the operation, epidemiologists, addiction scientists and public […]

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With deadly precision, the Trump administration has launched dozens of attacks on small boats in the waters off South America, killing nearly 200 people in a campaign U.S. officials say is meant to curb the flow of illicit drugs to the United States.

But almost nine months into the operation, epidemiologists, addiction scientists and public health experts say cocaine, by far the top drug smuggled out of South America, is as easy to get in much of the United States as it was before the strikes began.

The findings — based on evaluations of street prices, lethal overdoses, purity of samples and drug seizures at U.S. borders — raise questions about the effectiveness of the largest U.S. military deployment in Latin America in decades.

Here is more from the NYT.  And here is another report on supply elasticity, note that European airlines are still flying.

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]]> https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/supply-is-elastic-installment-1637.html/feed 37 93098 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/friday-assorted-links-574.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=friday-assorted-links-574 Friday assorted links https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957492893/0/marginalrevolution~Friday-assorted-links.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/friday-assorted-links-574.html#comments Fri, 29 May 2026 18:08:16 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93090 1. Where are the economies of scale in homebuilding? 2. Peter Thiel and Argentina (NYT). 3. Discourse on classical guitar. 4. How many dissertations are AI-written? 5. NYT talks with Macca. 6. New algorithm for ranking VCs.

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]]> 1. Where are the economies of scale in homebuilding?

2. Peter Thiel and Argentina (NYT).

3. Discourse on classical guitar.

4. How many dissertations are AI-written?

5. NYT talks with Macca.

6. New algorithm for ranking VCs.

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]]> https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/friday-assorted-links-574.html/feed 57 93090 https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/what-i-have-been-learning-doing-new-aesthetics.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-i-have-been-learning-doing-new-aesthetics What I have been learning doing New Aesthetics https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/957487553/0/marginalrevolution~What-I-have-been-learning-doing-New-Aesthetics.html https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/05/what-i-have-been-learning-doing-new-aesthetics.html#comments Fri, 29 May 2026 15:45:41 +0000 https://marginalrevolution.com/?p=93092 Patrick offered his observations here, I will add a few points of my own. I very often think in terms of regions and geographic places.  Currently, artistic movements (of most sorts, not just “New Aesthetics”) seem to lack a centrality of place.  New York City is no longer the center of the art world, high […]

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]]> Patrick offered his observations here, I will add a few points of my own.

I very often think in terms of regions and geographic places.  Currently, artistic movements (of most sorts, not just “New Aesthetics”) seem to lack a centrality of place.  New York City is no longer the center of the art world, high rents being one reason for that but not the only one.  It is simply no longer the city’s essence.  The rebellious spirit is largely gone.  Los Angeles has good galleries and plenty of creativity, but never quite stepped up as a number one city for the visual arts.  The Bay Area, in spite of all of its money, remains quite behind.  Berlin in some ways feels like it could be an art center, but it is not one.  Germany is too complacent.  Central Europe more generally has the heritage and still the potential, but I do not see “the engine of growth” there.  Paris and London are for certain high-end artistic activities, but they too are not centers of creative ferment at the ground level.  The visual arts scene in China has declined precipitously with restrictions on freedom of speech and creation.

Overall, looking through the applications my opinions of Spain and Mexico went up.  My opinion of parts of Africa, including South Africa, is relatively high, though that was not reflected in the applications I read.  Rather it is from my travel.  But I fear that none of those locales have the global oomph to lead the way more generally.

So currently I am still looking for a regional center or centers for the next set of artistic revolutions.  I see the contemporary world as failing at that.

I also would say that “Asian women” — from all over — put in a pretty impressive showing.  I take that to be a marked reason for optimism.  Perhaps future artistic revolutions will be less geographically centered than the past ones?

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