Saturday, June 28, 2025

Links 6/18/2023

Firms’ Use of Artificial Intelligence: Cross-Country Evidence on Business Characteristics, Asset Complementarities, and Productivity

Evidence of polarised adoption – with larger and more productive firms more likely to use AI – indicates the potential for widening gaps between leaders and other firms and reinforces the need for policies aimed at fostering an inclusive digital transformation.

Links 6/17/2023

To His Last Breath, Daniel Ellsberg Fought to Save the World

Paul Jay on Ellsberg: “Dan fearlessly risked everything in his unwavering quest for social justice and opposition to war. “

Bill Black and Michael Hudson on Corruption in Finance

A deep dive into why big money players have become critical to big corruption.

The Ironies of Neal Stephenson: Thoughts on His Thriller, Termination Shock

Neal Stephenson’s geo-engineered world

2:00PM Water Cooler 6/16/2023

~ Today’s Water Cooler ~

Links 6/16/2023

The UK’s Tory Government, With Labour’s Help, Just Took Another Big Step Toward Outlawing Peaceful Political Protest

“The move – which uses secondary legislation to bring the powers into force – violates the constitutional principle of the separation of powers because the measures have already been rejected by Parliament.”

Fast Food Suppliers Contribute to Increases in BMI and Decreases in IQ

Using Norwegian registry data, this column documents that the increased supply of fast food restaurants could be responsible for as much as 35% of the increase in BMI and 27% of the decline in cognitive ability observed across cohorts born during the 1980s.

Why Student Debt Is So High

The student loan program is a government-enabled transfer of wealth. How surprising is that?

Correcting the Record on the Origin Story of Beowulf’s Trillion Dollar Coin

What it says on the tin, or rather the platinum.

2:00PM Water Cooler 6/15/2023

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Open Thread ~

The Unsung Heroes of the “Children Lost in the Amazon” Story: Amazonia’s Gardeners

What did the lost children eat during their 40 days? And who planted it?

Links 6/15/2023