CalPERS’ staff enlists McKinsey to pull yet another fast one on its board.
Saturday, July 26, 2025
2:00PM Water Cooler 7/12/2018
Today’s Water Cooler: Trade wars, voter registration and redistricing, AOC and Crowley, AOC and MMT, Democrats in disarray, comsumer prices, fracking sand, Goldman and 1MDB, epigenetics, migration and museums, Cambodian dancers, the cat
Labor Migration as a Human Supply Chain
Employer recruiting of migrants from other countries creates a transnational network of labor
intermediaries: the “human supply chain.”
Leaving Money on the Table: Declining Responsiveness and the Productivity Slowdown
Job reallocation is an important determinant of productivity. This column uses US data to show that a decline in the degree of job reallocation in response to shocks is behind the overall fall in the rate of reallocation over the past decades.
Interim Report on Lambert’s 2018 Garden
My summer office.
Mexico’s President-Elect Plans to End the Nation’s War on Drugs
Under AMLO, Mexico’s drug policies are likely to see some radical changes.
2:00PM Water Cooler 7/11/2018
Today’s Water Cooler: Trade war?, Kavanaugh pick, AOC, midterms, wholesale trade, producer prices, warehouse real estate, container production, reshoring, printable guns, hunter-gathers, citizen science
UN Reports One-Third of Fish Caught Wasted
One-third of the fish caught are wasted before they ever reach a dinner plate, according to the UN Food And Agriculture Organization’s latest biannual report on the state of the world’s fisheries.
Iran Sanctions Are Different This Time
The Trump administration is trying to replicate the Obama-era Iran strategy of shutting down Iranian oil exports as a way to pressure the regime into making a series of concessions. But there are several reasons why Trump may not succeed.
Michael Olenick: Update Confirms That Share Buybacks Are Still Corporate Suicide
Reconfirming the findings of a study that debunked some key claims about the supposed benefit of stock buybacks.
Meetups Coming Soon! San Francisco This Saturday, July 14; Portland Next Wednesday, July 18 and Seattle, Thursday July 19
Reminders for meetups! Hope you can join the fun!
The Political Representation of the European People
A discussion of whether rising political pressure can produce needed economic and democratic reforms.
2:00PM Water Cooler 7/10/2018
Today’s Water Cooler: No longer an open thread. Supply chain, Iranian aircraft, Democrat hilarity, Thomas Frank, consumer credit, small business optimism, consumer expectations, debt, Paul Krugman, Jobs Guarantee, municipal socialism, Janus, rationality, ethics of AI
