Justin Wolfers
@justinwolfers.bsky.social
Econ professor at Michigan ● Senior fellow, Brookings ● Intro econ textbook author ● Chief economist & Deputy platypus https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com ● Find me: https://linktr.ee/justinwolfers
Justin James Michael Wolfers is an Australian economist and public policy scholar. He is professor of economics and public policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. .. more
Economics
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Psychology
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Announcing: Platypus Economics — a Substack, YouTube channel, and podcast built around one idea: Economics is one of the most useful, surprising, and weirdly beautiful subjects in the world.
It belongs to everyone — not just the people who happened to take it in college. 🧵
It belongs to everyone — not just the people who happened to take it in college. 🧵
The Economic Cost of Trump's War on The Press
YouTube video by Platypus Economics with Justin Wolfers
www.youtube.com
Lotta talk about press freedom. So let's dig into economics research on how press restrictions shape society, democracy, and yes, our economy.
(Spoiler: Trump's not the first to play this game. Restricting the press can help politicians, but always hurts voters.)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptg9...
(Spoiler: Trump's not the first to play this game. Restricting the press can help politicians, but always hurts voters.)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptg9...
The latest version counts phone and internet, but that wouldn't even make sense to economists in 1963. The bigger question is who makes the call about what counts and what doesn't? https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/is-brooklyn-a-luxury-good
Is Brooklyn a Luxury Good?
And should the poverty line measure your internet bill?
newsletter.platypuseconomics.com
Put a bunch of economists in a room and they can argue about anything, but in the '90s they all agreed to update the poverty measure to include more than just the grocery bill. https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/is-brooklyn-a-luxury-good
It finally happened. That moment in an absent-minded professor's life when I walked into a packed classroom of hundreds of students, and started teaching the wrong lecture. They had all done the reading, so must have known. No-one interrupted me, until a few minutes in.
Look for choices that still work when the future surprises you.
Economists call that robustness.
Seems useful for picking members for Trump’s AI commission.
Economists call that robustness.
Seems useful for picking members for Trump’s AI commission.
Scott Bessent sounds like a parent counting to 3 who’s been stuck at “2 and a half” since 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-zk1Jk6ntQ
Another note for silent Kevin, you're gonna have to speak up whether you like it or not. Trillions of dollars are on the move. https://youtu.be/hDhY8-Cc1jE
@svaneksmith.bsky.social shared the tension of the Fed's dual mandate. They're tasked with maximizing employment while keeping prices stable. What helps one goal can hurt the other. It takes two wings to fly. https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/feelings-are-economic-data-too
@svaneksmith.bsky.social asked me why the president wants 1% interest rates? Two reasons. He's a real estate guy who thinks low rates mean more building. And low rates make the national debt's interest bill smaller. https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/feelings-are-economic-data-too
Let's just say I would have added beetroot.