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Is Science Slowing Down?
Scott Alexander examines a paper suggesting scientific progress is slowing relative to researcher numbers, arguing this trend is expected and potentially beneficial.
19 min read 2,854 words
A thread through the archive
economics
Essays tagged “economics”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Essays on economics
105 essaysSSC
Links 8/18: URLin Wall
Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of links covering AI, economics, politics, science, and culture, offering brief comments and insights on each topic.
16 min read 2,458 words
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Links 7/18: URL Mountains
Scott Alexander presents a diverse collection of links and brief commentary on topics ranging from historical anecdotes to recent scientific studies and political developments.
23 min read 3,461 words
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Links 6/18: Linkonberry Jam
Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of interesting links on topics ranging from science and politics to economics and culture, with brief commentary on many items.
20 min read 3,048 words
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Links 5/18: Snorri URL-uson
Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of links and brief commentaries on topics ranging from ancient calendars to fusion research, social trends, and economic analyses.
13 min read 1,966 words
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Links 2/18: Link Biao Incident
Scott Alexander presents a wide-ranging collection of links covering science, technology, politics, economics, and culture, with brief commentary on each item.
22 min read 3,339 words
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Links 1/18: Helink Of Troy
Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of interesting links on topics ranging from geography and drug policy to technology and economics, with brief summaries and comments.
13 min read 1,904 words
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Links 12/17: Silent Site, Holy Site
Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of interesting links covering topics from architecture to AI, with brief summaries and occasional humorous commentary.
10 min read 1,417 words
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Links 7/17: URL of Sandwich
A collection of interesting links spanning architecture, science, politics and economics, with commentary on studies about lithium, lead exposure, minimum wage, and free speech.
15 min read 2,200 words
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Yes, We Have Noticed The Skulls
Scott Alexander defends rationalists against common criticisms, arguing that the movement is self-aware and actively tries to avoid past mistakes while striving for improvement.
10 min read 1,499 words
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Predictions For 2017
Scott Alexander presents 105 predictions for 2017 on topics ranging from world events to personal life, each with an assigned probability.
9 min read 1,346 words
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Contra NYT On Economists On Education
Scott Alexander criticizes a New York Times article for misrepresenting economists' views on education vouchers, showing the data actually indicates more support than opposition among economists.
4 min read 517 words
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Reverse Voxsplaining: Brand-Name Drugs
Scott argues against Vox's proposal for drug price controls, citing studies that such policies would significantly reduce pharmaceutical innovation and potentially cost millions of life-years long-term.
31 min read 4,731 words
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Links 7/16: Grad, Div, and URL
A collection of interesting links spanning drug policy, scientific studies, historical oddities, and current events, with Scott's commentary on each.
8 min read 1,210 words
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Ascended Economy?
Scott Alexander speculates on a future 'ascended economy' where AI-run corporations dominate, discussing potential implications and risks of such a system.
19 min read 2,884 words
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Book Review: Age of Em
Scott Alexander reviews Robin Hanson's 'Age of Em', praising its creativity while critiquing its assumptions and arguing the future may be even stranger.
59 min read 9,060 words
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Links 3/16: Klapaucius And URL
A Links post presenting various interesting news and studies from different fields, with brief commentary on each item.
22 min read 3,366 words
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Predictions For 2016
Scott Alexander shares his 100 predictions for 2016, assigning probabilities to each across various global and personal topics.
10 min read 1,447 words
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Links 1/16: Link A Thief In The Night
Scott shares and comments on various interesting links spanning history, science, economics, and current events, with topics ranging from ancient Greek snake warfare to modern AI development.
17 min read 2,516 words
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Links 12/15: Link-Manuel Miranda
A curated collection of interesting links covering academic debates, cultural issues, economics, and scientific discoveries from around the web.
11 min read 1,597 words
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Book Review: Hive Mind
Scott Alexander reviews 'Hive Mind' by Garett Jones, which argues that national IQ matters more for economic success than individual IQ, while raising several criticisms of the book's methodology and conclusions.
29 min read 4,487 words
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Links 11/15: Alinkxander Hamilton
A collection of interesting links spanning topics from CRISPR technology to economic studies, with Scott's commentary on each item.
14 min read 2,120 words
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Links 10/15: Take Back Your Link
A collection of links covering economics, science, history and technology, ranging from historical oddities and new research to cultural developments and scientific discoveries.
19 min read 2,911 words
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Contra Caplan on Mental Illness
Scott Alexander critiques Bryan Caplan's argument that psychiatric diseases are unusual preferences rather than real illnesses, providing counterarguments and evidence to show this view is untenable.
32 min read 4,853 words
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Links 8/15: Linkering Doubts
A collection of interesting links covering science, economics, and culture, with key stories about psychology study replication failures and various scientific findings.
17 min read 2,574 words