James Feigenbaum
@jamesfeigenbaum.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Economics at Boston University | Economic History, Labor, Inequality
https://jamesfeigenbaum.github.io/
https://jamesfeigenbaum.github.io/
But the NIMBYs in my city promised that we are just one or two or ten or 100 more insanely complex regulations on renovations away from ensuring small homes remain starter homes, economics be damned
People think that up-filtering is some gotcha against YIMBYs, when in reality, a shortage of housing is what causes homes to filter up (ie. pass from poorer to richer occupants).
February 9, 2026 at 3:52 AM
But the NIMBYs in my city promised that we are just one or two or ten or 100 more insanely complex regulations on renovations away from ensuring small homes remain starter homes, economics be damned
Feeling thankful that economists don't have to put chartjunkviz in our papers, with or without AI assistance
huggingface.co/papers/2601....
huggingface.co/papers/2601....
Paper page - PaperBanana: Automating Academic Illustration for AI Scientists
Join the discussion on this paper page
huggingface.co
February 7, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Feeling thankful that economists don't have to put chartjunkviz in our papers, with or without AI assistance
huggingface.co/papers/2601....
huggingface.co/papers/2601....
Reposted by James Feigenbaum
Massachusetts isn’t just moving too slowly on housing, it’s becoming a national outlier in its lack of urgency to fix the systemic barriers that made it one of the hardest, most expensive places in America to build homes.
February 6, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Massachusetts isn’t just moving too slowly on housing, it’s becoming a national outlier in its lack of urgency to fix the systemic barriers that made it one of the hardest, most expensive places in America to build homes.
Reposted by James Feigenbaum
Restrictive immigration quotas in the 1920s reduced intergenerational mobility for US-born white men, and had imprecise but positive effects on intergenerational mobility of Black men, from @jamesfeigenbaum.bsky.social, Yi-Ju Hung, Marco Tabellini, and Monia Tomasella www.nber.org/papers/w34775
February 6, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Restrictive immigration quotas in the 1920s reduced intergenerational mobility for US-born white men, and had imprecise but positive effects on intergenerational mobility of Black men, from @jamesfeigenbaum.bsky.social, Yi-Ju Hung, Marco Tabellini, and Monia Tomasella www.nber.org/papers/w34775
BU day at Harvard-BU Economic History Friday. Our student Yicheng Chen presents on the GI Bill and farmers at the workshop and my colleague Martin Fiszbein presents on rural electricity and directed technical change at the seminar
February 6, 2026 at 3:03 PM
BU day at Harvard-BU Economic History Friday. Our student Yicheng Chen presents on the GI Bill and farmers at the workshop and my colleague Martin Fiszbein presents on rural electricity and directed technical change at the seminar
This x1000
I think the oracle view makes sense for app dev where the bottleneck is “does it fail loudly” vs in social science where the bottleneck is “can I explain this to a seminar audience if they ask how I did XYZ.” the moment I say “I have no idea but Claude said it made no mistake” my career is over.
February 6, 2026 at 12:33 PM
This x1000
Capable but error prone research assistant vs oracle sums up the bsky vs X views of Claude Code for social science divergence really well
If you use claude code, check out the /insights command
Some cool stuff there.
Some cool stuff there.
February 6, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Capable but error prone research assistant vs oracle sums up the bsky vs X views of Claude Code for social science divergence really well
Huge win for economic historians who failed to learn cursive in middle school
Handwriting recognition (HTR) is now on the same track as printed character recognition (OCR). It ain't perfect and there are some types of docs and some languages that it's much worse for, but for an increasing set of documents, it's basically infinitely faster than and about as good as people.
February 6, 2026 at 2:47 AM
Huge win for economic historians who failed to learn cursive in middle school
TFW you are asked to referee an R&R for which you were supposedly a first round reviewer but you have absolutely no memory of the paper or your report. But one of the reports sure looks like stuff I'd write
February 5, 2026 at 10:04 PM
TFW you are asked to referee an R&R for which you were supposedly a first round reviewer but you have absolutely no memory of the paper or your report. But one of the reports sure looks like stuff I'd write
There are only two good uses for former industrial sites in Greater Boston: housing and MBTA infrastructure
You live to see serious investments into our public transit. This is great! Well done @mbta.com www.dotnews.com/2026/mbta-bu...
MBTA buys Polish Triangle parcel next to Red Line tracks - Dorchester Reporter
With an eye toward operational expansions, the MBTA spent $9.8 million last month to buy a former industrial site next to the Red Line tracks on the South Boston-Dorchester line.
www.dotnews.com
February 5, 2026 at 4:52 PM
There are only two good uses for former industrial sites in Greater Boston: housing and MBTA infrastructure
Reposted by James Feigenbaum
"The big triangular chunk of land in the heart of Newton Centre has been a parking lot for so long that it’s hard to remember it didn’t start life that way."
RETVRN
RETVRN
Column: Let’s give the Newton Centre Plaza a chance - Newton Beacon
The big triangular chunk of land in the heart of Newton Centre has been a parking lot for so long that it’s hard to remember it didn’t start life that way. Until the 1960s, it [...]
www.newtonbeacon.org
February 5, 2026 at 1:15 PM
"The big triangular chunk of land in the heart of Newton Centre has been a parking lot for so long that it’s hard to remember it didn’t start life that way."
RETVRN
RETVRN
cc John Henry's Red Sox post 2018
I personally do not think some rich man should be able to buy an institution like this like a toy and then break it when he doesn’t want to play with it anymore. bsky.app/profile/benm...
New: Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray and HR Chief Wayne Connell tell employees to stay home for a zoom webinar ahead of “significant actions across the company.” Widely expected layoffs are scheduled to begin today.
February 5, 2026 at 12:36 PM
cc John Henry's Red Sox post 2018
Reposted by James Feigenbaum
Pedestrianize Beacon Street from Charles to Washington (the whole length seen here) as well as Park St
So many streets in downtown Boston have throngs people walking & biking crammed into a few feet of space, so a handful of cars can have lots of room to sit gridlocked & occasionally kill people
So many streets in downtown Boston have throngs people walking & biking crammed into a few feet of space, so a handful of cars can have lots of room to sit gridlocked & occasionally kill people
February 4, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Pedestrianize Beacon Street from Charles to Washington (the whole length seen here) as well as Park St
So many streets in downtown Boston have throngs people walking & biking crammed into a few feet of space, so a handful of cars can have lots of room to sit gridlocked & occasionally kill people
So many streets in downtown Boston have throngs people walking & biking crammed into a few feet of space, so a handful of cars can have lots of room to sit gridlocked & occasionally kill people
We can't have nice things in Newton, part infinity, because boomer NIMBYs are car-brained and obsessed with parking
www.newtonbeacon.org/not-so-fast-...
www.newtonbeacon.org/not-so-fast-...
Not So Fast: Albright charters vote on fate of Newton Centre Plaza - Newton Beacon
The Newton Centre Plaza is in jeopardy of being shut down way before its Halloween expiration date, but on Monday, it got a temporary reprieve from City Councilor Susan Albright. Albright “chartered” ...
www.newtonbeacon.org
February 5, 2026 at 11:42 AM
We can't have nice things in Newton, part infinity, because boomer NIMBYs are car-brained and obsessed with parking
www.newtonbeacon.org/not-so-fast-...
www.newtonbeacon.org/not-so-fast-...
New answer for when my students ask "how long ago does something have to be before an economic historian can study it?"
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was released in 1997, about a character frozen in time in 1967. The same movie, released today, would star a character frozen in time in 1996.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd11...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd11...
Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery Opening
YouTube video by TheAmazingZdog
www.youtube.com
February 5, 2026 at 11:34 AM
New answer for when my students ask "how long ago does something have to be before an economic historian can study it?"
"Sidewalk incompletely shoveled, not passable for a stroller" usually leads to a warning and then a fix on the Newton 311 app, not sure about Boston or elsewhere
It's brutal being a parent in this city. The selfishness of home owners who will clean their own property perfectly but not the sidewalk in front of their house properly like their required to do. Strollers don't fit here. Parents are walking in the street with babies. #boston
February 5, 2026 at 11:27 AM
"Sidewalk incompletely shoveled, not passable for a stroller" usually leads to a warning and then a fix on the Newton 311 app, not sure about Boston or elsewhere
New coauthor management system just dropped
February 5, 2026 at 11:03 AM
New coauthor management system just dropped
Good news, the bat is no longer in the stairs. Does that mean he left or he's hiding in someone's office? Tune in next week, same bat time, same bat channel
January 30, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Good news, the bat is no longer in the stairs. Does that mean he left or he's hiding in someone's office? Tune in next week, same bat time, same bat channel
Reposted by James Feigenbaum
ATTN ECON JMCs: We are searching for a postdoc through to work with Steve Billings, Ludo Gazze and myself on a project to better understand impacts of lead exposure and potential benefits of remediation using linked administrative data in Colorado. Details here: jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
PostDoctoral Associate
jobs.colorado.edu
January 29, 2026 at 12:43 AM
ATTN ECON JMCs: We are searching for a postdoc through to work with Steve Billings, Ludo Gazze and myself on a project to better understand impacts of lead exposure and potential benefits of remediation using linked administrative data in Colorado. Details here: jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
Reposted by James Feigenbaum
📢now forthcoming in ECMA!
The Class Gap in Career Progression: Evidence from US Academia
Class is rarely a focus of research or DEI in elite US occupations.
Evidence suggests it should be: we find a large class gap in at least one occupation - tenure-track academia...🧵
The Class Gap in Career Progression: Evidence from US Academia
Class is rarely a focus of research or DEI in elite US occupations.
Evidence suggests it should be: we find a large class gap in at least one occupation - tenure-track academia...🧵
January 27, 2026 at 10:34 PM
📢now forthcoming in ECMA!
The Class Gap in Career Progression: Evidence from US Academia
Class is rarely a focus of research or DEI in elite US occupations.
Evidence suggests it should be: we find a large class gap in at least one occupation - tenure-track academia...🧵
The Class Gap in Career Progression: Evidence from US Academia
Class is rarely a focus of research or DEI in elite US occupations.
Evidence suggests it should be: we find a large class gap in at least one occupation - tenure-track academia...🧵
Reposted by James Feigenbaum
If you tune into @npr.org's All Things Considered at 5:25 PM (Eastern), you might hear me talking to Mary Louise Kelly about snow days.
www.npr.org/programs/all...
www.npr.org/programs/all...
All Things Considered
Hear the All Things Considered program for Jan 26, 2026
www.npr.org
January 26, 2026 at 10:19 PM
If you tune into @npr.org's All Things Considered at 5:25 PM (Eastern), you might hear me talking to Mary Louise Kelly about snow days.
www.npr.org/programs/all...
www.npr.org/programs/all...
Reposted by James Feigenbaum
Vibe coding kills open source.
Our most direct title yet. @koren.mk @julianhi.nz @aaron-lohmann.bsky.social
Theory paper with numbers and policy recs. First at arxiv.org/abs/2601.15494
Comments welcome.
@ceu-economics.bsky.social @kiel.institute
Our most direct title yet. @koren.mk @julianhi.nz @aaron-lohmann.bsky.social
Theory paper with numbers and policy recs. First at arxiv.org/abs/2601.15494
Comments welcome.
@ceu-economics.bsky.social @kiel.institute
January 23, 2026 at 10:40 PM
Vibe coding kills open source.
Our most direct title yet. @koren.mk @julianhi.nz @aaron-lohmann.bsky.social
Theory paper with numbers and policy recs. First at arxiv.org/abs/2601.15494
Comments welcome.
@ceu-economics.bsky.social @kiel.institute
Our most direct title yet. @koren.mk @julianhi.nz @aaron-lohmann.bsky.social
Theory paper with numbers and policy recs. First at arxiv.org/abs/2601.15494
Comments welcome.
@ceu-economics.bsky.social @kiel.institute
Oh great, subsidizing demand. That'll be sure to fix the housing crisis in Massachusetts
January 23, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Oh great, subsidizing demand. That'll be sure to fix the housing crisis in Massachusetts
Reposted by James Feigenbaum
The annual call for @nber.org nominations has been released, so if you're a researcher hoping to become affiliated, reach out to existing affiliates to get nominated.
If you're an existing affiliate, advocate for talented researchers, particularly those with networks not already full of NBER folks.
If you're an existing affiliate, advocate for talented researchers, particularly those with networks not already full of NBER folks.
January 21, 2026 at 4:18 PM
The annual call for @nber.org nominations has been released, so if you're a researcher hoping to become affiliated, reach out to existing affiliates to get nominated.
If you're an existing affiliate, advocate for talented researchers, particularly those with networks not already full of NBER folks.
If you're an existing affiliate, advocate for talented researchers, particularly those with networks not already full of NBER folks.
> Oh, interesting blurb about new economics research in BU Today
> But I didn't know any of my colleagues were working on that
> It is correlation masquerading as causality
> Written by a "data scientist" not an economist
> But I didn't know any of my colleagues were working on that
> It is correlation masquerading as causality
> Written by a "data scientist" not an economist
a skeleton is standing in a store with the words `` i 'm dead '' written on the floor .
ALT: a skeleton is standing in a store with the words `` i 'm dead '' written on the floor .
media.tenor.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:32 PM
> Oh, interesting blurb about new economics research in BU Today
> But I didn't know any of my colleagues were working on that
> It is correlation masquerading as causality
> Written by a "data scientist" not an economist
> But I didn't know any of my colleagues were working on that
> It is correlation masquerading as causality
> Written by a "data scientist" not an economist