Sebastian Buhai
@sbuhai.bsky.social
Academic economist. Bon vivant. "Enfant terrible".
Website: https://sebastianbuhai.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sbuhai
Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@sbuhai
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@sebastianbuhai
Website: https://sebastianbuhai.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sbuhai
Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@sbuhai
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@sebastianbuhai
Pinned
Sebastian Buhai
@sbuhai.bsky.social
· Jul 14
So Science Magazine recently asked this question:
"What one change to scientific policy or culture would substantially decrease incidents of scientific misconduct and/or unethical behavior?"
My very serious answer (which they—seemingly—did not consider serious enough to publish) was:
"What one change to scientific policy or culture would substantially decrease incidents of scientific misconduct and/or unethical behavior?"
My very serious answer (which they—seemingly—did not consider serious enough to publish) was:
Restaurant Petri is the rare Östermalm high‑class bargain... right up until you order wine and Stockholm politely pickpockets you by the glass. If it weren’t for the absurd markups on anything vinous, it’d be an absolutely terrific price‑quality find: petrirestaurant.com
February 13, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Restaurant Petri is the rare Östermalm high‑class bargain... right up until you order wine and Stockholm politely pickpockets you by the glass. If it weren’t for the absurd markups on anything vinous, it’d be an absolutely terrific price‑quality find: petrirestaurant.com
$100m for a Google Maps of the global economy so climate policy quits flying blind: Turns out, per Mr. Complexity, the missing lever wasn't political will... it was political silicon.
www.theguardian.com/...
My two cents: Want better economics? First learn what economics is(n't).
www.theguardian.com/...
My two cents: Want better economics? First learn what economics is(n't).
Economics has failed on the climate crisis. This complexity scientist has a mind-blowing plan to fix that
Doyne Farmer says a super-simulator of the global economy would accelerate the transition to a green, clean world
www.theguardian.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:51 PM
$100m for a Google Maps of the global economy so climate policy quits flying blind: Turns out, per Mr. Complexity, the missing lever wasn't political will... it was political silicon.
www.theguardian.com/...
My two cents: Want better economics? First learn what economics is(n't).
www.theguardian.com/...
My two cents: Want better economics? First learn what economics is(n't).
Păturică împarte bugetarii în "incompetenți, hoți sau nebuni". Omite că există și categoria 4: onorific la titlu, veșnic la scaun; campion la etichete, corigent la demisie... hotnews.ro/consilier...
(Nu că nu poate... dar n-are în lexic "stânga-mprejur". x.com/sbuhai/status/...
)
(Nu că nu poate... dar n-are în lexic "stânga-mprejur". x.com/sbuhai/status/...
)
Consilier al lui Bolojan, reclamat la CNCD după o declarație despre bugetari, în care a spus că sunt „incompetenți, hoți sau nebuni”. Explicația lui Burduja - HotNews.ro
Sebastian Burduja, consilier onorific al premierului Ilie Bolojan, a fost reclamat la Consiliul Național pentru Combaterea Discriminării (CNCD) de către
hotnews.ro
February 11, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Păturică împarte bugetarii în "incompetenți, hoți sau nebuni". Omite că există și categoria 4: onorific la titlu, veșnic la scaun; campion la etichete, corigent la demisie... hotnews.ro/consilier...
(Nu că nu poate... dar n-are în lexic "stânga-mprejur". x.com/sbuhai/status/...
)
(Nu că nu poate... dar n-are în lexic "stânga-mprejur". x.com/sbuhai/status/...
)
Reposted by Sebastian Buhai
OK, claiming property rights in a new term (I think). I just did a Substack live with Catherine Rampell, in which she suggested that young men may be pivoting from Bitcoin to prediction markets. And it just popped into my head: the Testosterone Trade.
February 11, 2026 at 3:36 PM
OK, claiming property rights in a new term (I think). I just did a Substack live with Catherine Rampell, in which she suggested that young men may be pivoting from Bitcoin to prediction markets. And it just popped into my head: the Testosterone Trade.
Reposted by Sebastian Buhai
In the January issue, “How Flexible is that Functional Form? Quantifying the Restrictiveness of Theories” by Drew Fudenberg, Wayne Gao, and Annie Liang. zurl.co/eeWKe
February 11, 2026 at 2:00 PM
In the January issue, “How Flexible is that Functional Form? Quantifying the Restrictiveness of Theories” by Drew Fudenberg, Wayne Gao, and Annie Liang. zurl.co/eeWKe
Some 13,000 km—and 40°C—away from Santiago de Chile, back in the Stockholm snowfield today!❄️
Tried to cram a 45' sprint (barely!) @ SU-SOFI on wage dispersion & job ladders: empirical intuition up front, Mean-Field-Game engine under the hood. Slides: www.sebastianbuhai.c...
Tried to cram a 45' sprint (barely!) @ SU-SOFI on wage dispersion & job ladders: empirical intuition up front, Mean-Field-Game engine under the hood. Slides: www.sebastianbuhai.c...
February 9, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Some 13,000 km—and 40°C—away from Santiago de Chile, back in the Stockholm snowfield today!❄️
Tried to cram a 45' sprint (barely!) @ SU-SOFI on wage dispersion & job ladders: empirical intuition up front, Mean-Field-Game engine under the hood. Slides: www.sebastianbuhai.c...
Tried to cram a 45' sprint (barely!) @ SU-SOFI on wage dispersion & job ladders: empirical intuition up front, Mean-Field-Game engine under the hood. Slides: www.sebastianbuhai.c...
Reposted by Sebastian Buhai
One of the strengths of the Generalized Method of Moments is its ability to test model validity using overidentification tests. But what if the test fails? This paper provides a way to interpret misspecified models through the lens of optimal transport. buff.ly/uUSROOr
February 9, 2026 at 2:03 PM
One of the strengths of the Generalized Method of Moments is its ability to test model validity using overidentification tests. But what if the test fails? This paper provides a way to interpret misspecified models through the lens of optimal transport. buff.ly/uUSROOr
Reposted by Sebastian Buhai
I'm still processing the recent loss of my thesis advisor, colleague, and friend, John Roberts. We put together an In Memoriam to honor his life and career. saet.uiowa.edu/wp-content/u...
saet.uiowa.edu
February 7, 2026 at 11:39 PM
I'm still processing the recent loss of my thesis advisor, colleague, and friend, John Roberts. We put together an In Memoriam to honor his life and career. saet.uiowa.edu/wp-content/u...
Tout juste rebranchés à Paris, J+3 : 7 ans d’amour, 6 mois de manque… toujours n°1. 8 ans de ma fille : resto parisien, copains. Chariot à liqueurs ? Un autre resto. Et pour dormir : l’étage de la maison de Branly, pionnier de la TSF, à Ville-d’Avray. Sans fil, pas sans attache!
February 7, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Tout juste rebranchés à Paris, J+3 : 7 ans d’amour, 6 mois de manque… toujours n°1. 8 ans de ma fille : resto parisien, copains. Chariot à liqueurs ? Un autre resto. Et pour dormir : l’étage de la maison de Branly, pionnier de la TSF, à Ville-d’Avray. Sans fil, pas sans attache!
US exported the modern liberal arts college model; (some places in) EU returned an A-cap > a quarter century ago: e.g., UCU (NL) capped A+/ A’s in ’99-’00, treating already then grade inflation as a collective-action problem. Thrilled Harvard backs 20%… may it end the arms race!
I will be enthusiastically supporting faculty legislation to cap the number of A's at Harvard at 20% (plus a bit). The collective action problem that has driven grades higher & higher over time is increasingly problematic. I hope other institutions consider similar steps.
February 7, 2026 at 2:20 PM
US exported the modern liberal arts college model; (some places in) EU returned an A-cap > a quarter century ago: e.g., UCU (NL) capped A+/ A’s in ’99-’00, treating already then grade inflation as a collective-action problem. Thrilled Harvard backs 20%… may it end the arms race!
Reposted by Sebastian Buhai
Newly released files from the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein reveal that his ties to the scientific community were deeper than previously known.
go.nature.com/3Oq4Po2
go.nature.com/3Oq4Po2
Epstein files reveal deeper ties to scientists than previously known
Latest batch of documents show researchers consulting the financier and sex offender on publications, visas and more.
go.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Newly released files from the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein reveal that his ties to the scientific community were deeper than previously known.
go.nature.com/3Oq4Po2
go.nature.com/3Oq4Po2
Reposted by Sebastian Buhai
So the Epstein scandal is about politics? Silly me for thinking it’s about the mass abuse of women and girls | Marina Hyde
So the Epstein scandal is about politics? Silly me for thinking it’s about the mass abuse of women and girls | Marina Hyde
Obsessing over individual players and political chaos leaves less time to focus on the misogyny. And that’s for the best, isn’t it guys, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2026 at 5:13 PM
So the Epstein scandal is about politics? Silly me for thinking it’s about the mass abuse of women and girls | Marina Hyde
Only Feb and I've already filed my zillionth referee report: a pure public good, funded by unpaid cognitive labor and priced at exactly zero. Equilibrium: I've never been more altruistic (except in corner cases where the social planner's solution is... to keep it off the market).
February 1, 2026 at 8:05 PM
Only Feb and I've already filed my zillionth referee report: a pure public good, funded by unpaid cognitive labor and priced at exactly zero. Equilibrium: I've never been more altruistic (except in corner cases where the social planner's solution is... to keep it off the market).
Reposted by Sebastian Buhai
“If musical genius is a myth, as is often claimed, it’s worth remembering that a myth is more than a falsehood. It is a story through which people try to articulate what they can express in no other way.” —Nathan Shields
Liberalism’s Pianist | Nathan Shields
Can Igor Levit restore classical music’s claim to cultural and political authority, or is it irrevocably lost?
www.nybooks.com
February 1, 2026 at 11:22 AM
“If musical genius is a myth, as is often claimed, it’s worth remembering that a myth is more than a falsehood. It is a story through which people try to articulate what they can express in no other way.” —Nathan Shields
Reposted by Sebastian Buhai
Breaking news: New Dutch cabinet reversing €1.5 billion in cuts to education and science
www.scienceguide.nl/2026/01/kabi...
www.scienceguide.nl/2026/01/kabi...
Kabinet-Jetten gaat met 1,5 miljard bezuinigingen op onderwijs en wetenschap terugdraaien - ScienceGuide
Voor investeringen in het onderwijs is door de nieuwe coalitie een envelop van structureel 1,5 miljard euro beschikbaar gesteld. Dit geld wordt onder andere besteed aan terugdraaien van de bezuiniging...
www.scienceguide.nl
January 30, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Breaking news: New Dutch cabinet reversing €1.5 billion in cuts to education and science
www.scienceguide.nl/2026/01/kabi...
www.scienceguide.nl/2026/01/kabi...
Reposted by Sebastian Buhai
‘He used the trumpet as a songbird’: 100 years of Miles Davis, by jazz greats Sonny Rollins, Yazz Ahmed and more
‘He used the trumpet as a songbird’: 100 years of Miles Davis, by jazz greats Sonny Rollins, Yazz Ahmed and more
Ahead of the centenary of Davis’s birth, musicians including Terence Blanchard and John Scofield analyse his brilliance: from his soft phrasing and spiritual feel to his raspy cussing and leather outfits
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:30 AM
‘He used the trumpet as a songbird’: 100 years of Miles Davis, by jazz greats Sonny Rollins, Yazz Ahmed and more
One can always tell AER from AER P&P.
In AER, the appendix is 80pp and you survive 3 rounds with R2.
In AER P&P (May), the paper is 8pp and the only thing that got an R&R was the author's CV line.
(Unclear if this is funnier than tragic, but it’s a clean separating equilibrium…)
In AER, the appendix is 80pp and you survive 3 rounds with R2.
In AER P&P (May), the paper is 8pp and the only thing that got an R&R was the author's CV line.
(Unclear if this is funnier than tragic, but it’s a clean separating equilibrium…)
January 29, 2026 at 6:27 PM
One can always tell AER from AER P&P.
In AER, the appendix is 80pp and you survive 3 rounds with R2.
In AER P&P (May), the paper is 8pp and the only thing that got an R&R was the author's CV line.
(Unclear if this is funnier than tragic, but it’s a clean separating equilibrium…)
In AER, the appendix is 80pp and you survive 3 rounds with R2.
In AER P&P (May), the paper is 8pp and the only thing that got an R&R was the author's CV line.
(Unclear if this is funnier than tragic, but it’s a clean separating equilibrium…)
“Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Crying through the bloody mist
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis”
Crying through the bloody mist
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis”
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
Lyrics:
Through the winter’s ice and cold
Down Nicollet Avenue
A city aflame fought fire and ice
‘Neath an occupier’s boots
King Trump’s private army from the DHS
Guns belted to their coats
Came to Minneapolis to enforce the law
Or so their story goes
Against smoke and rubber bullets
By the dawn’s e
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 11:28 PM
“Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Crying through the bloody mist
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis”
Crying through the bloody mist
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis”
Reposted by Sebastian Buhai
Machine learning research is not serious research and therefore hallucinated references are not necessarily a big deal, agrees a prestigious group of machine learning researchers
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2026/01/26/m...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2026/01/26/m...
Machine learning research is not serious research and therefore hallucinated references are not necessarily a big deal, agrees a prestigious group of machine learning researchers | Statistical Modeli...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu
January 27, 2026 at 1:13 AM
Machine learning research is not serious research and therefore hallucinated references are not necessarily a big deal, agrees a prestigious group of machine learning researchers
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2026/01/26/m...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2026/01/26/m...
Romania’s binding constraint is not a lack of ideas or individual talent, but a lack of institutions that reward rigor, punish imposture, and force decision‑makers to pay reputational costs.
Romania That Thinks: The Backbone of a Functional Administration
www.sebastianbuhai.com/pictures/Med...
Romania That Thinks: The Backbone of a Functional Administration
www.sebastianbuhai.com/pictures/Med...
January 26, 2026 at 3:43 PM
Romania’s binding constraint is not a lack of ideas or individual talent, but a lack of institutions that reward rigor, punish imposture, and force decision‑makers to pay reputational costs.
Romania That Thinks: The Backbone of a Functional Administration
www.sebastianbuhai.com/pictures/Med...
Romania That Thinks: The Backbone of a Functional Administration
www.sebastianbuhai.com/pictures/Med...
Reposted by Sebastian Buhai
“Harvard dean made $150,000 as witness in Tylenol suits”
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2026/01/24/h...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2026/01/24/h...
“Harvard dean made $150,000 as witness in Tylenol suits” | Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu
January 24, 2026 at 2:40 PM
“Harvard dean made $150,000 as witness in Tylenol suits”
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2026/01/24/h...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2026/01/24/h...
Reposted by Sebastian Buhai
Show your papers.
Kavanaugh stops.
Your gender? We decide.
ICE doesn't need a warrant.
Abortion is our choice not yours.
Immigrants don't deserve due process.
State universities can't teach Plato.
Civil rights protections are racist.
But vaccination requirements threaten our freedom.
Kavanaugh stops.
Your gender? We decide.
ICE doesn't need a warrant.
Abortion is our choice not yours.
Immigrants don't deserve due process.
State universities can't teach Plato.
Civil rights protections are racist.
But vaccination requirements threaten our freedom.
January 23, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Show your papers.
Kavanaugh stops.
Your gender? We decide.
ICE doesn't need a warrant.
Abortion is our choice not yours.
Immigrants don't deserve due process.
State universities can't teach Plato.
Civil rights protections are racist.
But vaccination requirements threaten our freedom.
Kavanaugh stops.
Your gender? We decide.
ICE doesn't need a warrant.
Abortion is our choice not yours.
Immigrants don't deserve due process.
State universities can't teach Plato.
Civil rights protections are racist.
But vaccination requirements threaten our freedom.
Reposted by Sebastian Buhai
Our new paper “Efficient investment, search, and sorting in matching markets” is at @TE. We show a new second welfare theorem for search markets, e.g. labour, marriage, or products: the market can overcome the hold-up and matching problems econtheory.org/ojs/index.ph...
January 23, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Our new paper “Efficient investment, search, and sorting in matching markets” is at @TE. We show a new second welfare theorem for search markets, e.g. labour, marriage, or products: the market can overcome the hold-up and matching problems econtheory.org/ojs/index.ph...
Backyard Parkour: Parent Edition, a field experiment in signaling. My 7yo designed a parcours with high entry costs, then performed it to credibly reveal real talent to parents (+ birds). Parents: cheering. Birds: peer review pending. Vibe-enhanced video proof! (revise & resubmit)
January 23, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Backyard Parkour: Parent Edition, a field experiment in signaling. My 7yo designed a parcours with high entry costs, then performed it to credibly reveal real talent to parents (+ birds). Parents: cheering. Birds: peer review pending. Vibe-enhanced video proof! (revise & resubmit)
Reposted by Sebastian Buhai
This paper in Management Science has been cited more than 6,000 times. Wall Street execs, top govt officials, and even a former U.S. Vice President have all referenced it. It’s fatally flawed, and the scholarly community refuses to do anything about it.
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2026/01/22/a...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2026/01/22/a...
This paper in Management Science has been cited more than 6,000 times. Wall Street executives, top government officials, and even a former U.S. Vice President have all referenced it. It’s fatally fl...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu
January 22, 2026 at 2:31 PM
This paper in Management Science has been cited more than 6,000 times. Wall Street execs, top govt officials, and even a former U.S. Vice President have all referenced it. It’s fatally flawed, and the scholarly community refuses to do anything about it.
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2026/01/22/a...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2026/01/22/a...