Andrew G. Benson
@a-g-benson.bsky.social
Energy Economist | PhD @ UC Irvine, Class of ‘21 | currently employed at Kairos Power (posts do not imply endorsement of employer) | Albuquerque, NM
https://github.com/a-g-benson
https://github.com/a-g-benson
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
Rent control and legislative term limits are two issues where the literature and the experts are very clear, and people just don't want to believe that they actually make the problem they care about worse.
November 16, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Rent control and legislative term limits are two issues where the literature and the experts are very clear, and people just don't want to believe that they actually make the problem they care about worse.
lmfao
Dude has an MD? I have to sort of admire the willingness to look stupid on purpose. I don't have that dog in me.
Dude has an MD? I have to sort of admire the willingness to look stupid on purpose. I don't have that dog in me.
Tell me you don’t understand risk pools without telling me you don’t understand risk pools
November 10, 2025 at 7:40 PM
lmfao
Dude has an MD? I have to sort of admire the willingness to look stupid on purpose. I don't have that dog in me.
Dude has an MD? I have to sort of admire the willingness to look stupid on purpose. I don't have that dog in me.
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
Saw the Zohran campaign sign generator on Instagram and had to get this out of my head. Ok goodbye again.
November 9, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Saw the Zohran campaign sign generator on Instagram and had to get this out of my head. Ok goodbye again.
Shout out to the approximately 2.5 million supporters of Sierra Club who have walked away in the last five years. Praying another 1.5 million people join you.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
The Sierra Club Embraced Social Justice. Then It Tore Itself Apart.
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Shout out to the approximately 2.5 million supporters of Sierra Club who have walked away in the last five years. Praying another 1.5 million people join you.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
...Ceterum censeo filibustrem esse delendum.
November 8, 2025 at 5:11 PM
...Ceterum censeo filibustrem esse delendum.
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
It represents a culmination of an enormous amount of politicking for the NYT editorial board to simply state this as fact
November 5, 2025 at 3:54 AM
It represents a culmination of an enormous amount of politicking for the NYT editorial board to simply state this as fact
Odd to frame the reconquest of lost Roman territory as "invasion of his own country," but I will concede that Pitchbot headlines as a genre often require shoehorning an analogy, and the shoehorning itself is sometimes the joke.
Emperor Justinian's invasion of his own country hastened the fall of the Roman Empire. But after a thousand years of darkness and poverty Italy saw a Renaissance. Could the same thing happen here?
October 30, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Odd to frame the reconquest of lost Roman territory as "invasion of his own country," but I will concede that Pitchbot headlines as a genre often require shoehorning an analogy, and the shoehorning itself is sometimes the joke.
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
I feel like HousingSky doesn’t talk anywhere near enough about what Fritz Kaegi has done in Chicago area as Cook County Assessor.
January 1, 2024 at 6:44 PM
I feel like HousingSky doesn’t talk anywhere near enough about what Fritz Kaegi has done in Chicago area as Cook County Assessor.
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
Of all the housing charts not made by MMI, this one is my favourite. It shows how, despite rhetoric, housing shortages aren't a global phenomenon, but they do seem to be an Anglo-American one.
October 23, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Of all the housing charts not made by MMI, this one is my favourite. It shows how, despite rhetoric, housing shortages aren't a global phenomenon, but they do seem to be an Anglo-American one.
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
🚨NEW RESULTS (w/ Slattery & Nober)
- When gov't engineers retire, highway projects cost more: the engineers pay for themselves 6 times over
- Improving gov’t engineer quality from the 25th to 75th percentile reduces costs by 14%, equal to 3x avg. engineer pay
Paper: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
- When gov't engineers retire, highway projects cost more: the engineers pay for themselves 6 times over
- Improving gov’t engineer quality from the 25th to 75th percentile reduces costs by 14%, equal to 3x avg. engineer pay
Paper: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
September 12, 2025 at 1:43 PM
🚨NEW RESULTS (w/ Slattery & Nober)
- When gov't engineers retire, highway projects cost more: the engineers pay for themselves 6 times over
- Improving gov’t engineer quality from the 25th to 75th percentile reduces costs by 14%, equal to 3x avg. engineer pay
Paper: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
- When gov't engineers retire, highway projects cost more: the engineers pay for themselves 6 times over
- Improving gov’t engineer quality from the 25th to 75th percentile reduces costs by 14%, equal to 3x avg. engineer pay
Paper: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
Do you know who gets to knock down and renovate their palaces without asking for permission?
Yup, kings
Yup, kings
Here's the thing I don't understand. You can't as much as sneeze near a historic site in Washington without like 14 commissions, councils, and advisory boards giving you the okay. And everybody now is like...yup, fine with us? wtf?
NEW: After The Washington Post reported Monday on the demolition of the "East Wing facade," a new picture obtained by Law Dork that was taken on Tuesday shows that a substantial portion of the entirety of the East Wing has been demolished.
October 21, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Do you know who gets to knock down and renovate their palaces without asking for permission?
Yup, kings
Yup, kings
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
As an American, all I want is unlimited social programs, no taxes and no deficits. I want everyone to love my people and I don't want to deal with those people. I want sky high wages. I want the price of my assets to increase, but also everything should be cheap.
like i think the Times Editorial Board gives the game away here
October 20, 2025 at 6:34 PM
As an American, all I want is unlimited social programs, no taxes and no deficits. I want everyone to love my people and I don't want to deal with those people. I want sky high wages. I want the price of my assets to increase, but also everything should be cheap.
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
California, this November 4th, the whole country is counting on you.
Prop 50 puts our elections back on a level playing field, preserves independent redistricting over the long term, and lets the people decide.
So return your ballot today. Vote yes on 50.
Prop 50 puts our elections back on a level playing field, preserves independent redistricting over the long term, and lets the people decide.
So return your ballot today. Vote yes on 50.
October 14, 2025 at 5:04 PM
California, this November 4th, the whole country is counting on you.
Prop 50 puts our elections back on a level playing field, preserves independent redistricting over the long term, and lets the people decide.
So return your ballot today. Vote yes on 50.
Prop 50 puts our elections back on a level playing field, preserves independent redistricting over the long term, and lets the people decide.
So return your ballot today. Vote yes on 50.
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
once again asking simple question "does america have a free market in housing"
October 12, 2025 at 11:40 PM
once again asking simple question "does america have a free market in housing"
"Taxing the 1% more than the USA does" is not how Europe pays for its social welfare state.
wid.world/document/why...
wid.world/document/why...
October 10, 2025 at 2:23 PM
"Taxing the 1% more than the USA does" is not how Europe pays for its social welfare state.
wid.world/document/why...
wid.world/document/why...
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
Posted a short blog post with updated data (and public repo with data) of current state of Econ job market:
paulgp.com/2025/10/08/j...
paulgp.com/2025/10/08/j...
October 8, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Posted a short blog post with updated data (and public repo with data) of current state of Econ job market:
paulgp.com/2025/10/08/j...
paulgp.com/2025/10/08/j...
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
We have got to do something about electricity rates in California.
October 8, 2025 at 1:00 PM
We have got to do something about electricity rates in California.
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
Some of my friends are trying to save a nuclear plant in Belgium from being closed by a French gas company. It provided 25% of all power in the country. Low carbon.
September 30, 2025 at 4:34 AM
Some of my friends are trying to save a nuclear plant in Belgium from being closed by a French gas company. It provided 25% of all power in the country. Low carbon.
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
Randomized controlled trials are a key tool to study cause and effect. Why do they matter and how do they work?
September 24, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Randomized controlled trials are a key tool to study cause and effect. Why do they matter and how do they work?
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
Hello Fellow UN leaders!
Me? I’m here from the Heard Islands.
Yah we’re a new country this year. Down with tariffs!
Me? I’m here from the Heard Islands.
Yah we’re a new country this year. Down with tariffs!
September 23, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Hello Fellow UN leaders!
Me? I’m here from the Heard Islands.
Yah we’re a new country this year. Down with tariffs!
Me? I’m here from the Heard Islands.
Yah we’re a new country this year. Down with tariffs!
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
Critical part of the President's new $100,000 charge for H1-B visas: The Administration can also offer a $100,000 discount to any person, company, or industry that it wants. Replacing rules with arbitrary discretion.
Want visas? You know who to call and who to flatter.
Want visas? You know who to call and who to flatter.
September 20, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Critical part of the President's new $100,000 charge for H1-B visas: The Administration can also offer a $100,000 discount to any person, company, or industry that it wants. Replacing rules with arbitrary discretion.
Want visas? You know who to call and who to flatter.
Want visas? You know who to call and who to flatter.
very funny contrast of this paper with Voigtländer and Voth's "Highways to Hitler" paper (www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...)
🚨 New working paper alert 🚨
Missing summer — and the Tour de France? Don’t worry, we got you covered. 🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️
In this paper, we show that being on the route of Tour de France reduces far-right voting. osf.io/preprints/so...
Missing summer — and the Tour de France? Don’t worry, we got you covered. 🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️
In this paper, we show that being on the route of Tour de France reduces far-right voting. osf.io/preprints/so...
September 16, 2025 at 1:28 PM
very funny contrast of this paper with Voigtländer and Voth's "Highways to Hitler" paper (www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...)
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
Whoa! Elsevier fired @richardtol.bsky.social, longstanding Editor-in-Chief of the journal Energy Economics. Richard's side of the story should be ringing alarm bells. #EconSky
Fraud and cover-up
richardtol.substack.com/p/fraud-and-...
Fraud and cover-up
richardtol.substack.com/p/fraud-and-...
Fraud and cover-up
Fraud and cover-up
richardtol.substack.com
September 15, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Whoa! Elsevier fired @richardtol.bsky.social, longstanding Editor-in-Chief of the journal Energy Economics. Richard's side of the story should be ringing alarm bells. #EconSky
Fraud and cover-up
richardtol.substack.com/p/fraud-and-...
Fraud and cover-up
richardtol.substack.com/p/fraud-and-...
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
liberalism exists because last time we tried to settle the question of "who are the real Christians" without liberalism the 30 Years War killed a third of everyone living in what is now Germany
September 11, 2025 at 8:23 PM
liberalism exists because last time we tried to settle the question of "who are the real Christians" without liberalism the 30 Years War killed a third of everyone living in what is now Germany
Reposted by Andrew G. Benson
Yeah it’s sort of funny but I’m a 100% unironic believer in that “good times create weak men” shit now, it’s totally accurate, it’s just that the kind of guys who posted it the last few years were the weak men in question.
Everything conservatives said about decadence and the dangers of moral degeneracy was right. They just utterly missed the mark when identifying the source of it.
September 3, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Yeah it’s sort of funny but I’m a 100% unironic believer in that “good times create weak men” shit now, it’s totally accurate, it’s just that the kind of guys who posted it the last few years were the weak men in question.