Fergal Hanks
@fhanksalot.bsky.social
Postdoc at the University of Cambridge. Northwestern Economics PhD. Studying the u in Macro-Labour.
This is the UK where this is the average pavement width.
You can tell because the robot has the logo of a UK cooperative supermarket chain.
You can tell because the robot has the logo of a UK cooperative supermarket chain.
November 29, 2025 at 1:40 PM
This is the UK where this is the average pavement width.
You can tell because the robot has the logo of a UK cooperative supermarket chain.
You can tell because the robot has the logo of a UK cooperative supermarket chain.
Are you looking at the UK and thinking it would be a fun time?
November 14, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Are you looking at the UK and thinking it would be a fun time?
This chart is already inflation adjusted. Also they adjust to 1982-1984 prices so it is $400 at 1982-1984 prices. If you were to use 2025 prices this would be around 3.2 times higher i.e $1280/week, $5120 per month.
November 9, 2025 at 7:11 AM
This chart is already inflation adjusted. Also they adjust to 1982-1984 prices so it is $400 at 1982-1984 prices. If you were to use 2025 prices this would be around 3.2 times higher i.e $1280/week, $5120 per month.
Also the medical bills being a big cause of bankruptcy comes in part from Elizabeth Warren's work which was pretty sloppy. More careful work finds that while it causes some bankruptcies it is much less than Warren suggested. economics.mit.edu/sites/defaul...
economics.mit.edu
October 29, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Also the medical bills being a big cause of bankruptcy comes in part from Elizabeth Warren's work which was pretty sloppy. More careful work finds that while it causes some bankruptcies it is much less than Warren suggested. economics.mit.edu/sites/defaul...
I was talking about the people avoiding the panhandler not the homeless person themselves. Again most people aren't homeless at a given time so helping the homeless doesn't make most people materially wealthier.
October 29, 2025 at 8:55 PM
I was talking about the people avoiding the panhandler not the homeless person themselves. Again most people aren't homeless at a given time so helping the homeless doesn't make most people materially wealthier.
Highest housing difficulties due to their lack of a welfare state in
checks notes
France/Sweden/Finland/Denmark
checks notes
France/Sweden/Finland/Denmark
October 29, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Highest housing difficulties due to their lack of a welfare state in
checks notes
France/Sweden/Finland/Denmark
checks notes
France/Sweden/Finland/Denmark
My guess is the cost is probably much higher in utility rather than directly money terms.
On a side note homelessness is one of the worst examples as it is going to be driven far more by house prices than size of welfare payments. All more payments do is help you outbid someone else.
On a side note homelessness is one of the worst examples as it is going to be driven far more by house prices than size of welfare payments. All more payments do is help you outbid someone else.
October 29, 2025 at 8:46 PM
My guess is the cost is probably much higher in utility rather than directly money terms.
On a side note homelessness is one of the worst examples as it is going to be driven far more by house prices than size of welfare payments. All more payments do is help you outbid someone else.
On a side note homelessness is one of the worst examples as it is going to be driven far more by house prices than size of welfare payments. All more payments do is help you outbid someone else.
Again we are talking about safety net programs. They act like insurance, if something bad happens they step in. But today if you are not in those bad states your still have to pay the premiums i.e. taxes. If you want Scandinavian welfare the median person is going to pay more tax on net.
October 29, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Again we are talking about safety net programs. They act like insurance, if something bad happens they step in. But today if you are not in those bad states your still have to pay the premiums i.e. taxes. If you want Scandinavian welfare the median person is going to pay more tax on net.
But that message is wrong (at least at a moment in time). Those who aren't disabled/unemployed/old at the current point in time will have to pay more for the safety net for those other people to be strengthened.
October 29, 2025 at 5:36 PM
But that message is wrong (at least at a moment in time). Those who aren't disabled/unemployed/old at the current point in time will have to pay more for the safety net for those other people to be strengthened.
The UK still fought colonial wars post WWII. The one that comes to mind is en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mau_Mau... but both France and the UK were involved in the Suez crisis.
Also this is a bit more pedantic but the 2nd Boer was was fought in the 20th century.
Also this is a bit more pedantic but the 2nd Boer was was fought in the 20th century.
May 4, 2025 at 8:57 PM
The UK still fought colonial wars post WWII. The one that comes to mind is en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mau_Mau... but both France and the UK were involved in the Suez crisis.
Also this is a bit more pedantic but the 2nd Boer was was fought in the 20th century.
Also this is a bit more pedantic but the 2nd Boer was was fought in the 20th century.
The obvious one is Switzerland. Otherwise what you said is mostly observing that the UK didn't suffer fighting on its own soil in WWI and WWII which is basically just due to geography rather than good governance.
May 4, 2025 at 7:26 PM
The obvious one is Switzerland. Otherwise what you said is mostly observing that the UK didn't suffer fighting on its own soil in WWI and WWII which is basically just due to geography rather than good governance.
The UK is not currently in its worst position post world war II. In the 1970s the UK had to be bailed out by the IMF and there was the winter of discontent.
May 4, 2025 at 6:47 PM
The UK is not currently in its worst position post world war II. In the 1970s the UK had to be bailed out by the IMF and there was the winter of discontent.
There is strong evidence that voting for obamacare cost members of the house their seats. They passed what they could and Americans punished them for going too far.
February 17, 2025 at 8:51 PM
There is strong evidence that voting for obamacare cost members of the house their seats. They passed what they could and Americans punished them for going too far.
On bednets in particular there has been a lot of study since the arguement and Easterly has now changed his mind on that specific topic (x.com/bill_easterl...). My guess is he would still argue that it doesn't help with growth but it can help improve some material conditions.
February 3, 2025 at 1:30 PM
On bednets in particular there has been a lot of study since the arguement and Easterly has now changed his mind on that specific topic (x.com/bill_easterl...). My guess is he would still argue that it doesn't help with growth but it can help improve some material conditions.
This is a bit off topic but do you have any thoughts on the impact of Canada imposing export tariffs on Alaska. Does Alaska import mostly from third countries or the main land US via land routes through Canada? Substitution to shipping would be hard to the Jones Act.
February 3, 2025 at 11:39 AM
This is a bit off topic but do you have any thoughts on the impact of Canada imposing export tariffs on Alaska. Does Alaska import mostly from third countries or the main land US via land routes through Canada? Substitution to shipping would be hard to the Jones Act.
The cheap food thing drives me up the wall. I was on holiday in Japan and there was a job advert in a restaurant and the hourly wage was $4 (this was when the yen was particularly weak). Food is labour intensive, thus cheap food requires cheap labour. Why does anyone left-wing want this?
January 17, 2025 at 11:57 AM
The cheap food thing drives me up the wall. I was on holiday in Japan and there was a job advert in a restaurant and the hourly wage was $4 (this was when the yen was particularly weak). Food is labour intensive, thus cheap food requires cheap labour. Why does anyone left-wing want this?
The alternatives: vigilantism and self defense workshops.
January 28, 2024 at 5:27 PM
The alternatives: vigilantism and self defense workshops.
1) They mention prison abolition and the title clearly applies to both. There are people for whom abolition means abolition.
2) Their other writing makes it clear they don't mean to replace the police with another "community defence force".
2) Their other writing makes it clear they don't mean to replace the police with another "community defence force".
January 28, 2024 at 5:13 PM
1) They mention prison abolition and the title clearly applies to both. There are people for whom abolition means abolition.
2) Their other writing makes it clear they don't mean to replace the police with another "community defence force".
2) Their other writing makes it clear they don't mean to replace the police with another "community defence force".
January 28, 2024 at 5:06 PM
I don't really buy this argument. UC Berkley is the most famous state university and its reputation is probably no better or worse than the Ivy league.
January 15, 2024 at 6:05 AM
I don't really buy this argument. UC Berkley is the most famous state university and its reputation is probably no better or worse than the Ivy league.
Obama 8 Trump 4 Biden 4
January 9, 2024 at 6:15 AM
Obama 8 Trump 4 Biden 4