Luca Rigotti
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Luca Rigotti
@lucarigotti.bsky.social
660 followers 480 following 180 posts
Theoretical Economist at the University of Pittsburgh
https://sites.pitt.edu/~luca/
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The description below, from this week's @adamprz.bsky.social Diary, strikes me as very plausible.
In somewhat stylized terms, what may be happening with the Trump regime goes as follows. There is a Leader (Duce, Führer, Vozdh) who demands absolute loyalty from his subordinates. The subordinates know that they will be rewarded for implementing the will of the Leader. They compete for his attention. Lines demarcating their authority do not matter: the head of HHS Department tries to catch Leader's attention by doing something that formally can be done only by DoE Department and if the Leader notices and likes this action, the head of the HHS jumps in his approval above the head of DoE. Sometimes the subordinates go farther than the Leader would want; sometimes they do something the Leader does not approve. Such mistakes, however, are not due to a lack of expertise, but only the uncertainty inherent in the impossibility of the Leader to fully articulate his will. Sometimes the Leader has to step in to adjudicate conflicts. Some of his underlings may be pushing tariffs while others may want free trade; some may be concerned about deficits while others believe that they will pay for themselves. Moreover, envy and jealousy cannot be avoided when the underlings compete for the Leader's favor. Mussolini claimed that resolving such conflicts took most of his time. Yet, whenever loyalty is the only criterion of performance, chaos must ensue. The only purpose of the subordinates is to please the Leader. Formal authority, consideration of material consequences, or compassion have no place in their competition.
May 28, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Italy: the country with the most colorful elections
May 24, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Ying and Yang?
May 8, 2025 at 11:37 PM
I read this in @adamprz.bsky.social 's substack and it is a quote from Peter Drucker that I do not seem to be able to get out of my brain
[S]everal weeks after the Nazis had come to power, was the first Nazi-led faculty meeting at the University. Frankfurt was the first university the Nazis tackled, precisely because it was the most self-confidently liberal of major German universities, with a faculty that prided itself on its allegiance to scholarship, freedom of conscience, and democracy. The Nazis knew that control of Frankfurt University would mean control of German academia altogether. So did everyone at the University. Above all, Frankfurt had a science faculty distinguished both by its scholarship and by its liberal convictions; and outstanding among the Frankfurt scientists was a biochemist of Nobel Prize caliber and impeccable liberal credentials. When the appointment of a Nazi commissar for Frankfurt was announced around February 25 of that year and when not only every teacher but also every graduate assistant at the University was summoned to a faculty meeting to hear his new master, everybody knew that a trial of strength was at hand. ... The new Nazi commissar wasted no time on the amenities.... [He] pointed his finger at one department chairman after another and said: 'You either do what I tell you or we'll put you into a concentration camp.' There was dead silence when he finished; everybody waited for the distinguished biochemist. The great liberal got up, cleared his throat, and said: 'Very interesting, Mr. Commissar, and in some respects very illuminating. But one point I didn't get too clearly. Will there be more money for research in physiology?' The meeting broke up shortly thereafter with the commissar assuring the scholars that indeed there would be plenty of money for 'racially pure science'.
March 25, 2025 at 7:26 PM
March 19, 2025 at 9:08 PM
was it this book:
The theory of general economic equilibrium - A differentiable approach
March 15, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Sometimes you must stop working, and pay attention to your cat
November 23, 2024 at 7:57 PM
It happened again. After two consecutive observations, I'm really doubting whether I'm human or not
November 22, 2024 at 1:39 PM
Today I matched the wordle bot... Am I human?
November 21, 2024 at 6:24 PM
Let's see some cats
Two cats on a stool, looking at each other
November 3, 2024 at 7:56 PM
John Cawley (@johncawley.bsky.social) has a post on the other site signaling bad news for the econjobmarket this year. Not obvious what could explain this. Full report at www.aeaweb.org/joe/communic...
As of 2024-10-27, the number of total jobs listed on JOE is down 9.3% from this point last year, down 23.3% from 2022, and down 11.2% from 2021.
October 30, 2024 at 7:40 PM
Northern lights in Pittsburgh sky
October 11, 2024 at 2:56 AM
Can't quite believe this is visible even here
October 11, 2024 at 2:53 AM
Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #297,194!
Almost an early user
September 17, 2024 at 2:21 AM
May 8, 2024 at 2:25 AM
What happened?
April 27, 2024 at 3:15 AM
New family member:
March 13, 2024 at 5:36 PM
November 5, 2023 at 9:35 PM
November 5, 2023 at 9:32 PM
Strong Quattro Canti vibe in Mexico City's Centro Storico @andreamatranga.bsky.social
October 7, 2023 at 11:49 PM
It's hard to overstate how crazy this is.
October 1, 2023 at 5:16 PM
One of the nice side effects of moving office... You find things you forgot you had
September 1, 2023 at 1:26 PM