Michael Clemens
@mclem.org
Professor of economics at George Mason University, fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics, IZA, CReAM/UCL, CEPR, CGD. Associate Editor JEP. USAID 2021–2024. Personal views exclusively.
Web: http://mclem.org
ORCID: 0000-0003-1354-0965
Web: http://mclem.org
ORCID: 0000-0003-1354-0965
Pinned
Michael Clemens
@mclem.org
· Feb 21
Migration does not have to be what it is now
Innovation can change what migration *is*—more orderly, skilled, integrated, & tangibly beneficial to everyone affected
In 2012 I proposed one way: Global Skill Partnerships
The World Bank just released a major GSP roadmap—> hdl.handle.net/10986/42780
Innovation can change what migration *is*—more orderly, skilled, integrated, & tangibly beneficial to everyone affected
In 2012 I proposed one way: Global Skill Partnerships
The World Bank just released a major GSP roadmap—> hdl.handle.net/10986/42780
Reposted by Michael Clemens
1/6 A new standard for public accountability is here. GLOW—Government Lawyers Oversight Watchdog—is officially launching today to hold government lawyers accountable. We're unveiling The Government Lawyers Database at glowlaw.org. #RuleOfLaw #Accountability
The Government Lawyers Database
glowlaw.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:38 PM
1/6 A new standard for public accountability is here. GLOW—Government Lawyers Oversight Watchdog—is officially launching today to hold government lawyers accountable. We're unveiling The Government Lawyers Database at glowlaw.org. #RuleOfLaw #Accountability
The groundwork is being laid now to subvert our upcoming elections.
Attacking our Constitutional institutions is not Right or Left. It is poison that will ultimately harm all Conservatives and Liberals by degrading our country.
Attacking our Constitutional institutions is not Right or Left. It is poison that will ultimately harm all Conservatives and Liberals by degrading our country.
NEW: President Trump's pardon of his alleged 2020 co-conspirators was less about shielding them from past crimes, his adversaries say, than about signaling to others that he has their back if he needs them again in 2026 or 2028.
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
November 11, 2025 at 2:05 AM
The groundwork is being laid now to subvert our upcoming elections.
Attacking our Constitutional institutions is not Right or Left. It is poison that will ultimately harm all Conservatives and Liberals by degrading our country.
Attacking our Constitutional institutions is not Right or Left. It is poison that will ultimately harm all Conservatives and Liberals by degrading our country.
A man on the sidewalk offered to a passerby this COMPACT:
She was to give him her purse, and in exchange, he agreed not to maim her with a weapon.
Vocabulary is not neutral. Choose yours thoughtfully.
She was to give him her purse, and in exchange, he agreed not to maim her with a weapon.
Vocabulary is not neutral. Choose yours thoughtfully.
UNC-Chapel Hill's chancellor says the university will not sign on to a higher education compact from the Trump administration.
www.wunc.org/education/20...
www.wunc.org/education/20...
After faculty raise concerns, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor says university will not sign Trump's higher ed compact
Lee Roberts called the "preferential treatment" proposal a clear infringement on academic freedom.
www.wunc.org
November 10, 2025 at 9:44 PM
A man on the sidewalk offered to a passerby this COMPACT:
She was to give him her purse, and in exchange, he agreed not to maim her with a weapon.
Vocabulary is not neutral. Choose yours thoughtfully.
She was to give him her purse, and in exchange, he agreed not to maim her with a weapon.
Vocabulary is not neutral. Choose yours thoughtfully.
Reposted by Michael Clemens
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
Reposted by Michael Clemens
"Bethany Letiecq, a professor at George Mason University...said she expected Ms. Spanberger, a former member of Congress, to defend the state’s university system against the White House [and] to rescind initiatives imposed in recent years by appointees of Glenn Youngkin [the outgoing governor]."
Democrat’s Win May Upend a Conservative Push in Virginia Universities
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:48 PM
"Bethany Letiecq, a professor at George Mason University...said she expected Ms. Spanberger, a former member of Congress, to defend the state’s university system against the White House [and] to rescind initiatives imposed in recent years by appointees of Glenn Youngkin [the outgoing governor]."
Reposted by Michael Clemens
The evidence keeps accumulating that Brexit was an astonishing self-inflicted economic policy disaster. The fact that it is a slow-moving one bodes ill for those who think that populist economic mismanagement will translate into voters punishing populists. www.nber.org/system/files...
November 10, 2025 at 4:26 PM
The evidence keeps accumulating that Brexit was an astonishing self-inflicted economic policy disaster. The fact that it is a slow-moving one bodes ill for those who think that populist economic mismanagement will translate into voters punishing populists. www.nber.org/system/files...
Reposted by Michael Clemens
Economics Literature Search
paulgp.com/econlit-pipe...
paulgp.com/econlit-pipe...
November 9, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Economics Literature Search
paulgp.com/econlit-pipe...
paulgp.com/econlit-pipe...
This striking headline is a faithful reflection of the facts.
If the US President had an interest in saving Christians’ lives in Nigeria, he could do so en masse by simply reinstating the aid program we had in January.
If the US President had an interest in saving Christians’ lives in Nigeria, he could do so en masse by simply reinstating the aid program we had in January.
Opinion | Trump Aid Cuts Kill More Christians Than Jihadists Do
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:34 PM
This striking headline is a faithful reflection of the facts.
If the US President had an interest in saving Christians’ lives in Nigeria, he could do so en masse by simply reinstating the aid program we had in January.
If the US President had an interest in saving Christians’ lives in Nigeria, he could do so en masse by simply reinstating the aid program we had in January.
Extreme incompetence among superempowered public servants does not serve the interests of Conservatives or Liberals.
With a “WOW!,” President Trump posts a claim about DOGE and “royalties linked to Obamacare” that originated on a satirical website. That site’s own About section reads: “Everything on this website is fiction… If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined.”
November 9, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Extreme incompetence among superempowered public servants does not serve the interests of Conservatives or Liberals.
Reposted by Michael Clemens
Reagan-appointed federal judge: "justice is supposed to be administered...equally for everyone, without fear or favor. This is the opposite of what is happening now....Day after day, I observed in silence as President Trump, his aides, & his allies dismantled so much of what I dedicated my life to."
“What Nixon did episodically and covertly, knowing it was illegal or improper, Trump now does routinely and overtly.” — recently retired federal judge
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Why I Am Leaving the Federal Bench
A judge explains his reasons for resigning.
www.theatlantic.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reagan-appointed federal judge: "justice is supposed to be administered...equally for everyone, without fear or favor. This is the opposite of what is happening now....Day after day, I observed in silence as President Trump, his aides, & his allies dismantled so much of what I dedicated my life to."
Americans, Conservative and Liberal, are standing up to support our Constitutional order and our cherished democracy.
Nothing to do with politics. Not Left or Right. Constitutional order is the bedrock that makes political preferences possible.
Nothing to do with politics. Not Left or Right. Constitutional order is the bedrock that makes political preferences possible.
BREAKING: Mark Wolf, appointed to the federal bench by Ronald Reagan, writes that he is resigning as a judge to have the freedom to speak out against the president's assault on the rule of law.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
November 9, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Americans, Conservative and Liberal, are standing up to support our Constitutional order and our cherished democracy.
Nothing to do with politics. Not Left or Right. Constitutional order is the bedrock that makes political preferences possible.
Nothing to do with politics. Not Left or Right. Constitutional order is the bedrock that makes political preferences possible.
The US President has chosen to pervert our fine troops’ mission by deploying them against Americans, in peacetime.
It is illegal. It is extremely dangerous. Conservative and Liberal Americans reject the filth of military rule.
It is illegal. It is extremely dangerous. Conservative and Liberal Americans reject the filth of military rule.
BREAKING: Following trial, Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, finds that Trump did not properly invoke federal law to call up the National Guard and "permanently enjoins Defendants’ orders to deploy federalized members of the National Guard to Oregon."
November 8, 2025 at 1:42 AM
The US President has chosen to pervert our fine troops’ mission by deploying them against Americans, in peacetime.
It is illegal. It is extremely dangerous. Conservative and Liberal Americans reject the filth of military rule.
It is illegal. It is extremely dangerous. Conservative and Liberal Americans reject the filth of military rule.
What a bitter shame that he forever poisoned his sterling reputation—a reputation that he could have used for so much good—by tripling down on ignorant racist pseudoscience.
Self-adoring bigotry often turns once-great minds into cottage cheese.
Self-adoring bigotry often turns once-great minds into cottage cheese.
November 7, 2025 at 7:58 PM
What a bitter shame that he forever poisoned his sterling reputation—a reputation that he could have used for so much good—by tripling down on ignorant racist pseudoscience.
Self-adoring bigotry often turns once-great minds into cottage cheese.
Self-adoring bigotry often turns once-great minds into cottage cheese.
Reposted by Michael Clemens
"China is now making more money from exporting green technology than America makes from exporting fossil fuels. "
www.economist.com/leaders/2025...
www.economist.com/leaders/2025...
China’s clean-energy revolution will reshape markets and politics
The world’s biggest manufacturer now has an interest in the world decarbonising
www.economist.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:45 PM
"China is now making more money from exporting green technology than America makes from exporting fossil fuels. "
www.economist.com/leaders/2025...
www.economist.com/leaders/2025...
This is accurate.
Here is a serious and rigorous analysis in @thelancet.com, backing up the claim. —> www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Here is a serious and rigorous analysis in @thelancet.com, backing up the claim. —> www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
The world’s first trillionaire initiated a move that has left more than half a million people dead, most of whom are children.
November 7, 2025 at 3:08 PM
This is accurate.
Here is a serious and rigorous analysis in @thelancet.com, backing up the claim. —> www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Here is a serious and rigorous analysis in @thelancet.com, backing up the claim. —> www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Glad this is settled.
AI could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2 percentage points
November 7, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Glad this is settled.
Reposted by Michael Clemens
"Rights, liberties, and freedoms are never secure when they lie dormant or unused." Interesting article in the latest volume of the Journal of Academic Freedom. Rather than thinking of #AcademicFreedom as a defense against attacks, we should make it an active practice.
www.aaup.org/JAF16/conspi...
www.aaup.org/JAF16/conspi...
Conspicuously Exercising Academic Freedom as a Response to Incremental Threats
Abstract:
www.aaup.org
November 7, 2025 at 5:54 AM
"Rights, liberties, and freedoms are never secure when they lie dormant or unused." Interesting article in the latest volume of the Journal of Academic Freedom. Rather than thinking of #AcademicFreedom as a defense against attacks, we should make it an active practice.
www.aaup.org/JAF16/conspi...
www.aaup.org/JAF16/conspi...
Reposted by Michael Clemens
Supreme Court justices should not be encouraging people to have particular political identities and positions.
Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh to conservative law students: Don’t give up
Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh to conservative law students: Don’t give up
The Trump appointees’ remarks came at a Federalist Society event in Washington.
dlvr.it
November 7, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Supreme Court justices should not be encouraging people to have particular political identities and positions.
Reposted by Michael Clemens
Excellent podcast from the FT in which Martin Wolf patiently explains that populism causes fundamental damage to economies even if they continue to grow (aka the counterfactual) and that such damage is difficult and painful to reverse when it finally becomes apparent open.spotify.com/episode/679f...
Martin Wolf on the economics of populism
open.spotify.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Excellent podcast from the FT in which Martin Wolf patiently explains that populism causes fundamental damage to economies even if they continue to grow (aka the counterfactual) and that such damage is difficult and painful to reverse when it finally becomes apparent open.spotify.com/episode/679f...
Reposted by Michael Clemens
I helped make a film, out this week, called “Rovina’s Choice,” about the deaths this man without conscience or accountability has caused — already 600,000, ⅔ of them children.
November 6, 2025 at 10:34 PM
I helped make a film, out this week, called “Rovina’s Choice,” about the deaths this man without conscience or accountability has caused — already 600,000, ⅔ of them children.
Reposted by Michael Clemens
Hi all, please spread the word and we hope everyone can make good use of this new data drop: cmfdata.org
The full surviving establishment-level Census of Manufactures manuscripts and digitized data from 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880!
The full surviving establishment-level Census of Manufactures manuscripts and digitized data from 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880!
Historical Census of Manufactures Microdata - Historical Census of Manufactures Microdata
CMFdata.org
November 6, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Hi all, please spread the word and we hope everyone can make good use of this new data drop: cmfdata.org
The full surviving establishment-level Census of Manufactures manuscripts and digitized data from 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880!
The full surviving establishment-level Census of Manufactures manuscripts and digitized data from 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880!
Reposted by Michael Clemens
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
Reposted by Michael Clemens
A group of immigration judges, who almost never speak to the press, describes the dismantling of our immigration court system from the inside. A powerful episode of This American Life.
www.thisamericanlife.org/868/the-hand...
www.thisamericanlife.org/868/the-hand...
The Hand That Rocks The Gavel - This American Life
A group of immigration judges, who almost never speak to the press, describes the dismantling of our immigration court system from the inside.
www.thisamericanlife.org
November 7, 2025 at 2:18 AM
A group of immigration judges, who almost never speak to the press, describes the dismantling of our immigration court system from the inside. A powerful episode of This American Life.
www.thisamericanlife.org/868/the-hand...
www.thisamericanlife.org/868/the-hand...
Reposted by Michael Clemens
Accessible to all! ...my paper in Journal of Econ Perspectives on World Bank's 1993 East Asian "Miracle" report ("Too Much A Product of Its TIme?") (www.aeaweb.org/full_issue.p...). @cgdev.org @mclem.org @arvind2011.bsky.social @justsand.bsky.social
www.aeaweb.org
November 6, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Accessible to all! ...my paper in Journal of Econ Perspectives on World Bank's 1993 East Asian "Miracle" report ("Too Much A Product of Its TIme?") (www.aeaweb.org/full_issue.p...). @cgdev.org @mclem.org @arvind2011.bsky.social @justsand.bsky.social
This new book by Karen Jacobsen of the @fletcherschool.bsky.social is rich & deeply informed on a subject with no easy answers: how refugees are transforming cities across the Middle East.
She distills several lessons for host cities, from 25 years of research
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
She distills several lessons for host cities, from 25 years of research
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
November 7, 2025 at 1:11 AM
This new book by Karen Jacobsen of the @fletcherschool.bsky.social is rich & deeply informed on a subject with no easy answers: how refugees are transforming cities across the Middle East.
She distills several lessons for host cities, from 25 years of research
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
She distills several lessons for host cities, from 25 years of research
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...