Michael R Strain
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michaelrstrain.bsky.social
Michael R Strain
@michaelrstrain.bsky.social
Director of Economic Policy Studies and Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Professor of Practice at Georgetown University.
Dr. Erika McEntarfer has devoted her career to public service. She has conducted herself as BLS Commissioner with great integrity. There is no evidence whatsoever that BLS data are politically biased.

#econsky
August 1, 2025 at 7:37 PM
"Why Is Fertility So Low in High Income Countries?"

Melissa Kearney and Phillip Levine present important evidence on their research question, but also on economic methodology. See below for issues all empirical economists should be thinking about. Link to paper: www.nber.org/papers/w33989 #econsky
July 11, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Great @martinsandbu.ft.com column: "The economic consequences of Donald Trump’s second coming"

Link: www.ft.com/content/0892...

#econsky
June 27, 2025 at 2:10 PM
15/ Check out the whole paper here: www.aei.org/wp-content/u...
June 18, 2025 at 8:34 PM
13/ Autor, Dorn, and Hanson (2013) find an average reduction in manufacturing employment of 90,000 jobs per year from 1990 to 2007. But in a typical month, five million workers separate from their employers. In the manufacturing sector, typical monthly separations are 351,000.

#econsky
June 18, 2025 at 8:34 PM
12/ Does it look to you like wages have stagnated for decades? Does it look to you like NAFTA (1994) or China entering the WTO (2001) led to stagnation?
June 18, 2025 at 8:34 PM
8/ The U.S. is not just producing more than ever before. Relative to other nations, the U.S. is a global manufacturing powerhouse.
June 18, 2025 at 8:34 PM
7/ Some supporters of protectionism seem to think that because manufacturing employment has been declining for decades, the U.S.’s ability to produce has also been declining.

This is false.

#econsky
June 18, 2025 at 8:34 PM
6/ And why should manufacturing employment receive so much attention?
June 18, 2025 at 8:34 PM
5/ Another way to think about this: Trade obviously did not cause the big downward trend in manufacturing employment. Look at the chart below. Show me the effect of NAFTA or China entering the WTO? So if trade wasn't the cause, then trade wars are unlikely to be the solution.

#econsky
June 18, 2025 at 8:34 PM
4/ Take steel.

ht @justinwolfers.bsky.social
June 18, 2025 at 8:34 PM
3/ The employment losses from higher input prices and retaliation will outweigh employment gains from import protection.
June 18, 2025 at 8:34 PM
🚨🚨 My new paper, "The (non) effect of tariffs on manufacturing employment" is hot off the presses.

A 🧵

Link: www.aei.org/wp-content/u...

#econsky
June 18, 2025 at 8:34 PM
"The U.S. is giving up on taxing inheritances," by @jeffstein.bsky.social.

Link: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
June 18, 2025 at 2:19 PM
6/ Heckman's "incest coefficient" table. One-third of papers published in the QJE had at least one coauthor with a Harvard PhD.

#econsky
May 21, 2025 at 7:04 PM
"From prosperity to austerity: Trump’s tone shifts ahead of tariff impacts"

Link: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202... #econsky
May 6, 2025 at 5:53 PM
1/ Friends, the lack of viewpoint diversity in the humanities and social sciences -- including in economics departments, and especially in public policy schools -- is a scandal. It is a major obstacle to universities performing their teaching and research missions.

#econsky
May 5, 2025 at 3:33 PM
S&P 500 change, Inauguration Day through April

#econsky www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
April 25, 2025 at 2:35 PM
🚨🚨🚨🚨

It *does* exist!

‼️

#econsky
April 16, 2025 at 2:40 AM
"Corporate America’s Euphoria Over Trump's 'Golden Age' Is Giving Way to Distress," by @nicktimiraos.bsky.social, Alex Leary, & Chip Cutter.

Link: www.wsj.com/economy/wall... #econsky
March 26, 2025 at 5:03 PM
1. Over his first two months in office, President Biden's approval rating was flat.

Over the last two months, President Trump's approval rating is clearly trending down.

2. The blue line is above the red line.

Source: www.nationalreview.com/corner/look-... @nationalreview.bsky.social #econsky
March 25, 2025 at 12:58 AM
March 22, 2025 at 1:44 PM
“I think what we’re seeing is incompetence.”

"Trump has a plan to remake the economy. But he’s not explaining it very well," by @davidjlynch.bsky.social

Link: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202... #econsky
March 17, 2025 at 2:44 PM
"Investors get the jitters over Donald Trump’s approach to dollar: President expressed frustration about greenback’s strength before taking office, but its decline is not by design."

Link: www.ft.com/content/55b5...
March 14, 2025 at 12:40 PM
The behavior of the United States in recent weeks has been shameful and appalling.

Link: time.com/7265679/sate... #econsky
March 8, 2025 at 12:41 AM