Steve Cicala
@stevecicala.bsky.social
Associate Professor
Tufts University Department of Economics
https://www.stevecicala.com
http://goingelectric.substack.com
Tufts University Department of Economics
https://www.stevecicala.com
http://goingelectric.substack.com
Pinned
Steve Cicala
@stevecicala.bsky.social
· Nov 7
Welcome to the new arrivals. Here's a starter pack of Energy/Environmental economists to get you going:
bsky.app/starter-pack...
bsky.app/starter-pack...
Reposted by Steve Cicala
This is such a bizarre talking point; I've thankfully never had to use most of the types of insurance that I have for me and my family
This is a good excuse to share my WSJ letter to the editor explaining that "not filing a claim doesn’t mean you didn’t need insurance" www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...
This is a good excuse to share my WSJ letter to the editor explaining that "not filing a claim doesn’t mean you didn’t need insurance" www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...
November 10, 2025 at 5:57 PM
This is such a bizarre talking point; I've thankfully never had to use most of the types of insurance that I have for me and my family
This is a good excuse to share my WSJ letter to the editor explaining that "not filing a claim doesn’t mean you didn’t need insurance" www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...
This is a good excuse to share my WSJ letter to the editor explaining that "not filing a claim doesn’t mean you didn’t need insurance" www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...
I watched "A House of Dynamite" over the weekend, and God help us if we face any kind of actual emergency during this malevolent clown car of an administration.
November 10, 2025 at 4:59 PM
I watched "A House of Dynamite" over the weekend, and God help us if we face any kind of actual emergency during this malevolent clown car of an administration.
Reposted by Steve Cicala
Two-thirds of Democrats say their own party makes them feel frustrated. By far the most commonly cited reason is that the party is not pushing back hard enough against Trump. www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
November 10, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Two-thirds of Democrats say their own party makes them feel frustrated. By far the most commonly cited reason is that the party is not pushing back hard enough against Trump. www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
Having demonstrated the loss of his caucus in the highest profile way possible, it is time to select a replacement for @schumer.senate.gov
The current state of disarray is untenable.
The current state of disarray is untenable.
November 10, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Having demonstrated the loss of his caucus in the highest profile way possible, it is time to select a replacement for @schumer.senate.gov
The current state of disarray is untenable.
The current state of disarray is untenable.
The Democrats’ Susan Collins.
What an unbelievable sucker.
What an unbelievable sucker.
My statement on the funding deal to reopen government, protect federal employees, and vote to protect health care:
November 10, 2025 at 2:21 AM
The Democrats’ Susan Collins.
What an unbelievable sucker.
What an unbelievable sucker.
Reposted by Steve Cicala
No Dem with a future has voted yes.
November 10, 2025 at 1:57 AM
No Dem with a future has voted yes.
Reposted by Steve Cicala
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 2:27 PM
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...
Reposted by Steve Cicala
one thing i find crazy-making is the idea that getting rid of the filibuster would make congress a purely majoritarian institution. bicameralism itself is counter-majoritarian! equal state representation is counter-majoritarian! the fact that senate elections are staggered is counter-majoritarian!
November 8, 2025 at 10:26 PM
one thing i find crazy-making is the idea that getting rid of the filibuster would make congress a purely majoritarian institution. bicameralism itself is counter-majoritarian! equal state representation is counter-majoritarian! the fact that senate elections are staggered is counter-majoritarian!
Reposted by Steve Cicala
Starting my #econtwitter #econsky recap 🧵 for #neudc2025 @TuftsEconomics! First session: displaced persons. Tamim shows that a housing subsidy for Syrian refugees in Jordan had only minor positive economic effects + led to a deterioration in relations btw hosts + refugees
November 8, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Starting my #econtwitter #econsky recap 🧵 for #neudc2025 @TuftsEconomics! First session: displaced persons. Tamim shows that a housing subsidy for Syrian refugees in Jordan had only minor positive economic effects + led to a deterioration in relations btw hosts + refugees
Reposted by Steve Cicala
Absolutely sadistic.
A Dem Congress should pass a law banning anyone who is currently serving with ICE or CBP from future Fed employment.
The Feds should condition all future Fed grants to police depts on blanket refusals to hire ppl who were in ICE/CBP right now.
A Dem Congress should pass a law banning anyone who is currently serving with ICE or CBP from future Fed employment.
The Feds should condition all future Fed grants to police depts on blanket refusals to hire ppl who were in ICE/CBP right now.
Or Rodney Taylor, a disabled double amputee who’s been in America since he was two years old.
He was days away from receiving new prosthetic legs when ICE grabbed him
His health is declining, they won’t let him get his legs and they’ve placed him in solitary
www.disabledginger.com/p/help-rodne...
He was days away from receiving new prosthetic legs when ICE grabbed him
His health is declining, they won’t let him get his legs and they’ve placed him in solitary
www.disabledginger.com/p/help-rodne...
Help Rodney Taylor, a Disabled Double Amputee Being Held by ICE
Rodney has been in the country more than 40 years. He's in solitary confinement in Georgia, being denied disability accommodations and having his medical needs ignored. He must be released.
www.disabledginger.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Absolutely sadistic.
A Dem Congress should pass a law banning anyone who is currently serving with ICE or CBP from future Fed employment.
The Feds should condition all future Fed grants to police depts on blanket refusals to hire ppl who were in ICE/CBP right now.
A Dem Congress should pass a law banning anyone who is currently serving with ICE or CBP from future Fed employment.
The Feds should condition all future Fed grants to police depts on blanket refusals to hire ppl who were in ICE/CBP right now.
Boston-area petting zoos know their clientele.
November 8, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Boston-area petting zoos know their clientele.
Reposted by Steve Cicala
This is not the country we should be.
A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
November 7, 2025 at 9:01 PM
This is not the country we should be.
A very interesting JMP on how insurers use their vertical integration with pharmacy benefit managers to tunnel profits around regulations on medical loss ratios:
www.ydeeric.com
Reminder to JMCs: Don't post your paper via dropbox or drive. Many organizations can't access them.
www.ydeeric.com
Reminder to JMCs: Don't post your paper via dropbox or drive. Many organizations can't access them.
November 7, 2025 at 5:52 PM
A very interesting JMP on how insurers use their vertical integration with pharmacy benefit managers to tunnel profits around regulations on medical loss ratios:
www.ydeeric.com
Reminder to JMCs: Don't post your paper via dropbox or drive. Many organizations can't access them.
www.ydeeric.com
Reminder to JMCs: Don't post your paper via dropbox or drive. Many organizations can't access them.
Reposted by Steve Cicala
Thrilled to share that @stevecicala.bsky.social will be joining our department as the Vontobel Foundation Professorship in Sustainable Economics (June 2026).
His work focuses on the economics of regulation, particularly with respect to environmental and energy policy.
His work focuses on the economics of regulation, particularly with respect to environmental and energy policy.
November 7, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Thrilled to share that @stevecicala.bsky.social will be joining our department as the Vontobel Foundation Professorship in Sustainable Economics (June 2026).
His work focuses on the economics of regulation, particularly with respect to environmental and energy policy.
His work focuses on the economics of regulation, particularly with respect to environmental and energy policy.
Reposted by Steve Cicala
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 Steve Cicala
"If you could get these data centers to get off the grid, say 50-60 hours a year, they really wouldn't create any cost pressure at all," @severinborenstein.bsky.social on NPR.
www.npr.org/2025/11/06/n...
www.npr.org/2025/11/06/n...
Is your electric bill going up? AI is partly to blame
Across the country, demand for electricity is on the rise — and so is the price of electric power.
www.npr.org
November 6, 2025 at 4:17 PM
"If you could get these data centers to get off the grid, say 50-60 hours a year, they really wouldn't create any cost pressure at all," @severinborenstein.bsky.social on NPR.
www.npr.org/2025/11/06/n...
www.npr.org/2025/11/06/n...
For all of the things Trump has done to weaken the US and aide our adversaries, here's hoping "eliminate the filibuster" isn't when Senate Republicans start to wonder if he's a Manchurian candidate.
Trump on the need to abolish the filibuster: "It will be impossible to beat us."
November 5, 2025 at 6:51 PM
For all of the things Trump has done to weaken the US and aide our adversaries, here's hoping "eliminate the filibuster" isn't when Senate Republicans start to wonder if he's a Manchurian candidate.
Reminder: there is no “hollowing out” of US manufacturing.
The "hollowing out" of US manufacturing used to justify IEEPA authority is a fiction. Output is within a few % of all-time highs.
Since 1989 output is ⬆️ 67% while employment is ⬇️ 28%. Their claim is false and their solution is nonsense.
Thanks to @stanveuger.bsky.social for organizing this brief!
Since 1989 output is ⬆️ 67% while employment is ⬇️ 28%. Their claim is false and their solution is nonsense.
Thanks to @stanveuger.bsky.social for organizing this brief!
November 5, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Reminder: there is no “hollowing out” of US manufacturing.
Reposted by Steve Cicala
SCOTUS is now hearing the tariff case that will decide whether all of our past tariff madness has been unconstitutional, plunging us into new tariff madness, or if it has all been okay, giving a thumbs up to more future tariff madness.
Listen here: www.supremecourt.gov/oral_argumen...
Listen here: www.supremecourt.gov/oral_argumen...
November 5, 2025 at 2:59 PM
SCOTUS is now hearing the tariff case that will decide whether all of our past tariff madness has been unconstitutional, plunging us into new tariff madness, or if it has all been okay, giving a thumbs up to more future tariff madness.
Listen here: www.supremecourt.gov/oral_argumen...
Listen here: www.supremecourt.gov/oral_argumen...
Reposted by Steve Cicala
Breaking: Democrats flip two Public Service Commission seats in Georgia, the first victories in 25 years.
November 5, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Breaking: Democrats flip two Public Service Commission seats in Georgia, the first victories in 25 years.
Reposted by Steve Cicala
In EI blog, Lucas Davis and Paige Weber explain their new paper finds regulated IOUs are less responsive to wholesale prices than merchant generators in their decisions to close a plant. That leads to important inefficiencies in the generation fleet.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/d...
💡🔌
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/d...
💡🔌
Does Regulation Distort Exit Decisions?
New study shows regulated coal and gas units were 45% less likely to exit between 2011 and 2023. (Today’s post is co-authored by Paige Weber.) Hundreds of power plants have closed in the United Sta…
energyathaas.wordpress.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:35 PM
In EI blog, Lucas Davis and Paige Weber explain their new paper finds regulated IOUs are less responsive to wholesale prices than merchant generators in their decisions to close a plant. That leads to important inefficiencies in the generation fleet.
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/d...
💡🔌
energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/d...
💡🔌
It is unfair to compare rent control's power to destroy cities with that of bombing.
There is a robust literature on how cities bounce back from bombings and fires, and can reemerge even stronger than before.
www.theatlantic.com/economy/arch...
There is a robust literature on how cities bounce back from bombings and fires, and can reemerge even stronger than before.
www.theatlantic.com/economy/arch...
Mamdani Has a Point About Rent Control
In an interview, the candidate argued that the policy is essential to get voters on board with pro-housing reforms.
www.theatlantic.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:18 PM
It is unfair to compare rent control's power to destroy cities with that of bombing.
There is a robust literature on how cities bounce back from bombings and fires, and can reemerge even stronger than before.
www.theatlantic.com/economy/arch...
There is a robust literature on how cities bounce back from bombings and fires, and can reemerge even stronger than before.
www.theatlantic.com/economy/arch...
A "close call" on deference to the executive's determination of an emergency?
If trade deficits are an emergency, then so are Tuesdays. The word loses all meaning.
See the brief signed by leading economists (and me):
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
If trade deficits are an emergency, then so are Tuesdays. The word loses all meaning.
See the brief signed by leading economists (and me):
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
Supreme Court Confronts Trump and His Tariffs in Test of Presidential Power
www.nytimes.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:11 PM
A "close call" on deference to the executive's determination of an emergency?
If trade deficits are an emergency, then so are Tuesdays. The word loses all meaning.
See the brief signed by leading economists (and me):
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
If trade deficits are an emergency, then so are Tuesdays. The word loses all meaning.
See the brief signed by leading economists (and me):
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
A totalitarian government
that can detain any citizen
kill any foreigner
destroy any monument
the only thing it cannot erase
Is standard time
that can detain any citizen
kill any foreigner
destroy any monument
the only thing it cannot erase
Is standard time
November 2, 2025 at 11:19 AM
A totalitarian government
that can detain any citizen
kill any foreigner
destroy any monument
the only thing it cannot erase
Is standard time
that can detain any citizen
kill any foreigner
destroy any monument
the only thing it cannot erase
Is standard time
Reposted by Steve Cicala
For those voting in Cambridge's School Committee elections this week, here's how I'd suggest ranking candidates.
#1 - Elizabeth Hudson
#2 - Eugenia Schraa Huh
#3 - David Weinstein
#4 - Richard Harding
#5 - Alex Bowers
#6 - Anne Coburn
#7 - Arjun Jaikumar
Don't rank: Caroline Hunter, Lily Havstad
#1 - Elizabeth Hudson
#2 - Eugenia Schraa Huh
#3 - David Weinstein
#4 - Richard Harding
#5 - Alex Bowers
#6 - Anne Coburn
#7 - Arjun Jaikumar
Don't rank: Caroline Hunter, Lily Havstad
November 2, 2025 at 12:25 AM
For those voting in Cambridge's School Committee elections this week, here's how I'd suggest ranking candidates.
#1 - Elizabeth Hudson
#2 - Eugenia Schraa Huh
#3 - David Weinstein
#4 - Richard Harding
#5 - Alex Bowers
#6 - Anne Coburn
#7 - Arjun Jaikumar
Don't rank: Caroline Hunter, Lily Havstad
#1 - Elizabeth Hudson
#2 - Eugenia Schraa Huh
#3 - David Weinstein
#4 - Richard Harding
#5 - Alex Bowers
#6 - Anne Coburn
#7 - Arjun Jaikumar
Don't rank: Caroline Hunter, Lily Havstad