A List of Progress Studies Reading Lists
I’ve been putting together a progress studies reading list for myself, drawing upon reading lists found on the internet. I’ve also seen people repeatedly asking for reading lists and being pointed in different directions. So, I thought it may be helpful to some to collect the various progress studies (related) reading lists I’ve come across … Continue reading A List of Progress Studies Reading Lists
Happy Smallpox Eradication Day!
Before going further, briefly pause to ask yourself, how many people were killed by Smallpox? The answer, is approximately 500 million. On December 9th, 1979, Smallpox was eradicated. Celebrating Smallpox eradication day is a great reminder of human ingenuity (although, some celebrate it in May). It’s also a reminder that often people who do a … Continue reading Happy Smallpox Eradication Day!
Progress Studies Assorted Links 3
A new book on Progress Studies has recently been released, “Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know” by Ronald Bailey and Marian Tupy. I wrote a short review/summary here. Another new Progress Studies related book was recently published, “Open: The Story of Human Progress” by Johan Norberg. Quick caveat, the book has been released … Continue reading Progress Studies Assorted Links 3
“Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know” by Ronald Bailey and Marian Tupy
This post will review/summarise a new book on progress that was recently released, “Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know” by Ronald Bailey and Marian Tupy. They begin the book with an interesting poll conducted by YouGov in 2016 spanning 17 countries. I’ll pose the question asked in the poll to readers here: Only … Continue reading “Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know” by Ronald Bailey and Marian Tupy
A silver lining: do we have more trees now than in 1982?
A very commonly held opinion is that the number of trees in the world are decreasing over time. Indeed, that’s the opinion I held until recently. On the FAO’s website, it states: “Since 1990, it is estimated that 420 million hectares of forest have been lost through conversion to other land uses, although the rate … Continue reading A silver lining: do we have more trees now than in 1982?
Patent Buyouts
Recently I had a conversation with a reader/supporter of the blog. One of the things we talked about was a great 1998 paper, “Patent Buyouts: A Mechanism for Encouraging Innovation.” by Michael Kremer, who won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2019, together with Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee. Like the policy I wrote about … Continue reading Patent Buyouts
Progress Studies Assorted Links 2
Tony Blair and Chris Yiu write on the need for progress. “The Baker Hypothesis” a new (NBER) economics working paper by Chari, Henry, and Reyes. They find that in emerging and developing economies, the average rate of real GDP growth is higher after countries adopt ‘free-market policies’ such as: inflation stabilisation, trade liberalisation, greater openness … Continue reading Progress Studies Assorted Links 2
Progress Studies Assorted Links 1
I plan to send out a list of assorted links, which will signpost interesting things that I have come across recently that relate to Progress Studies. Also, quick update before the links. I’m writing a post on how AI may impact the labour market. This will be out in the next ten days (I’m in … Continue reading Progress Studies Assorted Links 1
Online Progress Studies Reading Group
I’ve recently began to organise a virtual Progress Studies reading group. We’re still in the early stages of launching it (organising the reading agenda and a time that suits everyone). Everyone is welcome to attend. A few details: The format we’re going for is that one person every week is selected to summarise the designated … Continue reading Online Progress Studies Reading Group
Could the knowledge frontier advance faster?
I’m beginning my journey into Progress Studies by summarising and synthesising some of the literature scattered around. Here, I show an example of the potential power of Progress Studies. The policy implications of the paper I summarise in this post demonstrate the low-hanging fruit available to the field. If we were to implement the policy … Continue reading Could the knowledge frontier advance faster?
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