In retrospect picking Wisconsin to win it all was a mistake.

A New Theory About Why Biden’s Big Climate Law Failed Rob looks back on the political theory behind the Inflation Reduction Act with the University of Michigan’s Alexander Gazmarian.

Had a great time talking with @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social about why the IRA had limited political returns -- and the future of US climate policymaking heatmap.news/podcast/shif...

Interesting. We explore EV investments too but still get your point on acceptance of projects.

My gut is all investment would be similar, but it’s a guess.

One of the authors here: The point isn't just about Biden and messaging. It is about the complexity of credit claiming and the belief that investments translate into credit for any Prez is problematic.

Why Biden-era clean energy investment policies had limited political returns | PNAS The Biden Administration enacted the largest federal policy framework to incentivize clean energy and decarbonization in U.S. history. We examine w...

Fascinating new research paper asks: why did Biden receive so little political credit for his enormous investments in manufacturing? Turns out people give all the credit to governors (ironically, in this case, mostly red-state governors who were hostile to the policy!).

Why Biden-era clean energy investment policies had limited political returns | PNAS The Biden Administration enacted the largest federal policy framework to incentivize clean energy and decarbonization in U.S. history. We examine w...

Our paper is out in PNAS.

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Amazon cuts 16,000 jobs in second major layoff round as company restructures operations - Washington Business Journal Amazon is cutting 16,000 jobs across its ranks — a second major round of layoffs for the company in recent months.

Crazy to think the Amazon HQ2 competition was over what the company claimed would be 50,000 jobs.
www.bizjournals.com/washington/n...

Saudi Arabia's the Line is collapsing into a hyphen Originally envisioned as an extravagant 105-mile-long smart city, the Line is reportedly shrinking into a pragmatic data center hub.

The Line city concept was both bonkers and interesting. And now it will be an office park.
www.fastcompany.com/91481217/sau...

Happy Kids Finally Out of the House Day to all who celebrate.

The film incentive evaluations are good, but very little outside of that. Searching…

Thanks!

I’ve followed film programs where the industry association reports are much more optimistic than independent evaluations or academic research. I just don’t know of many studies outside of film and major events.

Thanks so much!

Economic Development Bluesky. I'm putting together my syllabus on local economic development and looking for good readings on the arts and economic development. Suggestions?

Kansas City, Missouri, pulls out of ‘border war’ truce as Kansas works to poach Chiefs and Royals The Kansas City Council ended its years-long agreement to stop the economic tug of war between the Kansas and Missouri sides of the metro. Both states offered big incentives to the Chiefs and Royals, ...

I’m old enough to remember when Kansas and Missouri called a truce on stealing companies across the border.
www.kcur.org/politics-ele...

Wrexham AFC receives £18m from government despite Hollywood backing Welsh government grants used to fund football club even though it is owned by wealthy movie stars

Everyone getting in on publicly funded stadium scams.
www.theguardian.com/football/202...

No! Now I need to check it out!

Elf on the Shelf is slowly getting more dark. I expect stuffed animal big game hunting soon.

Lawmakers Seek Bipartisan Reform for MI Economic Development Programs Mackinac Center applauds bills that would base programs on fairness, accountability and measurable results

Good news in economic development transparency.
www.mackinac.org/pressroom/20...

Elf on a shelf playing tennis.
-Artist unknown. And running out of ideas.

The Quick and Shameful Death of Biden’s Biggest Policy It was far too easy for Republicans to kill the Inflation Reduction Act. Where did those who crafted it go wrong?

The problem with the IRA's
"build it and they will come around" approach to politics.
newrepublic.com/article/2027...

"Captain Gains" on Capitol Hill Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

Pretty damning.

www.nber.org/papers/w3452...

Forecasting Social Science: Evidence from 100 Projects Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

This looks interesting.

www.nber.org/papers/w3449...

I forgot about this place.

Kansas City Council repeals Border War Truce ordinance after Missouri law expires Kansas City Council has repealed the Border War Truce ordinance after Missouri lawmakers let the state’s law expire.

This seemed like a good idea at the time.

www.kmbc.com/article/kc-c...

I find the lack of NFL posts here a systemic failure.

At the DMV. I am ticket R55. They called just called T51, I7, and P8. Like a dystopian novel here.

This place is still a little too earnest for me.

$5 billion more in subsidies? They already started construction. Why add $5 billion to a project already here?

www.syracuse.com/micron/2025/...

Source: C's minority owner buying Sun for $325M A group led by Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca has a deal in place to buy the WNBA's Connecticut Sun for a record $325 million and plans to move the team to Boston, a source confirmed to ESPN.

These WNBA team valuations are so high yet so many claim they are losing money. Would love to read more on the economics of the league.

www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...

Ford Says Battery Plant’s Tax Break Survived Republican Attacks

Complicated story. Ford says they would have built even without tax credits. This project was popular with state officials but locals tried to block it. The politics is complex.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/b...