also with yneberai.bsky.social who is new to bluesky and a great Harvard PhD student

Culture and Health YouTube video by IHEA

Culture and Health handbook chapter - honered to provide a lecture to iHEA - youtu.be/5CLi_XCd2fM slides available here healthinequalitylab.org/research/wor...

terrific conference w/Liran Einav as the other keynote, great presentations, a beautiful venue in Berlin - thanks to the organizers for having me

If patients don’t trust doctors, the consequences for their health + the economy can be far-reaching. In a new episode of Econ To Go, @marcellaalsan.bsky.social, a Stanford physician-economist, shares her research on patient trust + the importance of remedying it. siepr.stanford.edu/av/Econ-To-G...

Grateful for the opportunity to share findings on importance of trust and representation in healthcare - thank you @alexaesperanzaa.bsky.social and @siepr.bsky.social

at first i thought those were thumbs up - now i got it.

The American demand for guns (and for non-lethal firearms), by Alsan, Schwartzstein, and Stantcheva

The American market for guns is among the most complex of controversial markets, since gun purchases are regarded by many Americans as repugnant, while to many others (and in the eyes of the law*) they are protected.
#econsky

marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-...

The Economics Department Needs To Raise Its Standards | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson The issue with Economics is not just that some students can take easier courses. The concentration also fails to teach students the array of theories in the field, instead offering them a limited pers...

most read on crimson tinyurl.com/5fptnwnf

King Dollar: The Past and Future of the World's Dominant Currency by Paul Blustein (Forthcoming Article)

Forthcoming book review in the JEL: "King Dollar: The Past and Future of the World's Dominant Currency by Paul Blustein" by Ethan Ilzetzki.

Looking forward to seeing this in print! It was a pleasure working with Jacob and Karthik. We study food policy in a warming world. 🌾

👇 Here's evidence that both sides of the gun ownership debate might find common ground beyond their mutual desire to feel safe, courtesy of SIEPR's @marcellaalsan.bsky.social and coauthors. #GunControl #GunViolence

People across the gun divide share a desire for safety, but disagree about whether lethal firearms provide it. Studying non-lethal firearms as one potential approach, from @marcellaalsan.bsky.social, Joshua Schwartzstein, and Stefanie Stantcheva www.nber.org/papers/w34962

Examining US Physician Incomes by International Comparison SHP's Maria Polyakova and Victoria Udalova compare physician income in the United States, Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands. U.S. doctors earn significantly more than their foreign counterparts—but t...

SHP's & @siepr.bsky.social's Maria Polyakova compares physician income in the U.S., Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands. U.S. doctors earn significantly more than their foreign counterparts—but that's largely because Americans across the board earn more.
healthpolicy.fsi.stanford.edu/news/examini...

Check out the full paper and survey here: socialeconomicslab.org/research/wor...
#EconTwitter [19/19]

Overall, Americans share a common goal — safety — yet disagree about the means. Although these disagreements appear entrenched, people remain receptive to alternatives that might command broader agreement. [18/19]

One key insight from this work is disagreement stems in part from different beliefs about the safety frontier (what can create safety), not fundamentally different goals (most want safety). Beliefs can potentially be shifted, while preferences might be harder to move. [17/19]

(Very) rough back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest promoting NLFAs could prevent up to 8% of school shootings & 7% of child firearm-related suicides & accidental deaths, through shifts in storage behavior & substitution. [16/19]

Owners relinquishing firearms voluntarily appears unrealistic given the underlying quest for safety and concerns. The more tractable margins (that still matter a lot)? Safe storage & non-lethal substitution for additional purchases. [15/19]

Adding a Sean Hannity endorsement to the NLFA info produces larger & more persistent effects, including increased support for rules for buying lethal firearms & for safe storage policies. An endorsement by someone who owns and talks about firearms seems to matter [14/19]

Our non-lethal firearm treatment — showing gun owners one non-lethal firearm (brand: Byrna) — raises belief that NLFAs are good replacements, interest in purchasing one & willingness to store lethal guns safely. [13/19]

Our Private Costs treatment — on legal & health risks of guns — increases concern about liability & boosts support for safe storage among both owners & non-owners. [12/19]

Our descriptive evidence points to beliefs about the frontier as a key driver of disagreement. Our experiments aim to shift this perceived SPF — by informing people about private costs of guns & about non-lethal alternatives. [11/19]

We organize these patterns through a framework that emphasizes the "Safety Possibilities Frontier" (SPF) — the safety outcomes achievable with different tools. Our descriptive analysis shows owners & non-owners perceive this frontier very differently. [10/19]

Importantly, there is widespread unawareness of non-lethal alternatives. Only 4% of owners have one & only 20% had heard of a specific one. Yet 43% say they would prefer a firearm that incapacitates rather than kills. ⬇️ [9/19]

Groups also diverge on social costs: non-owners are far more likely to believe gun ownership increases crime, murders, suicides & school shootings. Owners are the least likely to hold these views. [8/19]

How does owning a gun make you feel? Owners report safety, confidence & responsibility. Uninterested non-owners? Nervousness, fear & feeling unsafe. Same goal, opposite perceptions. [7/19]

What stops some people from owning guns? Perceived costs differ markedly. Only 27% of owners worry about children accessing their gun vs. 70% of uninterested non-owners. [6/19]

Both owners & uninterested non-owners feel similarly safe in daily life (~80%). But interested non-owners feel much less safe (58%) & trust police slightly less — they have an unmet demand for safety. [5/19]

Strikingly, demand is asymmetric: 1/3 of non-owners are interested in acquiring a gun, but only 7% of owners would consider reducing their holdings even with a non-lethal alternative. 62% are considering acquiring more. [4/19]1

**Safety** is THE overriding motivation. >80% of gun owners cite protecting their family or themselves as the main reason for ownership. Among interested non-owners, 56% cite family protection & 34% self-protection. ⬇️ [3/19]