Arik Levinson
- Tariffs on solar panels have been even worse than I thought. Never mind the environmental cost, the pass-through rate to US consumers was more than 100%. Each $1 of tariff cost US solar customers $1.17.
- And a federal judge tossed the report. Not because it's junk science, but because of a DOE process foul selecting the junk scientists who authored it. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/c...
- Three amazing points in one paragraph of the DOE report on GHGs. www.energy.gov/articles/dep... 1/3 The Social Cost of Carbon "is not intended to measure the private marginal benefits ... of fossil fuels." Correct! (But not relevant. That's why it's the called the Social *Cost* of Carbon.)
- I watched and learned as @chadpbown.com explains trade policy (nicely) to @pkrugman.bsky.social. (Love the screen grab, too.) youtu.be/kVZMns6NuVI?...
- Economists make climate policy seem so straightforward.
- Most economists disagree with extreme voices on debates about climate risks, and yet we keep providing fuel to both sides. This article tries to explain why. www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...
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- Pre-ordered mine. 5 months early. Because I'll read anything by these two explainers. www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/...
- Pepco (Exelon) send me this unhelpful alert, informing me that I spent more on electricity this month than last. But guess what? I used *less* electricity. I spent more because the company charged me more. Thanks for nothing, @exelonofficial.bsky.social.
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- It's even worse than Max humorously gripes. Can anybody look at Max's bill and calculate his incremental cost per kWh? [ChatGPT tells me it's "approximately $0.65 per kWh.]
- In this week's Energy Institute blog, Max Auffhammer's highly entertaining and also very serious take on redesigning electricity bills so customers can actually understand them. An important step in enabling demand flexibility. energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/12/01/a...
- Reposted by Arik LevinsonAll is not well at Elsevier richardtol.substack.com/p/fraud-and-...
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- Jim Sallee gives a master class in how to explain complex policy in simple prose. I'm definitely assigning this to students.
- I'm back from vacation (and the huge Oakland No Kings protest). Lots to catch up on posting. In the EI blog today, Jim Sallee has an excellent analysis of the poorly designed, but good direction, of proposed international shipping GHG regulations. energyathaas.wordpress.com/2025/10/20/c...
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- Ok so the Trump administration blew up the international agreement to tax CO2 from shipping. 14 years ago the Obama administration successfully opposed applying the EU carbon price to US airlines operating in Europe. Just because Ds and Rs both agree on something doesn't mean it's right.
- Great news! Andrew Plantinga will be succeeding Nick Kuminoff as one of the four editors of @jaereaere.bsky.social starting January 1. Compensation for the less great but inevitable news that Nick's term must end. Thanks Nick and welcome Andrew. www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/jaere/cu...
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- Head-scratching WaPo article says solar tax credits are slowing adoption, and ending them will (by mid-century) result in more solar panels on roofs. Explain *that*, Econ 101 professors. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
- A bittersweet day. Long-time EPA chief economist and @aereorg.bsky.social fellow @AlMcGartland (other site) is retiring. His dedication to practical, public-spirited, and good-humored policymaking will be missed at the EPA. Here's hoping his voice continues to be heard and influence felt.
- Reposted by Arik LevinsonIts not just climate science that's wrong in DOE's dreadful climate report - the economics is terrible too! salatainstitute.harvard.edu/environmenta...
- ICE and DHS are proposing (again!) to limit student visas to 4 years before requiring reauthorization. Makes no sense for PhD programs. See something, say something. Comment here by Sept 29. www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...
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- Reposted by Arik LevinsonOver 125 economists signed the open letter calling on the President, Congress, and the American public to uphold the principles of Federal Reserve independence and not remove Lisa Cook without due process. There's still time to sign! And please share. #EconSky docs.google.com/document/d/1...
- Three amazing points in one paragraph of the DOE report on GHGs. www.energy.gov/articles/dep... 1/3 The Social Cost of Carbon "is not intended to measure the private marginal benefits ... of fossil fuels." Correct! (But not relevant. That's why it's the called the Social *Cost* of Carbon.)
- 👇especially #6 and #7. 6. Clear writing comes from clear thinking. 7. If readers don’t understand your writing, that’s your fault, not theirs.
- Published papers can become suddenly more important. This 2017 paper is among the most read and cited #JAERE papers in the last 12 months. *Subsidizing EV charging stations would be twice as effective as subsidizing EVs.* By Shanjun Li, Lang Tong, Jianwei Xing, and Yiyi Zhou tinyurl.com/bhrt3zsj
- Brander and Taylor (1988): tariffs on imports of open-access resources can be pareto-improving. Now @prakrati.bsky.social shows the converse empirically in #JAERE. Bans on environmental service exports (waste imports) can be environmentally beneficial. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
- Believe it or not, this magnified inset of a new #JAERE figure demonstrates "solar rebound" from net metering. Residential rooftop solar panels can -- in theory -- increase electricity use. Matthew Oliver, @jmorenocruz.bsky.social , and Ken Gillingham. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10....
- Those annoying text messages work. State government appeals to save energy largely failed when broadcast over radio and television, but succeeded via text. New in #JAERE from Dylan Brewer and Jim Crozier. cc: @aereorg.bsky.social www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
- I wear mine often. Good shirt; good cause.
- WaPo op-ed supports Carbon Tariffs for three reasons (and my rebuttals): 1. Revenue (that's all tariffs, not just carbon tariffs) 2. Protect US industry (again, all tariffs) 3. The US has no domestic carbon price (huh?) wapo.st/46bDgWo
- Tax cuts that balance the federal budget: Year 1) Pass 10-year budget that cuts taxes in yr 1 and raises them in yrs 2-10. Year 2) Treat yr 1 as baseline, pass new budget that cuts taxes in yr 2 and raises them in yrs 3-11. Year 3) Treat yr2 as baseline, .... you get the idea. Problem solved!
- Is the double dividend back? Maybe if we include distributional concerns, according to Frederick van der Ploeg, Armon Rezai, and Miguel Tovar Reaños in @jaereaere.bsky.social www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
- Efficient solar investment depends not only on *where* panels are installed, but *when*. Insightful new paper in @jaereaere.bsky.social by Nicolas Astier and Nicolas Hatem. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
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- @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social and @dkthomp.bsky.social get this wrong in 𝐴𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒: “... in the late 1970s, home construction started to fall behind the pace of population growth.” Actually, the number of US dwellings grew faster than population in the 70s and 80s, and kept pace in the 90s.
- Spectacular paper. Congrats. "Uncertainty" (my scare quotes) has been wielded rhetorically by opponents of regulation. But one way to reduce regulatory uncertainty is to stop opposing the regulation. Now Ashley et al. show that regulatory uncertainty can prolong unprofitable investments.
- If the paper title has a question mark, is the answer ever "yes"? (See what I did there.) aka "Betteridge's law"
- Electricity use that is clean-ish, but not *clean*.
- @jaereaere.bsky.social is implementing recommendations of the AEA-EEA-ES-RES Report on Improving the Publication Process in Economics: - acknowledge articles' editors - single out excellent referees - publicize selection process and terms for editors - referees disclose prior reviews - etc.
- If only @harvard.edu had some sort of reserve fund, or endowment, to cover times like these. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/u...
- I like this new JAERE paper because it doesn't just show convincingly that pollution is bad. I offers a mechanism, and shows how that mechanism interacts and exacerbates inequality. Congrats to Andrea and Edson.
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- No gas tax? National EV subsidies threatened? There are effective, low cost ways local governments can reduce emissions from gas powered cars.
- I have some good news. Trade Talks is back. tradetalkspodcast.com (Hi @chadbown.bsky.social )
- With recent events, state climate policy matters more. Fullerton and Ta find that after states tighten their renewable portfolio standards (red line), CO2 emissions decline (left axis), but not statistically significantly, and not by more for states with more renewable potential.
- Yes. And Todd Gerarden's paper at ASSA nicely shows how US Tariffs on solar panels have (a) increased US manufacturing a little, (b) decreased US installations by more, (c) reduced consumer benefits by more than producer gains, (d) all at enormous environmental cost. www.aeaweb.org/conference/2...
- How did he know in 2021? "A victory by the Republican Party, under a new Trumpian leader in 2024, reversed this modest progress on climate change policy, and .... nationalist policies precluded collection action and actively undermined common climate goals." Mackintosh, Climate Crisis Economics
- For context next time a student asks for an extension due to family circumstances .... Bashar al-Assad's eldest son defended his doctoral dissertation in mathematics last week at Moscow State U.
- A non-environmental externality. 60% of students admit to cheating on college work, but the majority of professors don't see or ignore academic misconduct. My take: Lax profs impose an externality on diligent colleagues. www.chronicle.com/article/chea...
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- Be a mentor or a scholar. It's a great program, plus you get a coveted, status-bestowing, green, name-tag lanyard. Info session 12/14 at 3pm EST.
- Is there an economic explanation for why Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis would lobby to *keep* Biden's fuel economy standards? Are the standards still protectionist despite the less steep footprint slope for cars? Maybe due to the car/light truck distinction? www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/c...
- An *excellent* point-by-point demolition of arguments for across-the-board tariffs. Follow-up question: If you were a polar bear and cared only about climate change, which would be worse, across-the-board tariffs or tariffs targeted at climate-friendly technologies like EVs and solar panels?
