Chris Blattman
@cblatts
Followers
102K
Following
12K
Media
1K
Statuses
32K
Economist & political scientist @UChicago @HarrisPolicy studying conflict & organized crime. My book is Why We Fight: https://t.co/pwWjDnYzvo
Chicago, IL
Joined September 2009
Actually that’s not quite right—there was a previous peak in 2012 and then staff freezes and attrition. Still, this all seems relevant for the reporting. 10 minutes with ChatGPT 03 Pro and I have a slightly better idea of the history of this. Shouldn’t be needed.
1
0
15
One thing missing from a lot of the reporting on State Dept cuts is that this will bring total hires back to the level of 2020, which itself was a peak level.
NEW: The State Department will begin firing personnel “soon” as Secretary of State Rubio implements his dramatic overhaul of the agency, according to an email from a top State Department official to staff.
2
20
62
Growth rates: .- Democracies: 2.4% .- Institutionalized autocracies: 2.31%.- Personalist autocracies: 1.37% . May seem subtle, but compounded over 50 years, that 1 percentage-point differences = 64% lower income.
0
6
32
What's behind this personalist penalty? It varies, but 3 main issues pop uo:. - Low private investment due to instability and fear of expropriation. - Poor public goods provision (education, healthcare). - Higher rates of social conflict, both internal and external.
1
2
18
We look at 8 autocracy measures and 6 personalism measures from 1960-2010. You don't see an autocratic penalty with every measure, but if you do, that bad performance in concentrated in personalist regimes.
1
1
13
Like unhappy families, few autocracies are alike. Lumping them together makes little sense. The most obvious difference to me: personalist versus institutional rule. Putin in 2000 was constrained. Putin in 2022 not so much. That matters.
2
2
13
2/ Famously, democracies grow faster than autocracies. Yes, some autocracies do spectacularly well. until they don't. Others perform horribly all the time. But this kind of analysis always bothered me: in a democracy-growth regression, why pool Lee Kwan Yew with Mobutu?
2
3
19
1/ New paper: Democracies only grow faster than autocracies because of personalist leaders. Bad things mainly happen in overcentralized, unchecked regimes. New from me, Scott Gehlbach & @arthurzeyangyu, The Personalist Penalty:.
3
72
251
RT @AlecStapp: Still hearing a lot about “Blue Zones” being the secret to longevity. But the theory was debunked a while ago. Areas of th….
0
135
0
Great to have smart principled people stepping up for the hard jobs. No one better than Anup.
I am excited to announce that I am starting a new position this week as Chief Economist at the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. I'll be on leave from the University of Chicago. The usual disclaimer applies: Any views I express here are not intended to reflect the.
1
0
13
RT @LaurenBinDC: Friday Fun Fact: Zohran's father, famed academic Mahmood Mamdani, came to the US from Uganda to study in 1963 as part of t….
0
10
0
RT @AEAjournals: Forthcoming in the JEL: "Difference-in-Differences Designs: A Practitioner’s Guide" by Andrew Baker, Brantly Callaway, Sco….
0
206
0
RT @rohanpaul_ai: ChatGPT literally saved this guy’s life after he got lost in the woods. The groupd got lost for 5 hrs in unmapped woods….
0
426
0
Wow.
How a Netanyahu wedding fooled Iran into complacency. I explained on @N12News:. The circle of secret partners was small, and the event with the Netanyahu family was much more significant, as there was also a wedding. Now, I want to say something about this surreal wedding.
1
0
5
Highly recommended interview.
When @krogoff first engaged with Chinese leadership in 2001, he was struck by their competence — and their openness to critical outside views. Early in the Xi era, he warned top Party leaders: Power is centralizing. This won’t be good for growth. Instead of punishing him,
1
0
10
Great interview between @gideonrachman and historian Rama Mitter on Xi Jinping’s life and career and why he’s pushing the political system into a personalistic one.
What drives China’s strongman? - Gideon Rachman
0
0
2
Maybe the best podcast episode on US politics that I have listened to all year. Mccarthy is surprisingly candid for a seated elected leader, and extremely thoughtful and well spoken. I wish more politicians could have conversations like this. No.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy: In Defence of Donald Trump (LEADING). @campbellclaret and @RoryStewartUK are joined by @SpeakerMcCarthy to discuss:. 🍊Is Trump Derangement Syndrome real?.🦊Why you underestimate Trump at your peril.💰Is there too much money in politics?
1
1
5