Best of #econtwitter - Week of October 12, 2025: paper summaries
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Instrumental variable
13 min read
The article references 'AJR 2001's instrument' - this refers to the famous Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson paper that used settler mortality as an instrumental variable. Understanding IV estimation is crucial for interpreting the ongoing debate about this influential economics paper
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Daron Acemoglu
14 min read
AJR 2001 refers to the seminal paper by Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson on colonial origins of development. Acemoglu is one of the most cited economists and recent Nobel laureate, and understanding his work provides essential context for the debate referenced in the article
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Idiosyncratic favorites
^pollen delenda est?🤔
PWT version 11.0
More paper summaries
^can’t tell if this Buzzfeed-esque writing style is ironic or not
^@JustinSandefur: “Economists believe AJR 2001 -- even if they don’t believe AJR 2001’s instrument.”
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