LT #16 - Top Links - September 2023
China stumbles, but why? Europe struggling. The war in Ukraine driving the world into increasing war footing. Hottest weather in history.
Apologies for being a bit late this month - I’ve been traveling on vacation, visiting family, and dancing. Note also: the naming convention will change to the current month when sent.
Assorted Links
Government stupidity is by design - A new form asking for simple facts about M&As has Wall Street up in arms. Illustrating how incomprehensible systems and inexplicable decisions are often the products of intention by private actors to undermine bureaucracy.
The social science of readings isn’t so clear - in which Matt Yglesias explains why, yes, phonics is the answer - but also why it’s not that simple. How long do you deliver it?
Book Review - The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich - detailing Hitler’s life and strategy.
Argentina’s economic dilemma - why a Peronist/Trump approach won’t work.
Big ideas aren’t enough - the failure of compassionate conservatism and their national policy rigor problem.
ACX August Top Links - always dozens of fascinating tidbits, including this on diverging life satisfaction among liberals and conservatives.
Chinese Slowdown
A great introductory explanation:
Whither China? - Adam Tooze with Chartbook has an incredible 4-part series:
War
Why isn’t Ukraine a global superpower? In which Arip Gupta asks the counterfactual question as to why has always been a proverbial punching bag when it has the richest agricultural lands and central geographic location.
Russia’s Long War Economy - where Tooze shows evidence that the Ukraine war is straining Russia, but not so much that Russia can’t sustain this war footing for many years - plausibly longer than western democracies are willing to back the Ukraine.
The State of Russia’s Wartime Economy and The Economics of Global Rearmament where Joesph Politano describes in detail the impacts of the Ukraine war and sanctions - both on the Russian economy and on global military budgets.
European Economy
Correcting the “Europe is Stagnant” narrative - it’s really about north vs south.
Europe’s fragile economic recovery - the pandemic, war in Ukraine, and Brexit - along with ongoing globalization and aging populations - have strained Europe. But not all outcomes are the same across the euro region… with significant variation.
Climate Change
Uncharted Territories: Climate Change Update - charts upon charts upon charts detailing the growing heat, mass extinctions, changes in ecosystems and more.
Deforestation is falling in Latin America - Sustainability by the Numbers
That’s all! See you next month!
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