A common error is to think that markets only deliver desirable outcomes under "perfect" conditions. Friedrich Hayek argued differently. My
@PLOSONE
paper with
@BrianCAlbrecht
and
@PeterBoettke
examines the theory and the evidence from field experiments.
A common error is to think that markets only deliver desirable outcomes under "perfect" conditions. Friedrich Hayek argued differently. My paper with
@BrianCAlbrecht
and
@PeterBoettke
examines the theory and the evidence from field experiments.
People love to think that expelling foreigners creates jobs for nationals, but it's not that simple. When your economy is built on low cost labor, deeper structural reforms are necessary to create jobs.
At this point, I think it's worth writing a piece analyzing the millions of pieces analyzing Biden's visit to KSA - a meta-analysis, if you will. The sheer volume of think tank and newspaper resources dedicated to the issue is mind-boggling and merits a sociology PhD thesis!
For fans of purely points based immigration systems that keep the non-elite out, the US Open final is between two descendants of immigrants whose parents may have not made the cut. Geniuses are often the descendants of "ordinary" immigrants. Cherry picking is hard.
@AlexNowrasteh
There are many reasons why western grassroots solidarity with Ukrainians is higher than with Arabs, including ethnocentricism. However, the uncomfortable truth for Arabs is that the democratic nature of the Ukrainian government is an important factor.
My article: Arabs need more research grants and fewer research prizes
...a grant is especially unappealing in social sciences, where the grant might result in social commentary that makes the granting institution look bad...
If you are trained in orthodox economics and want to understand Austrian economics through an orthodox lens, then
@BrianCAlbrecht
is always the right place to start.
What is the relationship between entrepreneurship and equilibrium?
In a new paper with
@GuthmannR
, we develop a simple model of *Kirznerian* entrepreneurship. Instead of acting in isolation, we embed entrepreneurship in a competitive game.
My article:
#Arabs
don’t do enough research on
#MiddleEast
#security
... in the ME, some scholars risk death by openly questioning the government. The result is low-grade scholarship that reads more like a government press release...
What's going on in Russia is a timely reminder to Middle Easterners that the willingness of external commentators with large social media followings to overestimate their understanding of a topic extends well beyond our region. The levels of self-belief on display are staggering.
My
@AlArabiya_Eng
article: The Gulf needs fewer project managers and more thinkers
The Gulf countries are obsessed with pushy project managers who can “get things done.” 1/6
One lesson that the
#GCC
countries should have learned by now is that if you want to influence western policymakers, spending on
#PR
and foreign think tank scholars is insufficient. You need your own scholars to be highly respected figures who are cited by other scholars. 1/3
My
@AlArabiya_Eng
article: Secular white Westerners misunderstand the Saudi
#football
league
@SPL_EN
Westerners raised in the tradition of the separation of religion and state can be very tolerant of religion, and can have very woke outward opinions
My
@AlArabiya_Eng
article: Why Western newspapers infrequently quote locals on MENA affairs
Despite their efforts, the elite Western reporters stationed in the region produce articles where the opinions of local experts tend to be underexposed. 1/7
The key extract from my article: "Video conferencing software such as
@Skype
and
@zoom_us
is a great substitute for face-to-face meetings from a technical perspective, but it massively undermines the ability of meetings to make people feel important."
One of many examples that exposes the flaws of points based immigration programs: sometimes, the game changing geniuses are children of immigrants who possess ordinary profiles. If you insist on cherry picking the stars on arrival you miss many stars in the making
@AlexNowrasteh
I am happy to report that I will be writing a regular weekly column for
@AlArabiya_Eng
. I am really looking forward to working with
@7yhy
and the rest of the team to realize the mission of balanced and informative analysis of the
#Gulf
economy
My latest
@nberpubs
paper with
@Econ_4_Everyone
and Chien-Yu Lai: "A Simple Rational Expectations Model of the Voltage Effect"
This paper shows how people behaving rationally can lead to small experiments failing to scale, undermining evidence-based policy
This list is technically accurate, but it vastly understates
@PeterBoettke
's contribution to the development of his fellow academics because it omits the support he provides to his junior professorial colleagues who were never his students. I am one of the people fortunate enough
Todos os alunos do
@PeterBoettke
1 Konstantin Zhukov
2 Sarah M. Moore
3 Rodney H. Yerger
4 Dillon Tauzin
5 Kaitlyn Woltz
6 John Kroencke
7 Clara jace
8 Stewart J Dompe
9 Ennio piano
10 Raymond C. Niles,
11 Ion sterpan
12 Megan teague
13 Anna faria
14 Rosolino candela
🧵My
@AlArabiya_Eng
article:
#Arab
intellectuals will ensure the failure of Arab nationalism 2.0
Arab intellectuals’ persistent inability to provide an effective economic model will condemn the pan-Arab renaissance to failure.
قرار إغلاق المتاجر مؤلم جداً لأصحاب المتاجر وللموظفين، لا سيما الوافدين. ينبغي على من لديه قدرة مالية أن يتبرع لمن يواجه صعوبات، لا سيما الوافدين الذين هم بعيدون عن عوائلهم وهم تحت رحمة الشعب البحريني. اتقوا النار ولو بشق تمرة.
#Kuwait
is decreasing the number of expats who live and work there. I sincerely hope that this is part of a structured economic strategy, based on rigorous analysis. I hope that it is not just a knee-jerk effort to satisfy the demands of xenophobes.
Young people didn't see the damage caused by pre-1990 socialism and are now veering left. It is important to advance the debate on this issue scientifically. Here is a well-executed paper; hopefully it will spur constructive responses and further research.
في اخر ٣٠ سنة، طلع جيل من الخليجيين تبنى الثقافة الغربية على حساب الثقافة العربية، وتبرى من اللغة العربية، وتصور ان المجتمعات الغربية سترحب به. الان، في الجو الراهن، من لم يحصل على جوازا غربيا يجد نفسه ضائعا، عائش في دولة لا يعرف ثقافتها، والدولة التي يرغب فيها لا ترغب فيه
ورقتي الجديدة (
@Derasatbh
): "نحو فهم كيفية تأثير فايروس #الكورونا على #الاقتصاد_العالمي: دليل لغير الاقتصاديين"
ورقة طويلة ورصينة تقدم بيانات تفصيلية حول الضرر الاقتصادي الذي حدث، فضلاً عن تكهنات حول الضرر المستقبلي. والورقة مانسبة لغير المختصين.
My article: The Gulf should emulate the
#US
@federalreserve
#research
division
The Fed employs hundreds of full-time PhD economists because its principals realizes something many of their peers in the Gulf do not... 1/8
في الغرب، يوجد الكثير من الاتراك والفرس يعملون في جامعاتهم وصحفهم وشركاتهم الكبيرة، ويحافظون على هويتهم الأصلية. عدد الخليجيين العاملين في مناصب مهمة في الخارج ضعيف جدا، وفي تلك الحالات عادة يسعون للابتعاد عن هويتهم الخليجية. هذا احد اسباب ضعف التعاطف الدولي معنا
Democrats see themselves as being greater adherents to science than Republicans, yet in the case of student loans, the rejection of science by supporters is stark.
I do not understand why paying off student loans is a hot button progressive issue. Why those loans as opposed to (say) credit cards, payday, auto, mortgage, etc?
My article:
#Inflation
is an opportunity to recalibrate
#Gulf
public sector salaries
There are no rich career civil servants in highly innovative countries like the
#UK
, and this is not a coincidence that the Gulf countries should simply brush off.
The worst thing about the China-Iran-KSA deal is the fact that it surprised most analysts who therefore now feel compelled to share their ill-informed and poorly formulated hot takes
While
#GCC
labor markets differ from their western counterparts in many important ways, one shared feature is the widespread myth that getting rid of skilled migrants will make jobs magically appear for nationals.
اذا توفقت بوظيفة وراتب وأسرة فلا بد ان تكون أيام #رمضان سعيدة لك. ولكن هناك من خسر وظيفته أو انخفض راتبه أو هو محروم من رؤية أسرته لأنه يعمل بعيدا عنها لأجل معيشته. واجب على الفئة الأولى ان تساعد الفئة الثانية، ماليا ومعنويا وبالدعاء. اتقوا النار ولو بشق تمرة.
In most Western think tank events on Gulf issues, you will find almost zero Gulfies in the audience. My
@AlArabiya_Eng
article explains why this self-marginalization is bad, and why it comes about.
I'm writing a long paper explaining the economic impact of the
#CoronavirusPandemic
, and
@Derasatbh
will publish it next week. In the meantime, I will share some teaser
#Infographics
in this thread. I will try to post one a day, for those interested.
In the
#Gulf
, there is a surplus of nationals who are project managers, and a deficit of those who execute project (developers, engineers, etc.), with foreigners doing the actual work. (1/2)
In
#western
countries, for a significant proportion of students, the
#PhD
is the beginning of their career as productive researchers, and they will continue to write better papers. In the
#Gulf
, in almost all cases, the PhD is the last piece of
#research
they will do!
Arab countries have a massive talent allocation problem. There is a huge volume of latent talent that is underutilized and denied the opportunity to surface because incompetent officials rightly fear for their positions. Massive improvements in performance can be achieved... 1/2
في #الخليج، يتصور الناس أن المواطنين بفضلون الأجانب البيض لأسباب نفسية (التصور أن البيض أحسن). ليس هذا السبب الرئيس. السبب الحقيقي هو أن في المنظمات، الرؤساء الضعفاء يوظفون الأجانب لإخفاء نقاط ضعفهم ولضمان استمرارية تحكمهم بالمنظمة.
أتفق مع سعادة الوزير من ناحية وجود ثغرة في تحليل الغربيين، ولكنه يوحي بأن الخطأ يعود إليهم. أنا أرى أن الخطأ الرئيس من الأكاديميين الخليجيين، الذين ينجزون بحوثاً ضعيفة وغير مؤثرة حول منطقتهم، غير مقبولة في الدوريات المحكمة الدولية، ولا تستحق الاقتباس عموماً (توجد استثناءات طبعاً)
عدد كبير من الأكاديميين الغربيين المختصين في شؤون الخليج العربي أسرى نظريات وقوالب جامدة. قراءتهم للمنطقة تعاني من الاستصغار والإعتقاد المسبق بأن تطورنا واستقرارنا يحاكي التجارب الغربية وسياقها التاريخي، أرى نماذج ذلك في قراءتهم للسعودية والإمارات.
الحمدلله نزل راتبي لشهر مارس بشكل كامل. هناك كثيرون لم يتوفقوا. واجب على جميع الذين توفقوا ان يساعدوا من لم يتوفق. تعامل مع راتبك الكامل كاختبار من رب العالمين حول مدى استعدادك لدعم المحتاجين. حتى ١% من راتبك يعد تبرعا جيدا، قد ينقذ من يواجه ظروفا صعبة. اتقوا النار ولو بشق تمرة.
As a polarized and politically open society, these kind of leaks are inevitable, as disgruntled civil servants will seek to embarrass the incumbent. This also suggests to me that the US did NOT attack Nordstream, since that would have leaked a long time ago.
The latest US intel leak is the biggest in a decade and incredibly damaging. US has been spying on enemies and allies alike. The docs show CIA’s strong SIGINT capabilities, Ukraine’s desperately vulnerable status & what USA’s allies are secretly thinking. Some takeaways 🧵
I consider myself very fortunate to be able to call
@PeterBoettke
a friend, colleague, and coauthor. His enthusiasm is infectious, and his productivity a model for all aspiring researchers. This honor is richly deserved.
في الخليج هناك فائض من مواطنين متخصصين في إدارة المشاريع ونقص من مواطنين متخصصين في تنفيذ المشاريع (المبرمجون، المهندسون، الخ) وتعود هذه المهمة لأجانب. والأسوأ هو أن الخليجي الذي يدير مشروعاً مبنياً على جهود أجانب يتصور أنه قائد عظيم لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه، يحلم أن يكون وزيراً!
#COVID19
: Leaders in the west needs to update their definition of “human rights” to focus on psychological & social well-being.
Read my new op-ed on the lessons from Saudi leaders for taking human rights to the next level: Happiness & fulfillment for all.
In my region (
#MiddleEast
), at every organizational level, I can barely think of an instance when a leader voluntarily steps down. This is one reason why so many organizations continue to stagnate. Leaders see their organizations as their personal realms.
Religion is associated with lots of evil behavior throughout the ages, but as communism and Nazism demonstrate plainly, secular humans are more than capable of senseless hatred and slaughter. The common element is humans, not any particular class of ideology
My
@GulfStatesInst
essay on why
#Bahrain
raised
#VAT
and why the available alternative options, such as a wealth tax or a tax on remittances, were worse.
In organizations in the
#Gulf
countries, it is amazing how much energy many managers and workers have for every activity EXCEPT the work specified in their job description. Conspiracies, gossip, boot-licking, and many other destructive activities; but work? No thanks!
In the coming weeks,
@GulfStatesInst
will be celebrating its fifth anniversary. I am proud to be a non-resident fellow at this fine institution, which I visited during April 2015 before it was cool :D
@kdiwaniya
@Ibishblog
@RayKaram
The
#GCC
just visited
#China
; China knows a lot about us, and we collectively know very little about it, which undermines our ability to get the best out of the relationship. My
@AlArabiya_Eng
article explores this issue.
في الخليج، عندما يهتم مدير ما أكثر بمزايا العمل (حجم المكتب، وجود حمام خاص، موقف سيارة بارز) من العمل نفسه، على الأرجح هذا الشخص لن يطور فريقه، وسيهمش جهودهم وينسب إنجازاتهم لنفسه، لأن قدراته ضعيفة، وربما حصل على المنصب بسبب علاقة وشخصية او عامل آخر لا بتعلق بالكفاءة.
My
@AlArabiya_Eng
article on why experts need to learn to stay in their lane if they want to regain people's trust. Experts are partially responsible for the disdain that many express toward experts; a dose of humility is required.
My latest article explores the weakness of rule of law in the Arab world, in contrast to the west where rich and powerful people like Holmes are held accountable for their crimes
Arab countries obsess over these rankings. If you enact reforms because you believe in their intrinsic value, canceling the report is no big deal. But if you were just fixated on the prestige of a high ranking, you will feel like your investment is gone.
#SaudiArabia
just decided to make work in
#ridesharing
companies exclusive to nationals. My
@GulfStatesInst
blog post from a month ago explains how this reflects Saudi's broader embrace of the sharing economy, as it sees it as a way of creating jobs.
One of the reasons women prefer to marry their cousins in the
#MiddleEast
is that it decreases the likelihood that they will be exploited or abused by their spouse, as the legal system doesn't always protect women.
My article explores this:
Unlike many western analysts,
@bmalsaif
gains nothing by hyperbolically exaggerating political developments. I agree with everything below. The truth is often mundane, so don't be seduced by those chasing clicks or eyeing a consulting gig as an "expert" on our turbulent region.
Current Saudi-US spat is actually good news for both countries. Why so & where is the relationship heading? A thread.
Disagreement has an upside: it forces one to relearn/update info about the other side. No one remains static & this can’t be truer about Saudi right now.
1/12
Here is a personal anecdote that explains why think tanks are so important compared to the research units inside governmental entities. I've had the good fortune to coauthor research with top scholars in multiple disciplines, including economics. 1/10
My article on
#FakeNews
"The error made by many intellectuals is that they presume that everyone wants to know the truth, and that a technical solution can get rid of the false news. In fact, many people want fake news, both for themselves and for others."
As a citizen of
#Bahrain
I am going to renew my call for the
#Bahamas
to change its name so that Bahrain is the first selection that appears when you hit the "B" button on the "Country" drop-down menu. Having to hit the down arrow doubles the required keyboard strikes; exhausting
Our low quality research is what creates a vacuum that is filled by external scholars. We squander the opportunity to be the experts on our region through bad decisions at the individual, institutional, and governmental levels.
Today the Mercatus Center at George Mason University announces a series of prizes through its Emergent Ventures program for innovators working to combat COVID-19. These prizes are an effort to stimulate innovation in the face of a pandemic. Learn more:
I saw this and immediately thought of how many pathetic managers exist in our region who are:
1) Incompetent
2) Know they are incompetent (deep down)
3) Correctly see someone else's strength as a threat to their authority
These people are beyond rehabilitation...
@clairlemon
Some academics/media are so antiimperialist that they are willing to side with murderous dictators in my region (
#MiddleEast
) against their own country. The
#MeToo
and
#BLM
protests have given them a new stick with which to beat the west. Migration data tell a different story...
Note to Arabs and Muslims: when you invest in science and knowledge as the Abbasids did, and lead the world in them, you also become the richest in the world.
According to new Maddison project data, the richest country in year 1 was Italy (obviously, using more or less current national borders) with PPP dollar income of 1407; in year 1000, the richest was Iraq (Mesopotamia) with $1466.
Today, I'm delivering a Lebanese Institute for Market Studies workshop on why excessive public sector hiring is bad for the economy. This is the picture I am using for the cover slide.