archive
2024
Harris’s Agenda is Vastly Better for the U.S. Economy
Escaping from Anaconda's Stranglehold on macOS
Inflation is About 2.8% and Still Falling
2023
News from TPFKAT (The Platform Formerly Known as Twitter)
Seasonality Matters for Inflation
It Would be Crazy to Raise Rates
Flying by the Seat Powell's Pants?
Even More Good News about Inflation
If your AI is so great at coding, why is your software so buggy?
Looting, Silicon Valley Edition
Inflation Is Still Down ... But By Less
Still Looks Like Inflation Decreased
2022
Looting as the Endgame of the Entirely Predictable Crypto Collapse
Inflation, Employment, and Wages in the Current Recovery
Theories, Facts, and Lisa Cook
2021
Recent Timeline for the Doing Business Scandal
Political Overreach, Diminished Credibility
Infrequent Events and Proxy Indicators
The Risk of Infection is the Canary in the Coal Mine
The Implicit Bias of Vaccine Effectiveness
Protecting Democracy from Unchecked Political Power
2020
Statement for House Budget Committee Hearing on Federal R&D.
The Most Important Policy Decision In Our Lifetimes
The True Cost of a Virus Test is $10 not $100
FAQs on Virus Tests In Schools
The American Academy of Pediatrics Challenges CDC Guidance on Schools
The FDA's Perpetual Process Machine
$11 billion for Testing by States Could Run Out in 8 Days
Roadmap to Responsibly Reopen America
Even A Bad Test Can Help Guide the Decision to Isolate: Covid Simulations Part 3
2019
FAQs on Targeted Digital Ad Tax
FT Op-Ed: Recommendations for World Bank
Nobel Lecture: On the possibility of progress
The Deep Structure of Economic Growth
2018
There is more to the Gender Gap than the Partisan Divide
Jupyter, Mathematica, and the Future of the Research Paper
My Email Quoted by the Financial Times
My Unclear Comments about the Doing Business Report
2017
Clear and Precise Scientific Communication
Congratulations to Dick Thaler on Winning the Nobel Prize!
2016
Possible Responses to the Refugee Crisis
Letter from an Aspiring Macroeconomist (with response)
Trouble with Macroeconomics, Update
The Trouble With Macroeconomics
Why It Makes Sense for an M.D. to Lead the World Bank
Everybody wants progress; nobody wants change
Abstraction vs. Radical Specificity
Professionalism and the Academic Division of Labor
My New Position as Chief Economist at the World Bank
The Deep Structure of Economic Growth
Martha Derthick and Policymaking for Social Security
2015
Where has all the excludability gone?
Speeding-up and Missed Opportunities: Evidence
Science Really Works: A Prize for A Careful Optimist
Clear Writing Produces Clearer Thoughts
Let them come and they will build it
The Transcendent Differences of Politics
An Indicator of Tribalism in Macroeconomics
The Clinical-Bench Science Distinction in Macro
What Went Wrong in Macro - Historical Details
What Went Wrong in Macro - Overview
Stigler Conviction vs. Feynman Integrity
Freshwater Feedback Part 1: "Everybody does it"
Using Math to Obfuscate -- Observations from Finance
The Norms of Politics: Ferguson and Ehrlich
Recapping: Science, Politics, and Mathiness
The Assumptions in Growth Theory
Why the Mathiness in Lucas (2009) Matters
Illustrating Mathiness - Code Analogy
Needs More Math Needs More Cowbell
Valid criticism of things I've written about mathiness
Mathiness and Academic Identity
It's not nice to fool your colleagues
Protecting the Norms of Science in Economics
Ed Prescott is No Robert Solow, No Gary Becker
Lucas on blueprints as physical capital
My Paper "Mathiness in the Theory of Economic Growth"
Urbanization Passes the Pritchett Test
The Rise and Decline of Science
Interview on Urbanization, Charter Cities and Growth Theory
Re: NYTimes and Missing Black Men
2014
The Challenge of the City: Paul Romer, Richard Florida and Robert Sampson
Conversations on Urbanization: Paul Romer and Ed Glaeser
Conversations on Urbanization: Mark Kleiman & Paul Romer
The Great Crime Wave & the Tragedy of Mass Incarceration
2013
Unlocking Land Values for Infrastructure in Ahmedabad
Conversations on Urbanization: Paul Romer and Bill Bratton
Charter Cities: New Cities. More Choices. Better Rules.
The NYU Stern Urbanization Project
Housing in China: Large vs Small Cities
Is Detroit Denser than Denver?
Small Stakes, Good Measurement
Urbanization versus GDP per Capita
Alternative Narratives about Chinese Urbanization
Conversations on Urbanization: Paul Romer and David Miller
Why I Wouldn’t Live in a Privately Run City
Conversations on Urbanization: Enrique Penalosa and Paul Romer
2012
"The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers" [Foreign Policy]
Federating Up Versus Devolving Down
"Charter Cities: Unchartered Territory" [The Economist]
"Can Importing Well-Run Cities...Lift the World From Poverty?" [FC]
"Who Wants to Buy Honduras?" [The New York Times Magazine]
2011
VIDEO: "Paul Romer ZURICH.MINDS" [Zurich Minds]
Glass House Conversations: The Case for New Cities
"N.Y.U. Lands Top Economist for Cities Project" [NYT]
VIDEO: "The World's First Charter City?" [TED]
"Future Cities Need to Hand Over the Keys" [CFR]
"The Quest for a 'Charter City'" [The Wall Street Journal]
2010
Justice Has Been Delayed and Denied For Too Long
Lübeck as the First Charter City
"The Politically Incorrect Guide to Ending Poverty" [The Atlantic]
"Paul Romer's Bold New Idea for Charter Cities" [CGD]
Enfranchising the Jamaican Diaspora
Charter Cities Versus Humanitarian Military Occupation
2009
Meta-Rules: Base Realignment and Closure Commission
Rules and Culture: Corruption in Hong Kong
Skyhooks versus Cranes: The Nobel Prize For Elinor Ostrom
Which City Charter Was Established by Treaty in 1984?
How Many Charter Cities Can Succeed?
"High Five with Paul Romer" [Forbes]
Why Isn't Investment Already Taking Place?
Rules Change: North vs. South Korea
Fish Proverb v2.0 (Bringing in Rules)
Map Showing the World's Lights At Night
Why the World Needs Charter Cities
A Theory of History, With An Application
2006
"The Growth of Growth Theory" [The Economist]
1997
"TIME's 25 Most Influential Americans" [TIME Magazine]
"For Economist Paul Romer, Prosperity Depends on Ideas" [WSJ]