book
by Joe Studwell
Studwell's answer to why Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China got rich while the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia stalled: land reform that turned peasants into high-yield smallholders, industrial policy that subsidised manufacturers only so long as they could export, and financial control that steered capital to both. A pointed rebuttal to the Washington Consensus that development economists are still arguing with.
February 16, 2026
An EconTalk episode on America's WWII production miracle, Gwern's scaling hypothesis revisited, and Scott Alexander introduces the AI 2027 scenario.
July 13, 2026
Scott Alexander's team publishes its plan for AI going well, Joel Mokyr defends his Nobel thesis, and Ted Gioia argues the Odyssey belongs in the music department.
January 26, 2026
Doug Irwin explains tariffs on EconTalk, Noah Smith makes the case for tariffs on China, and Tyler Cowen tracks AI in the productivity numbers.
