Michael Clemens
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Michael Clemens
@mclem.org
21K followers 3.1K following 3.8K posts

Professor of economics at George Mason University, fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics, IZA, CReAM/UCL, CEPR, CGD. Associate Editor JEP. USAID 2021–2024. Personal views exclusively.

Web: http://mclem.org
ORCID: 0000-0003-1354-0965 .. more

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Michael Andrew Clemens is an American economist who studies international migration and global economic development.

Source: Wikipedia
Economics 40%
Sociology 24%
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Michael Clemens @mclem.org · Feb 21
Migration does not have to be what it is now

Innovation can change what migration *is*—more orderly, skilled, integrated, & tangibly beneficial to everyone affected

In 2012 I proposed one way: Global Skill Partnerships

The World Bank just released a major GSP roadmap—> hdl.handle.net/10986/42780

Reposted by Michael A. Clemens, Scott A. Imberman, Matthew P. McAllister

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 1d
Very, very bad

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 1d
Congratulations Delia! 👏👏👏 And this research program you initiated years ago could not be more timely.

Reposted by Michael A. Clemens

deliafurtado.bsky.social
Delia Furtado @deliafurtado.bsky.social · 1d
And finally published in most recent JHR, my paper (with Francesc Ortega) on the topic: jhr.uwpress.org/content/61/1/1. Immigrant inflows lead to improvements in care quality in nursing homes. I knew immigrants were important, but to see now impacts on mortality is quite striking.
Does Immigration Improve Quality of Care in Nursing Homes?
We explore how immigration can help mitigate nursing home staffing shortages, which are likely to worsen as baby boomers age. We show that local increases in immigration lead to fewer falls, less use ...
jhr.uwpress.org

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 1d
I have been there and I wish you the very best with those huge challenges. Our government should be *helping* you.

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 1d
Elderly Americans depend heavily on care work, and our entire care work sector depends heavily on the skills and labor of immigrants.

When elderly Americans cannot get proper care, they are at risk of harm and even death. Regardless of their preferences about politicians or immigration policy.
nber.org NBER @nber.org · 1d
More immigration into the US raises the number of health care workers and saves the lives of older Americans, from David C. Grabowski, Jonathan Gruber, and Brian E. McGarry www.nber.org/papers/w34791

Reposted by Michael A. Clemens, Tony Addison, Christian E. Weller , and 1 more

nber.org
NBER @nber.org · 1d
More immigration into the US raises the number of health care workers and saves the lives of older Americans, from David C. Grabowski, Jonathan Gruber, and Brian E. McGarry www.nber.org/papers/w34791

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 1d
Our American elections are free, fair, and secure. The White House's weird conspiracy theories about our elections are fabricated and have been thrown out of court again, and again, and again.

They are solely a pretext for interference in our voting, which will harm *all* Americans Right+Left.
walterolson.bsky.social Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 1d
A number of states have undertaken investigations into noncitizen voting, cross-checking voter rolls with citizenship status. They've found it virtually nonexistent, writes Stephen Richer, former Maricopa County (Arizona) chief election official who's now with Harvard's Kennedy School and @cato.org.
Trump’s Claims About Noncitizens Voting Are False. We Can Prove It.
A number of states have undertaken investigations into noncitizen voting, cross-checking voter rolls with citizenship status, and found it virtually nonexistent.
www.cato.org

Reposted by Michael A. Clemens

walterolson.bsky.social
Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 1d
A number of states have undertaken investigations into noncitizen voting, cross-checking voter rolls with citizenship status. They've found it virtually nonexistent, writes Stephen Richer, former Maricopa County (Arizona) chief election official who's now with Harvard's Kennedy School and @cato.org.
Trump’s Claims About Noncitizens Voting Are False. We Can Prove It.
A number of states have undertaken investigations into noncitizen voting, cross-checking voter rolls with citizenship status, and found it virtually nonexistent.
www.cato.org

Reposted by Michael A. Clemens

irishtimes.com
The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · 1d
Several Irish citizens detained by Ice in US sought official help, says Government
Several Irish citizens detained by Ice in US sought official help, says Government
Taoiseach says he will raise concerns about treatment of undocumented Irish with Donald Trump in Washington
www.irishtimes.com

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 2d
Conservatism, a definition
Conservatism | Religion and Philosophy | Research Starters | EBSCO Research
<p>Conservatism is a political philosophy that emphasizes the importance of traditional social structures and resists rapid or radical changes to established government and societal systems. Predomina...
www.ebsco.com

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 2d
The US Administration ordered her to seized off the street by masked agents, imprisoned incognito for weeks, all for thoughtfully expressing an opinion with zero advocacy of violence or harm to anyone.

Sickening, anti-Conservative, anti-constitutional, anti-American.

We are far better than this.
wsj.com The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 2d
An immigration court dropped its case against Turkish graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk, a little less than a year after federal agents arrested her on a street near Tufts University
Immigration Court Drops Case Against Tufts Student Rumeysa Ozturk
The Turkish national had been arrested by plainclothes federal officers outside her apartment.
on.wsj.com

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 2d
Our world-leading universities sustain innovation and accountability to facts—and, yes, dissent—bedrock for economic dynamism and democracy.

Authoritarian rule will harm all Americans. No ‘side’ will benefit from reckless, anti-Conservative vandalism.
thesteadystate.org The Steady State @thesteadystate.org · 2d
Authoritarian governments always go after universities first, b/c free inquiry produces critics. Canceling Harvard’s military education programs and dressing it up as “building lethality” is about keeping future officers away from independent centers of thought that might question Trump’s power.

Reposted by Michael A. Clemens

thesteadystate.org
The Steady State @thesteadystate.org · 2d
Authoritarian governments always go after universities first, b/c free inquiry produces critics. Canceling Harvard’s military education programs and dressing it up as “building lethality” is about keeping future officers away from independent centers of thought that might question Trump’s power.

Reposted by Marc Lynch, Michael A. Clemens, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 5 more

wsj.com
The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 2d
An immigration court dropped its case against Turkish graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk, a little less than a year after federal agents arrested her on a street near Tufts University
Immigration Court Drops Case Against Tufts Student Rumeysa Ozturk
The Turkish national had been arrested by plainclothes federal officers outside her apartment.
on.wsj.com

Reposted by Reece Jones, Michael A. Clemens, Pierre Bataille , and 3 more

chloeneast.bsky.social
Chloe N East (she/her) @chloeneast.bsky.social · 2d
New @nber.org paper with @caitlinpatler.bsky.social &
@elizabethacox.bsky.social out!

We examine how ICE arrests differ in Trump 2.0 vs. 1.0

Key Findings 🧵

1) MANY more arrests in Trump 2.0 than 1.0

2) When arrests spike, % arrested w criminal conviction falls

www.nber.org/papers/w3479...

Reposted by Linda J. Skitka

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 2d
Veneer of Normalcy, by the awesome @jensorensen.bsky.social

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 2d
A correct statement that we could extend as: vast waste and loss diffused over a large population, with benefits so concentrated that the beneficiaries could be listed on a page or two.
Selectorate theory - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org

Reposted by Ashish Arora, Aaron Sojourner

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 2d
This is an obvious and egregious perversion of our immigration enforcement system. Among many.

When public officials entrusted with the power to seize and imprison our family members are not accountable for flagrant abuses of that power, everyone in America loses. Every Conservative, every Liberal.

Reposted by Elizabeth Saunders, David Lazer, Will Jennings , and 23 more

klillington.bsky.social
Karlin Lillington @klillington.bsky.social · 2d
And here is my story: ‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September

www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
Seamus Culleton has been in a detention facility in Texas for nearly five months despite having no criminal record
www.irishtimes.com

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 3d
Our institutions are the taproot of America’s stability and prosperity.

The Congress’s decision to cease enforcement its constitutional oversight duties, and of its own laws, will come to harm *all* Americans, Conservative and Liberal.
profmsinha.bsky.social Manisha Sinha @profmsinha.bsky.social · 4d
Historian here: “A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody."

— Thomas Paine

Reposted by Ashish Arora

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 4d
I’ve learned so much from Jake Vigdor’s pioneering work. And I am terribly sad to read his shattering, beautiful tribute to the daughter he just lost.
In Memory: Juliana Alene Vigdor
Celebrating a life that is only over in one sense.
jacobvigdor.substack.com

Reposted by Michael A. Clemens, Karin Wulf

profmsinha.bsky.social
Manisha Sinha @profmsinha.bsky.social · 4d
Historian here: “A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody."

— Thomas Paine

Reposted by Richard E. Lenski, Michael A. Clemens, Nathan P. Kalmoe

mbkplus.bsky.social
Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 5d
This is what the most distant confirmed galaxy looks like. The light we're receiving was emitted when the Universe was ~15x smaller in linear size than today, and right now it's ~30 billion light-years away from us. The light was emitted when the Universe was <300 million years old. Pretty amazing!
coreyspowell.bsky.social Corey S. Powell @coreyspowell.bsky.social · 5d
News from the edge of the visible universe:

JWST has confirmed this galaxy, MoM-z14, as the most distant one yet studied. We're seeing it as it was 13.5 billion years ago, 98% of the way back to the beginning of time.

(MoM stands for "miracle or mirage.") 🧪🔭

science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
The galaxy designated MoM-z14 is currently the farthest galaxy ever detected, spotted by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and confirmed spectroscopically with its NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) instrument. Through Webb, we are seeing this galaxy as it appeared in the distant past, only 280 million years after the universe began in the big bang. Its light has traveled through space for more than 13 billion years to reach us. Like some other galaxies Webb has discovered in the early universe, MoM-z14 is brighter, more compact, and more chemically enriched than astronomers expected to find in this early era. While it may pass out of record books quickly as the farthest galaxy, MoM-z14 will still play a role in helping astronomers and theorists reach new understanding of the earliest chapters in the universe’s story.

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 6d
💯

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 6d
A long story but a major quibble is that capital tax revenue goes far beyond corporate tax. It’s also dividends, capital gains, corporate property tax (which is most prop tax paid in the US), sales taxes paid on items bought with capital income, and others. Immigrants cause *all* of that by working.

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 6d
The United States is not a trashy dictatorship.

Our tax dollars, which we give both by force and sense of duty, are exclusively for wise stewardship of the public good. They are not the playthings of old men’s pathetic cravings.

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 6d
Thank you. Yes I always thought it was odd, even bizarre that the National Academies report starts out with average cost pricing of all public goods. As if the US Embassy in Paris costs more to operate when a Honduran crosses into Texas! As you say, only marginal cost makes sense.

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner, Gerald Friedman

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 6d
The United States is under the rule of law.

Prosecuting someone who has not broken a law is NOT AT ALL “up to the President”.

It is far past time for our flaccid Congress to act in defense of our Constitution. Its ongoing suspension harms *all* Americans, Conservative and Liberal.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 6d
WARREN: This should be an easy one. Can you commit that Trump's Fed nominee will not be sued or investigated by the DOJ if he does not cut interest rates like Trump wants?

BESSENT: That's up to the president

W: You can't say he won't be criminally investigated? That's supposed to be the soft ball!

Reposted by Michael A. Clemens, Peter Bergman

laurenmeidasa.bsky.social
Lauren Ashley Davis @laurenmeidasa.bsky.social · 6d
BREAKING 🚨 🚨 🚨

Trump promises Schumer funding for NY tunnel project if Penn Station and Dulles Airport are renamed after him

The startling offer, which was described by two people familiar with the conversation, was swiftly rejected by Schumer.

www.cnn.com/2026/02/05/p...
Trump promises Schumer funding for NY tunnel project — if Penn Station and Dulles Airport are renamed after him | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last month that he was finally prepared to drop his freeze on billions of dollars in funding for a major New York infrastructure projec...
www.cnn.com