Michael Clemens
@mclem.org
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
Web: http://mclem.org
ORCID: 0000-0003-1354-0965
The sharp decline in US teenagers’ aspiration to get married and have kids…
…is happening almost entirely among girls, not boys.
At some point maybe men will start trying harder to understand that.
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/... | HT @conradhackett.bsky.social @pewresearch.org
…is happening almost entirely among girls, not boys.
At some point maybe men will start trying harder to understand that.
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/... | HT @conradhackett.bsky.social @pewresearch.org
November 24, 2025 at 12:12 AM
The sharp decline in US teenagers’ aspiration to get married and have kids…
…is happening almost entirely among girls, not boys.
At some point maybe men will start trying harder to understand that.
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/... | HT @conradhackett.bsky.social @pewresearch.org
…is happening almost entirely among girls, not boys.
At some point maybe men will start trying harder to understand that.
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/... | HT @conradhackett.bsky.social @pewresearch.org
This is what the US Dept of Labor looked like last night.
In 1918, Teddy Roosevelt said:
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
In 1918, Teddy Roosevelt said:
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
November 21, 2025 at 3:27 PM
This is what the US Dept of Labor looked like last night.
In 1918, Teddy Roosevelt said:
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
In 1918, Teddy Roosevelt said:
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
The potential benefits of migration are not identical everywhere.
This remarkable new resource from @niskanencenter.bsky.social maps the US counties where the economic benefits of immigration might be highest —>
www.niskanencenter.org/mapping-amer...
This remarkable new resource from @niskanencenter.bsky.social maps the US counties where the economic benefits of immigration might be highest —>
www.niskanencenter.org/mapping-amer...
November 21, 2025 at 3:22 PM
The potential benefits of migration are not identical everywhere.
This remarkable new resource from @niskanencenter.bsky.social maps the US counties where the economic benefits of immigration might be highest —>
www.niskanencenter.org/mapping-amer...
This remarkable new resource from @niskanencenter.bsky.social maps the US counties where the economic benefits of immigration might be highest —>
www.niskanencenter.org/mapping-amer...
The Supreme Court meets today to consider the President's wish to suspend part of our Constitution: the 14th Amendment securing citizenship for US natives.
I joined with 95 other social scientists to document the costs of this act for the United States.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
I joined with 95 other social scientists to document the costs of this act for the United States.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 21, 2025 at 2:23 PM
The Supreme Court meets today to consider the President's wish to suspend part of our Constitution: the 14th Amendment securing citizenship for US natives.
I joined with 95 other social scientists to document the costs of this act for the United States.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
I joined with 95 other social scientists to document the costs of this act for the United States.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Hard to beat this discussant slide by force-of-nature @mushfiq-econ.bsky.social after I spoke at the IMF last Friday
November 19, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Hard to beat this discussant slide by force-of-nature @mushfiq-econ.bsky.social after I spoke at the IMF last Friday
TIL: When the New Horizons space probe visited Pluto, it was carrying the ashes of Pluto's discoverer, the farm boy turned self-taught astronomer Clyde Tombaugh.
November 15, 2025 at 9:45 PM
TIL: When the New Horizons space probe visited Pluto, it was carrying the ashes of Pluto's discoverer, the farm boy turned self-taught astronomer Clyde Tombaugh.
Easy opportunity for any journalist speaking to any immigration official of the US government:
Ask, “Can you please define the term, ‘remigration’?”
Ask, “Can you please define the term, ‘remigration’?”
November 13, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Easy opportunity for any journalist speaking to any immigration official of the US government:
Ask, “Can you please define the term, ‘remigration’?”
Ask, “Can you please define the term, ‘remigration’?”
This new book by Karen Jacobsen of the @fletcherschool.bsky.social is rich & deeply informed on a subject with no easy answers: how refugees are transforming cities across the Middle East.
She distills several lessons for host cities, from 25 years of research
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
She distills several lessons for host cities, from 25 years of research
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
November 7, 2025 at 1:11 AM
This new book by Karen Jacobsen of the @fletcherschool.bsky.social is rich & deeply informed on a subject with no easy answers: how refugees are transforming cities across the Middle East.
She distills several lessons for host cities, from 25 years of research
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
She distills several lessons for host cities, from 25 years of research
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
In need of a positive vision for the global future?
Me too.
Here is a new and important one, from the great thinker @drodrik.bsky.social. Just got my copy and can’t wait to dig in.
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Me too.
Here is a new and important one, from the great thinker @drodrik.bsky.social. Just got my copy and can’t wait to dig in.
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
November 4, 2025 at 10:59 PM
In need of a positive vision for the global future?
Me too.
Here is a new and important one, from the great thinker @drodrik.bsky.social. Just got my copy and can’t wait to dig in.
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Me too.
Here is a new and important one, from the great thinker @drodrik.bsky.social. Just got my copy and can’t wait to dig in.
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
It is now the policy of the United States government to invade any country on earth under the pretext of protecting Christians (but no other ethnic group).
It is the policy of the United States to “cherish” Christians (but members of no other faith).
It is the policy of the United States to “cherish” Christians (but members of no other faith).
November 1, 2025 at 9:28 PM
It is now the policy of the United States government to invade any country on earth under the pretext of protecting Christians (but no other ethnic group).
It is the policy of the United States to “cherish” Christians (but members of no other faith).
It is the policy of the United States to “cherish” Christians (but members of no other faith).
Here is the key passage:
"Emergencies are by their nature rare and brief, and are not to be equated with normal ongoing problems."
"Emergencies are by their nature rare and brief, and are not to be equated with normal ongoing problems."
October 30, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Here is the key passage:
"Emergencies are by their nature rare and brief, and are not to be equated with normal ongoing problems."
"Emergencies are by their nature rare and brief, and are not to be equated with normal ongoing problems."
International students *create* educational opportunities for US natives.
Each additional Chinese master's student causes enrollment of 0.26–0.44 additional native students, by funding/expanding master's programs.
New at @nber.org—> doi.org/10.3386/w34391
Ungated: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/giykh...
Each additional Chinese master's student causes enrollment of 0.26–0.44 additional native students, by funding/expanding master's programs.
New at @nber.org—> doi.org/10.3386/w34391
Ungated: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/giykh...
October 29, 2025 at 3:19 PM
International students *create* educational opportunities for US natives.
Each additional Chinese master's student causes enrollment of 0.26–0.44 additional native students, by funding/expanding master's programs.
New at @nber.org—> doi.org/10.3386/w34391
Ungated: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/giykh...
Each additional Chinese master's student causes enrollment of 0.26–0.44 additional native students, by funding/expanding master's programs.
New at @nber.org—> doi.org/10.3386/w34391
Ungated: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/giykh...
The large increase in steel tariffs under GW Bush did not cause an increase in steel-industry employment.
But it did hurt the US industries that use steel to make things, reducing employment there long after the tariffs were gone.
New in @aeajournals.bsky.social —> doi.org/10.1257/pol....
But it did hurt the US industries that use steel to make things, reducing employment there long after the tariffs were gone.
New in @aeajournals.bsky.social —> doi.org/10.1257/pol....
October 29, 2025 at 2:41 PM
The large increase in steel tariffs under GW Bush did not cause an increase in steel-industry employment.
But it did hurt the US industries that use steel to make things, reducing employment there long after the tariffs were gone.
New in @aeajournals.bsky.social —> doi.org/10.1257/pol....
But it did hurt the US industries that use steel to make things, reducing employment there long after the tariffs were gone.
New in @aeajournals.bsky.social —> doi.org/10.1257/pol....
The Statue of Liberty was dedicated 139 years ago today.
October 29, 2025 at 2:00 AM
The Statue of Liberty was dedicated 139 years ago today.
"We do not want to be dependent on the British government for support. We want to work and contribute. But the government does not allow us to work."
You hear about asylum seekers. Have you heard *from* them?
Via @gmiau.bsky.social —> gmiau.org/assets/uploa... HT @zoejardiniere.bsky.social
You hear about asylum seekers. Have you heard *from* them?
Via @gmiau.bsky.social —> gmiau.org/assets/uploa... HT @zoejardiniere.bsky.social
October 27, 2025 at 2:03 PM
"We do not want to be dependent on the British government for support. We want to work and contribute. But the government does not allow us to work."
You hear about asylum seekers. Have you heard *from* them?
Via @gmiau.bsky.social —> gmiau.org/assets/uploa... HT @zoejardiniere.bsky.social
You hear about asylum seekers. Have you heard *from* them?
Via @gmiau.bsky.social —> gmiau.org/assets/uploa... HT @zoejardiniere.bsky.social
Okay #EconSky, if you do any kind of spatial analysis, it's a good time to be alive
☞ A new, open-access global spatial database combining 73 harmonized datasets on the world population, its distribution in space, and its characteristics, 2015–2023:
doi.org/10.12688/ver...
☞ A new, open-access global spatial database combining 73 harmonized datasets on the world population, its distribution in space, and its characteristics, 2015–2023:
doi.org/10.12688/ver...
October 27, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Okay #EconSky, if you do any kind of spatial analysis, it's a good time to be alive
☞ A new, open-access global spatial database combining 73 harmonized datasets on the world population, its distribution in space, and its characteristics, 2015–2023:
doi.org/10.12688/ver...
☞ A new, open-access global spatial database combining 73 harmonized datasets on the world population, its distribution in space, and its characteristics, 2015–2023:
doi.org/10.12688/ver...
I wish I could go to this
Top comedy writers and economists using PowerPoints to make fun of econ, finance, and business
This Tuesday in NYC
caveat.nyc/events/econl... #EconSky
Top comedy writers and economists using PowerPoints to make fun of econ, finance, and business
This Tuesday in NYC
caveat.nyc/events/econl... #EconSky
October 26, 2025 at 5:43 PM
I wish I could go to this
Top comedy writers and economists using PowerPoints to make fun of econ, finance, and business
This Tuesday in NYC
caveat.nyc/events/econl... #EconSky
Top comedy writers and economists using PowerPoints to make fun of econ, finance, and business
This Tuesday in NYC
caveat.nyc/events/econl... #EconSky
Everyone in Washington DC, Republican and Democrat, can rest comfortably, knowing that this is precisely what the Framers of our Constitution intended.
From @economist.com —> www.economist.com/united-state...
From @economist.com —> www.economist.com/united-state...
October 25, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Everyone in Washington DC, Republican and Democrat, can rest comfortably, knowing that this is precisely what the Framers of our Constitution intended.
From @economist.com —> www.economist.com/united-state...
From @economist.com —> www.economist.com/united-state...
The economic effects of international students go far beyond their tuition dollars.
Many stay, innovate, & shape the productivity of the entire economy.
My co-authors & I estimate the impact of US international student exclusion policy in this new paper commissioned by the @nationalacademies.org.
Many stay, innovate, & shape the productivity of the entire economy.
My co-authors & I estimate the impact of US international student exclusion policy in this new paper commissioned by the @nationalacademies.org.
October 24, 2025 at 11:26 AM
The economic effects of international students go far beyond their tuition dollars.
Many stay, innovate, & shape the productivity of the entire economy.
My co-authors & I estimate the impact of US international student exclusion policy in this new paper commissioned by the @nationalacademies.org.
Many stay, innovate, & shape the productivity of the entire economy.
My co-authors & I estimate the impact of US international student exclusion policy in this new paper commissioned by the @nationalacademies.org.
I saw a comedian say: after 10 months, he hasn't figured out what "tariffs" are.
Bottom line: US tariffs are essentially sales taxes on lower-income and retired Americans.
The explicit goal+mechanism of tariffs is to force those people to pay more for the same products.
doi.org/10.1111/iere...
Bottom line: US tariffs are essentially sales taxes on lower-income and retired Americans.
The explicit goal+mechanism of tariffs is to force those people to pay more for the same products.
doi.org/10.1111/iere...
October 19, 2025 at 4:31 PM
I saw a comedian say: after 10 months, he hasn't figured out what "tariffs" are.
Bottom line: US tariffs are essentially sales taxes on lower-income and retired Americans.
The explicit goal+mechanism of tariffs is to force those people to pay more for the same products.
doi.org/10.1111/iere...
Bottom line: US tariffs are essentially sales taxes on lower-income and retired Americans.
The explicit goal+mechanism of tariffs is to force those people to pay more for the same products.
doi.org/10.1111/iere...
This is what the official website of the US Department of Agriculture, an agency whose job and duty is to represent the interests of all Americans, looks like currently.
www.usda.gov
Our US laws explicitly bar Administration officials from publishing political propaganda (5 U.S.C. §§ 7321–7326)
www.usda.gov
Our US laws explicitly bar Administration officials from publishing political propaganda (5 U.S.C. §§ 7321–7326)
October 17, 2025 at 3:21 PM
This is what the official website of the US Department of Agriculture, an agency whose job and duty is to represent the interests of all Americans, looks like currently.
www.usda.gov
Our US laws explicitly bar Administration officials from publishing political propaganda (5 U.S.C. §§ 7321–7326)
www.usda.gov
Our US laws explicitly bar Administration officials from publishing political propaganda (5 U.S.C. §§ 7321–7326)
The 'alternative economic data' from Apollo Global Management offers an indispensable window on the economy while the US government is hobbled & silent.
Look at what is happening to this leading indicator (perceived job scarcity) of recession and unemployment
www.apolloacademy.com/wp-content/u...
Look at what is happening to this leading indicator (perceived job scarcity) of recession and unemployment
www.apolloacademy.com/wp-content/u...
October 17, 2025 at 2:47 PM
The 'alternative economic data' from Apollo Global Management offers an indispensable window on the economy while the US government is hobbled & silent.
Look at what is happening to this leading indicator (perceived job scarcity) of recession and unemployment
www.apolloacademy.com/wp-content/u...
Look at what is happening to this leading indicator (perceived job scarcity) of recession and unemployment
www.apolloacademy.com/wp-content/u...
"How Speech-Based Immigration Restrictions Threaten Academic Freedom"
New from @ilyasomin.bsky.social of @georgemasonu.bsky.social, who continues to be an absolutely indispensable legal scholar of this historic moment
dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...
New from @ilyasomin.bsky.social of @georgemasonu.bsky.social, who continues to be an absolutely indispensable legal scholar of this historic moment
dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...
October 16, 2025 at 7:41 PM
"How Speech-Based Immigration Restrictions Threaten Academic Freedom"
New from @ilyasomin.bsky.social of @georgemasonu.bsky.social, who continues to be an absolutely indispensable legal scholar of this historic moment
dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...
New from @ilyasomin.bsky.social of @georgemasonu.bsky.social, who continues to be an absolutely indispensable legal scholar of this historic moment
dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...
The number of inadmissible migrants crossing the Southwest border collapsed by 95% *before* the current US Administration took power.
Without military troops at the border, without draconian military sweeps of US cities.
So how did it happen? Important new paper: www.brookings.edu/articles/man...
Without military troops at the border, without draconian military sweeps of US cities.
So how did it happen? Important new paper: www.brookings.edu/articles/man...
October 14, 2025 at 5:43 PM
The number of inadmissible migrants crossing the Southwest border collapsed by 95% *before* the current US Administration took power.
Without military troops at the border, without draconian military sweeps of US cities.
So how did it happen? Important new paper: www.brookings.edu/articles/man...
Without military troops at the border, without draconian military sweeps of US cities.
So how did it happen? Important new paper: www.brookings.edu/articles/man...
Innovation is at the center of economic growth. Congratulations to three who’ve taught us so much.
www.nobelprize.org/prizes/econo...
www.nobelprize.org/prizes/econo...
October 13, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Innovation is at the center of economic growth. Congratulations to three who’ve taught us so much.
www.nobelprize.org/prizes/econo...
www.nobelprize.org/prizes/econo...