Melissa Thomasson
@mthomasson.bsky.social
Professor of Economics @Miami University. Research Associate @NBER. Passionate about economic history, health economics and policy, business for a better world. Dog person, cat person, horse person. All opinions my own.
Interesting perspective! The new barons…
Are the tech firms as bad as, say, Standard Oil was? Acemoglu says no, worse!
1) tech firms valuations much higher
2) tech firms span sectors, control direction of technological change (“real worry”)
3) tech firms’ “secret sauce” is controlling info, provides excess power over competitors
1) tech firms valuations much higher
2) tech firms span sectors, control direction of technological change (“real worry”)
3) tech firms’ “secret sauce” is controlling info, provides excess power over competitors
I joined @utopiaspodcast.bsky.social for a conversation on Ramesh's podcast Utopias with Dr. Ramesh Srinivasan. We discussed the power of Big Tech, the dangers and opportunities of AI, and much more. Listen to our full conversation here: www.buzzsprout.com/2272465/epis....
November 25, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Interesting perspective! The new barons…
Reposted by Melissa Thomasson
Be sure to take a look at something interesting one of our professors did for his Principles of Micro classes!
I (vibe)coded a game to teach my Prin of Microeconomics students the difference between one-shot and repeated games and how cooperation in repeated games can work.
Try it and let me know if anything is broken :-)
dashing-travesseiro-939e66.netlify.app
Next: Balatro-style game theory roguelite?
Try it and let me know if anything is broken :-)
dashing-travesseiro-939e66.netlify.app
Next: Balatro-style game theory roguelite?
November 24, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Be sure to take a look at something interesting one of our professors did for his Principles of Micro classes!
Reposted by Melissa Thomasson
Are you an ABD needing help with your project? Interested in immigration, autocratization, & religion? Want to spend 2 weeks thinking deeply about interdisciplinary work? This summer school is for you. I'll be one of the instructors helping your think big and rigorously :-) More info below! (1/2)
Toulouse Summer School in Quantitative Social Sciences
www.tse-fr.eu
November 17, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Are you an ABD needing help with your project? Interested in immigration, autocratization, & religion? Want to spend 2 weeks thinking deeply about interdisciplinary work? This summer school is for you. I'll be one of the instructors helping your think big and rigorously :-) More info below! (1/2)
The timing of this paper is perfect.
📣 New NBER Working Paper out today 📣
"The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct"
Sarah Cohodes & Katherine Leu
"The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct"
Sarah Cohodes & Katherine Leu
November 16, 2025 at 1:31 PM
The timing of this paper is perfect.
I have always admired Miami for its strong commitment to both high-quality scholarship and undergraduate education. This interesting paper really speaks to the mechanisms and explains why schools like mine really punch above their weight with respect to student outcomes.
Update your syllabus and stay on the frontier - it will increase your students’ wages. Epic work by my colleagues @barbarabiasi.com and @profsongma.bsky.social #linkoftheday
www.barbarabiasi.com/uploads/1/0/...
www.barbarabiasi.com/uploads/1/0/...
November 15, 2025 at 5:42 AM
I have always admired Miami for its strong commitment to both high-quality scholarship and undergraduate education. This interesting paper really speaks to the mechanisms and explains why schools like mine really punch above their weight with respect to student outcomes.
Reposted by Melissa Thomasson
👋 I'm Danielle, and I'm on the #econjobmarket this year!
Let's start with a student describing her segregated school:
"The school felt temporary. Built like a warehouse with aluminum siding . . . I had a slipshod education"
The twist? The student is white, and her school is private.
A JMP 🧵 -->
Let's start with a student describing her segregated school:
"The school felt temporary. Built like a warehouse with aluminum siding . . . I had a slipshod education"
The twist? The student is white, and her school is private.
A JMP 🧵 -->
November 12, 2025 at 3:57 PM
👋 I'm Danielle, and I'm on the #econjobmarket this year!
Let's start with a student describing her segregated school:
"The school felt temporary. Built like a warehouse with aluminum siding . . . I had a slipshod education"
The twist? The student is white, and her school is private.
A JMP 🧵 -->
Let's start with a student describing her segregated school:
"The school felt temporary. Built like a warehouse with aluminum siding . . . I had a slipshod education"
The twist? The student is white, and her school is private.
A JMP 🧵 -->
Very important initiative considering the government cant figure out the unemployment rate for October.
NBER grants to fund research into economic measurement - I find this agenda very compelling and important #linkoftheday
www.nber.org/news/nber-la...
www.nber.org/news/nber-la...
November 13, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Very important initiative considering the government cant figure out the unemployment rate for October.
Reposted by Melissa Thomasson
Re-upping this as job market season gets going! If you love teaching & working with undergrads, check out this position that my department is hiring this year 👇
#econsky #econjobs
@miamiecon.bsky.social is hiring an Assistant Teaching Professor this year! A great fit for someone who is passionate about teaching & advising undergraduates.
www.aeaweb.org/joe/listing....
@miamiecon.bsky.social is hiring an Assistant Teaching Professor this year! A great fit for someone who is passionate about teaching & advising undergraduates.
www.aeaweb.org/joe/listing....
American Economic Association: JOE Listings - August 1, 2025 - January 31, 2026
www.aeaweb.org
November 12, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Re-upping this as job market season gets going! If you love teaching & working with undergrads, check out this position that my department is hiring this year 👇
Reposted by Melissa Thomasson
Just a reminder to sign up for this webinar on IPUMS International on Wednesday!
Curious about using census microdata in your research? 📊
Join us for a webinar on IPUMS International, the world’s leading repository of harmonized census data.
🗓️ 12 Nov 2025 | 🕒 15:15–16:30 UK | 💻 Zoom
Register: forms.gle/oqTDNU4Zpn2s...
Hosted by the LSE Historical Economic Demography Group.
Join us for a webinar on IPUMS International, the world’s leading repository of harmonized census data.
🗓️ 12 Nov 2025 | 🕒 15:15–16:30 UK | 💻 Zoom
Register: forms.gle/oqTDNU4Zpn2s...
Hosted by the LSE Historical Economic Demography Group.
Register for IPUMs International Online Session
Please use this form to register for the IPUMs International Session hosted by the Historical Economic Demography Group at LSE.
The session will be on Zoom from 15:15-16:30 UK Time on 12 November 202...
forms.gle
November 10, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Just a reminder to sign up for this webinar on IPUMS International on Wednesday!
Reposted by Melissa Thomasson
Hi all, please spread the word and we hope everyone can make good use of this new data drop: cmfdata.org
The full surviving establishment-level Census of Manufactures manuscripts and digitized data from 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880!
The full surviving establishment-level Census of Manufactures manuscripts and digitized data from 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880!
Historical Census of Manufactures Microdata - Historical Census of Manufactures Microdata
CMFdata.org
November 6, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Hi all, please spread the word and we hope everyone can make good use of this new data drop: cmfdata.org
The full surviving establishment-level Census of Manufactures manuscripts and digitized data from 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880!
The full surviving establishment-level Census of Manufactures manuscripts and digitized data from 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880!
Please send me your favorite independent news outlets. Repost! At this point, the only reason I have a Times subscription is because of the cooking app. Please send me your favorite cooking apps, too! (Mood is frustrated)
October 26, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Please send me your favorite independent news outlets. Repost! At this point, the only reason I have a Times subscription is because of the cooking app. Please send me your favorite cooking apps, too! (Mood is frustrated)
I finally have a hurricane named after me. 😼
October 26, 2025 at 12:57 AM
I finally have a hurricane named after me. 😼
Celebrated our new partnership with the Cleveland Clinic yesterday with a naming ceremony. 18 months in the making, it includes Miami’s BS in quantum computing- one of the first in the world. Very cool to see it!
October 16, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Celebrated our new partnership with the Cleveland Clinic yesterday with a naming ceremony. 18 months in the making, it includes Miami’s BS in quantum computing- one of the first in the world. Very cool to see it!
It’s always great to see that the world supply of soy (or virtually any other commodity) is indeed perfectly elastic. Gotta say that this tariff brought in a heap of revenue. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/b...
China Bought $12.6 Billion in U.S. Soybeans Last Year. Now, It’s $0.
www.nytimes.com
September 26, 2025 at 12:15 PM
It’s always great to see that the world supply of soy (or virtually any other commodity) is indeed perfectly elastic. Gotta say that this tariff brought in a heap of revenue. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/b...
Great write-up of new research by @riacton.bsky.social !
Thanks @j-alonso.bsky.social @insidehighered.com for the thoughtful coverage of our new work on how politics are affecting college choices
September 17, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Great write-up of new research by @riacton.bsky.social !
Reposted by Melissa Thomasson
Very happy to see my review of the racial residential segregation literature with John Parman in the latest issue of Journal of Economic Literature @aeajournals.bsky.social www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
Racial Residential Segregation in the United States
(September 2025) - Residential segregation is a central factor in explaining socioeconomic gaps across race and ethnicity in the United States. Place of residence directly impacts access to schools, j...
www.aeaweb.org
September 8, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Very happy to see my review of the racial residential segregation literature with John Parman in the latest issue of Journal of Economic Literature @aeajournals.bsky.social www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
Reposted by Melissa Thomasson
Now’s a good time to share one of several recent @planetmoney.bsky.social episodes about the importance of Federal Reserve independence from partisan electoral politics.
www.npr.org/2025/04/23/1...
www.npr.org/2025/04/23/1...
A primer on the Federal Reserve's independence : Planet Money
President Donald Trump has been loudly critical of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for years now. Since January, the President has accused him of playing politics by keeping interest rates high. T...
www.npr.org
August 26, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Now’s a good time to share one of several recent @planetmoney.bsky.social episodes about the importance of Federal Reserve independence from partisan electoral politics.
www.npr.org/2025/04/23/1...
www.npr.org/2025/04/23/1...
I just gave! Alums, employers and friends: please consider donating - every dollar counts these days and helps give our students amazing experiences and top skills!
One way donations from #MoveInMiami help is for student research. This can vary in many ways: departmental honors, MA thesis, brown bag seminar, etc. Please consider helping students gain more knowledge with research.
www.givetomiamioh.org/s/916/22/lan...
www.givetomiamioh.org/s/916/22/lan...
August 21, 2025 at 1:50 PM
I just gave! Alums, employers and friends: please consider donating - every dollar counts these days and helps give our students amazing experiences and top skills!
When the uber home (hard to find) comes late and the seat looks like this:
August 8, 2025 at 2:05 AM
When the uber home (hard to find) comes late and the seat looks like this:
It really is Ground Hog Day. My garden is… a little less big than it was yesterday…
August 7, 2025 at 3:16 PM
It really is Ground Hog Day. My garden is… a little less big than it was yesterday…
Reposted by Melissa Thomasson
This week we (with @ajhollingsworth.bsky.social talk with @talgross.bsky.social on The Hidden Curriculum on productivity and how to improve our teaching and some ideas for new exercises for your class!
August 5, 2025 at 3:17 PM
This week we (with @ajhollingsworth.bsky.social talk with @talgross.bsky.social on The Hidden Curriculum on productivity and how to improve our teaching and some ideas for new exercises for your class!
A monarch today!
August 5, 2025 at 12:57 AM
A monarch today!
Such a great project! Congrats to this amazing team and to MU alum Margaret Layding for helping us develop it!
We're thrilled to announce that Peter Nencka (
@peternka.bsky.social ), Riley Acton (riacton.bsky.social) and Carla Nietfeld have received an NSF award to expand their work integrating social context into principles of eco courses.
See below for more info
@peternka.bsky.social ), Riley Acton (riacton.bsky.social) and Carla Nietfeld have received an NSF award to expand their work integrating social context into principles of eco courses.
See below for more info
July 31, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Such a great project! Congrats to this amazing team and to MU alum Margaret Layding for helping us develop it!
Wow fellow Ohioans- this will have a major impact.
CBO’s new estimates of the new tax and spending law includes federal Medicaid spending cuts of $911 billion over 10 years.
The spending cuts vary by state. Louisiana, Illinois, Nevada, and Oregon could see the largest cuts of 19% or more: on.kff.org/46VjNK4
The spending cuts vary by state. Louisiana, Illinois, Nevada, and Oregon could see the largest cuts of 19% or more: on.kff.org/46VjNK4
July 26, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Wow fellow Ohioans- this will have a major impact.