Lars P. Syll

Theory and reality in economics So, certainly, both non-theorists and some theorists have little patience for research that displays mathematical ingenuity but has no value as social science.  But defining this work exactly is impossible. This sort of work is like pornography quite simple to recognize when one sees it. Jeffrey Ely As researchers, we (mostly) want to try to understand and explain reality. How we do this differs between various disciplines...

.[embedded content] When your belly’s empty and the hunger’s so real And you’re too proud to beg and too dumb to steal You search the city for your only friend No one would you see You ask yourself, who’s watched for me A solitary voice to speak out and set me free I had to say it I hate to say it, but it’s probably me

Regeringen och Trafikverket saboterar landets järnväg. Men järnvägsbranschen bidrar själv kraftigt till förstörelsen. Initiativet ”Omtag svensk järnväg”, som leds av SJ och Tågföretagen, är dessutom dömt att misslyckas på grund av avgörande systemfel som gör att branschen är del av problemen.  Multinationella miljardkoncerner som Flixbus och MTR flyr också tågverksamheten i Sverige eftersom vår järnväg inte tycks ha någon framtid. Vårt järnvägssystem med vanskötta främst...

Wie würde Hannah Arendt den Gazakonflikt lösen? Das Problem der arabischen Flüchtlinge, entstanden 1958. Es ist ein ausführliches politisches Memorandum mit diversen Kapiteln, Statistiken, Empfehlungen, verfasst unter Mitwirkung von jüdischen und nichtjüdischen Experten und Wissenschaftlern, darunter Hannah Arendt. Deren konkrete Textarbeit kann heute nicht mehr nachgewiesen werden – sie gab zwar ihren Namen, erwähnte selber die Schrift aber kaum jemals,...

Another brick in the wall .[embedded content] We live in an unequal society where inequality is increasing in many areas, especially regarding income and wealth. The differences in living conditions for different groups, in terms of class, ethnicity, and gender, are unacceptably large. In the world of education, family background still has a significant impact on pupils’ performance, and it becomes even more pronounced as they get older. It cannot be seen...

Beyond the significant financial expenses required to conduct RCTs … critics have raised concerns about considerable opportunity costs associated with their privileged status in programme and policy assessment. These costs result from how an over-emphasis on experimental evaluations in evidence generation systematically undermines alternative research methods potentially better equipped to answer questions about causal mechanisms (or the channels by which interventions...

Finanspolitiska ramverkets konstruktör har ändrat sig I veckans avsnitt av Starta Pressarna  fortsätter debatten om det finanspolitiska ramverketoch behovet av stora framtida investeringar i infrastruktur, bostäder, försvar och energiomställning. Medverkande i det här avsnittet är — förutom Daniel Suhonen — Per Molander och Max Jerneck. Som alltid på den här podden — intressant, slagkraftigt och tankeväckande!

ZEIT: Wie stark die soziale Herkunft den Schulerfolg in Deutschland prägt, ist seit dem PisaSchock 2001 bekannt. Wieso bekommt man das Problem einfach nicht in den Griff? Maaz: Meine tiefe Überzeugung ist: Wenn wir mit Bildungsmaßnahmen erst anfangen, wenn die Kinder in die Schule kommen, werden wir nicht erfolgreich sein. Selbst das StartchancenProgramm, bei dem jetzt 4.000 Schulen in schwierigen Lagen mit Geld versorgt werden, greift in dieser Hinsicht zu kurz. Denn die...

Peut-on encore écouter de la musique? .[embedded content] My favourite French teacher. Not only does he speak at a pace that makes it possible to follow along, but he also has interesting thoughts about the things he discusses. Highly recommendable!

Is ethnic segregation positive? In many European countries over the past decades, there has been increasing frustration over what is perceived as a lack of social integration of immigrants and children of foreign-born parents. One factor that researchers and politicians have highlighted as a possible explanation is what is called ‘neighbourhood effects,’ which, simply put, refers to how the area where one grows up and/or lives affects one’s life. There has...