Melissa S. Kearney @kearney_melissa Twitter profile | Pikagi

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

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Economics Professor at Univ of Maryland; Director of @AspenEcon ; Non-resident Senior Fellow at Brookings; Mom of 3; from NJ

DC/MD

https://t.co/MglPyTZIc7

Joined September 2011

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

1 year

Twitter got out ahead of me on this one… Confirming that I have a book coming out this fall! The Two-Parent Privilege will be available on September 18. You can pre-order now from @uchicagopress : .

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The Two-Parent Privilege

The surprising story of how declining marriage rates are driving many of the country’s biggest economic problems. In The Two-Parent Privilege, Melissa S. Kearney makes a provocative, data-driven case...

press.uchicago.edu

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 years

Are the economists in the administration all hanging their heads in defeat? The inequity…inefficiency…level of spending…perverse incentives going forward…subsidies to a higher ed market that already has terribly screwed up pricing…. What an astoundingly bad policy move.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

6 years

An especially thoughtful student defended his dissertation this morning. In add to usual acknowledgment of advisors, he thanked the admin staff by name. I showed the staff, one woman cried she was so touched. I always learn from my students. This one has reminded me to be kind.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 months

Sounds like this Harvard professor is suggesting that the Harvard extension school is meaningfully diverse and inclusive, and hence less prestigious than the “real” Harvard. Wow. (And by wow, I mean, gross.)

@Jenniferhochsc2

Jennifer hochschild

@Jenniferhochsc2

4 months

@evelkniefall not flaws--your word, not mine. Extension school students are mostly smart, ambitious, hard working, thoughtful, sometimes very accomplished--but mostly striving for upward mobility without background that would get them admitted to what is usually understood as Hvd. grad school

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 years

5th grader: "Mom, the economic recession is one of the topics we can research for social studies/science!" Me: 😀👏"That's so awesome! What do you have to do?" Her: "Oh I didn't pick that. I'm doing the phases of the moon. Nobody picked the economics one. That's so boring." 😧

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

7 months

As a researcher who has been studying the economics of families and kids’ well-being for 20+ years, I am here to tell you that you can’t just write off the two-parent privilege as “Republican propaganda.”

@BrentNYT

Brent Staples

7 months

“It’s not marriage, it’s the money.”: ⁦ @rtraister ⁩ on the Republican wave of pro-marriage propaganda

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

6 months

Am I the only one who hates that now essentially every outdoor public space downtown reeks of weed?

@politico

POLITICO

6 months

Legalized marijuana keeps expanding across the map, with no signs of slowing down. Nightly reports 👇

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 years

This year really underscored for me why it’s important for economics to have more women and moms… When the pandemic started, economists everywhere were like “We need to support businesses!” And all the mom economists were like “Yes, and also kids and working parents!”….

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

7 years

7yr old: “Mommy, you bring up economics in every conversation. You act like Economics is about everything.” Yep. Essentially it is.👍🏻

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 years

Ludicrous statement. 1. At this time ppl should be & are being discouraged from going to work 2. Income benefits now will maintain some consumption/spending floor, for households & the economy. 3. Evidence shows that welfare pgms (SNAP,Mcaid) have very small neg work effects.

@JStein_WaPo

Jeff Stein

4 years

Joint statement by conservatives Stephen Moore, Art Laffer, Steve Forbes: "Don’t expand welfare and other income redistribution benefits like paid leave and unemployment benefits that will inhibit growth and discourage work"

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 years

I’m seeing lots of ads from faculty in top/rich Econ departments this week hiring full-time pre-docs. You sure you all can’t just admit these talented students into your PHD programs, let them train and coauthor with you, and get on with their adult/professional lives? 🤷‍♀️

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 years

W/ all the econ & Econ PHD bashing on twitter these days, I’m just going to say it, & hope maybe some young person on the margin feels encouraged: Yes the PhD is hard. Really hard. But Econ is freaking awesome and if you love it, you should seriously consider pursuing it...

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 years

Woah! Less than 2% of Harvard faculty identify as conservative…?! Seems not great for diversity of intellectual perspective or viewpoint on campus. Does campus leadership see this as a problem? Are other elite institutions this skewed?

More than 80 Percent of Surveyed Harvard Faculty Identify as Liberal | News | The Harvard Crimson

More than 80 Percent of Surveyed Harvard Faculty Identify as Liberal | News | The Harvard Crimson

www.thecrimson.com

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 years

Just read multiple NYT articles in a row & each labeled ideas “Republican talking points” v what “Dems believe” before even naming the idea. Geez, with all the priming of in/out group signaling, no wonder it’s so hard to have actual policy debates these days….

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

7 months

You guys, @MattBruenig totally owned me — My suggestion that two parent families might benefit kids is based on my out of touch marriage to a Yale Law School guy. (He found it on Google!) But here’s the thing - Unlike Bruenig, I think many 2-parent families could be…

@rtraister

Rebecca Traister

7 months

This is so very good: "...what upper class people practice is not 'marriage.' It’s 'marriage to upper class people.'"

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

1 month

Was with my teen girls on spring break - every time they picked up their phones and scrolled, it was photo after photo of their teen girl friends posing in tiny bikinis on their spring breaks. I don’t need an RCT to tell me that can’t be good for anyone, on multiple levels...Oh…

@alexolegimas

Alex Imas

1 month

What puzzles me about the social media debate is why our null hypothesis/prior should be that there is no effect. These platforms are literally A/B tested to maximize user lock-in, addiction, and social comparison. This is pretty well known. 1/5

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 years

I do not resent the people who got a huge break today. Good for them! I do resent the lazy policy making that didn’t pair this debt forgiveness with a serious plan to FIX THE SYSTEM going forward…

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 years

Research Assistants are infrastructure.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

7 months

Sure, I expected pushback to the observation that the decline in 2-parent families outside the college educated class is exacerbating inequality in childhood experiences & perpetuating class gaps. But I really was hoping for a higher level of discourse than this. Let me address…

@rachelsklar

Rachel Sklar (she/her)

7 months

@KayHymowitz @AnnieLowrey @kearney_melissa I find it *bewildering* that the solution to “how can we optimize for kids” can’t be better than “force two people to live together for 18 years whether or not they want to.”

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

1 month

Seeing what’s happening with post-docs on the econ job market & pre-docs among grad school applicants truly leaves me sad for our profession. We are screening out people who can’t/won’t spend 10 years preparing for a job as a PhD economist!

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

1 year

Contrarian take: It is not a terrible, horrible, unforgivable sin for a student to ask for a regrade or a new grade. Sometimes graders make mistakes! And lots of students are super stressed out over grades. Why so much anger over this from professors on twitter? Geez.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 years

As if being a PhD student isn't lonely & emotionally draining enough, omg how hard for all these students still doing it remotely. Almost every zoom mtg I have with a grad student breaks my heart. So many living alone, far from home. Can't wait for us all to back on campus! 😥

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

7 months

Bruenig seems wed to the idea that non-college educated dads are worth no more - and many worth much less - to their kids than what a government check could provide. That strikes me as a terribly elitist and incorrect position.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

5 years

It happened again this am -- I keep encountering not-very-competent workers at retail establishments and it makes me very happy and I want to say to the other (impatient) customers "guys! this is great! it's a sign of a tight labor market!" Good stuff.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

5 years

Husband and I chatting ab our work days (econ, law), 8 yr old interrupts: “Guys, that’s boring! Today I learned that in Rwanda they use drones to deliver medicine to places where they need it. The drones have medicine and text the ppl when they are close.” Um, that is cooler.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

7 months

As I reflect on the criticisms I'm getting for my @nytimes & @TheAtlantic pieces, one common thread reflects the view that if there isn't an obvious or immediate solution, it's irresponsible of me to call attention to the problem. I think that's wrong.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

6 years

In office hrs this week: A female undergrad shyly tells me she’s intimidated by “all the math” & “all the guys,” adding “I didn’t realize econ was a guys’ major.” I could barely contain myself - “ECON IS NOT JUST FOR GUYS! IT IS WAY TOO COOL TO JUST LET THE BOYS DO IT!”

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 months

When your college-age son texts asking for expansionary fiscal policy to get thru spring break? 🙄

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 months

Is there any better feeling as an economist mom than when your kid texts you a photo from his college econ class showing a lecture slide citing one of your papers. 🥰☺️

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

8 months

The problem with my Twitter feed being mostly left leaning academic types is that it is pretty upset with me right now… Anyone have a right leaning Twitter feed I could lurk on for a little bit? Maybe I’m less loathed over there this week… 😳

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

7 years

Having been viciously maligned & objectified on this site, I assure you, there is nothing misleading ab this! Respectfully, your PhD advisor

@C_Garthwaite

Craig Garthwaite

7 years

Nearly EVERY Internet comment section is horrible, calling this evidence of broader toxic environment in "economics" is at best misleading.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 years

Attn students: The word for passing statutory taxes onto other parties is called “tax incidence.” Not absurd. Perhaps unfortunate. Definitely happens (hint: elasticities matter.) Understanding potential unintended consequences of a policy is key to good policy making.

@jasonrantz

Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio

3 years

Jen Psaki: It’s “unfair and absurd” that companies would increase costs for consumers in response to us taxing them more. 😳

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 years

Also, can someone explain how the 5% cap going forward on payments means something other than these loans now essentially being monopoly money - printed by Treasury, authorized by the Dept of Ed, paid for by taxpayers - subsidizing ever rising higher ed tuition?

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

6 years

Anyone who has actually given birth pre-tenure will not be surprised by this. While I was puking/nursing, male peers were using their extra time to write more papers. Turns out, childbirth is physically & mentally harder on women. Go figure.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 years

One of my MIT profs asked me to RA for him that summer. I chose to kick around Costa Rica w/ my boyfriend instead. I recall that Amy Finkelstein went to work for him. I mean, sure, she’s a John Bates Clark winner & MacArthur genius, but has she ever been to Arenal Volcano?

@economeager

early modern boy-actress (they/them)

3 years

i couldnt possibly cosign this any harder. have fun the summer before grad school! I think i mostly hung out with my friends, watched the olympics, ate pizza and drank wine in melbourne laneways (in my defense it was winter there).

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 years

Anyone else beside me fill out their Census questionnaire and think "shoot, that's it? it's over already? surely there are more questions you want to ask me! I didn't even tell you how these kids are related to the other adult in the house." Sigh.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

8 months

Just in case it makes any aspiring economist feel better, my own curiosity led me to take a bunch of undergrad courses in history, sociology, politics, literature, even - gasp - music and the history of art, but not real analysis.

@ShengwuLi

Shengwu Li

8 months

I don’t care if it’s real analysis in particular. But one has to be deeply incurious not to take a proof-based math course before starting an econ PhD.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 years

An important new RCT study finds that unconditional cash transfers to very low-income new mothers in the U.S. affects the brain functioning of their babies. In other words, poverty affects brain development in babies! Via The New York Times

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Cash Aid to Poor Mothers Increases Brain Activity in Babies, Study Finds (Published 2022)

The research could have policy implications as President Biden pushes to revive his proposal to expand the child tax credit.

www.nytimes.com

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 months

This dismissive reaction to my book from @ezraklein , who notes that I don't have an obvious solution to the problems I highlight, is a common reaction from progressives. I find it curious that so many progressives are inclined to write off the idea of strengthening families as a…

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 years

Econ students: intrigued by Econ Nobel prize but haven’t taken advanced micro theory yet? This is an accessible intro to auction theory by Milgrom (h/t ⁦ @MargRev ⁩)-

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

1 year

Again, it’s objectively important to document the father/mother gap in earnings post child - But I really wish economists would drop the “penalty” label, which has a normative framing. Maybe dads are penalized by not having as much choice to cut back on work and be with kids.

@maiamindel

Maia

1 year

Really striking charts: for women, having children implies a massive penalty to earnings. It doesn't for men.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

5 months

🤦‍♀️ I’m guessing the economists weren’t consulted on this one.

@JoeBiden

Joe Biden

5 months

Let me be clear to any corporation that hasn’t brought their prices back down even as inflation has come down: It’s time to stop the price gouging. Give American consumers a break.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 months

When you have a weeknight event and your wise guy daughter texts “mom, can you come home so I can have the two parent privilege.” 🙃

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 years

I didn’t think I talked about the need for job training or prisoner reentry pgms that often around the dinner table, but I must say enough about related ideas that my 10 year old knew I would love this gift. My favorite Xmas gift this year. ❤️🎄

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

5 years

A plea to journalists: PLEASE do not refer to targeted cash transfers as UBI, or argue that a UBI is a good idea because giving cash to poor people is helpful. Giving cash to poor people is a means-tested cash transfer, not a Universal Basic Income, and it is not novel.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

1 year

“Not only is the world coming apart, is it is really falling apart for people without a BA” - Angus Deaton @BrookingsInst ⁩ #BPEA Adult life expectancy by BA status -

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 years

10-yr old comes in, reads what's on my laptop screen, puts hands on her hips & with irritation asks, "Well, are we, Mom? Are kids inferior goods?" Me: "No, baby, you are a normal good." And we hug. #econparenting

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 months

Grade inflation makes it harder for the best students to distinguish themselves. And it disincentives deep learning. So it bums me out that departments that have meaningful grades (say, Econ) lose majors to departments where 70% of students get As (I won't name names), the…

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 years

We economists also need to keep beating the drum that kids are not only our moral responsibility, but our economic future. Our nation’s strength depends on their human capital development. (See I can put it in boring words if I must. I can even write it in math. 🙄)

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

5 years

A Valentine's Day tribute to my 3 beloved children: You kids are totally worth the associated earnings penalty. I wouldn't trade you for all the earnings in the world, nor a CV with twice as many papers. XOXO (figure from Kleven et al, NBER wp Feb 2019)

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 years

It's true, I am downright giddy that our nation might finally take bold steps to fight child poverty & improve the lives of children in this country. (One day I might use more serious econ-y terms to talk about this stuff; today is not that day.) Thx to @NewsHour for having me!

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

15 days

All the people on here accusing me of having a profit motive for writing my U Chicago Press book - 😂😂😂😂 Guys, if my goal was to make $ as an economist, there are way better ways to do that than write a book with an academic press. 😉

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

7 months

Why are progressives Iike Bruenig so opposed to making strengthening families a policy priority? Why not support programs aimed at helping low-income parents achieve healthy relationships and productive coparenting?

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 months

FWIW, when I was debating writing The Two Parent Privilege, an encouraging colleague remarked to me "What's the point of tenure if not to write a book like that?" I decided he was right. I would not have written the book without tenure.

@asymmetricinfo

Megan McArdle

@asymmetricinfo

2 months

Tenure's nice for old academics, but the process of getting it selects against the bold truth-telling that is its ostensible rationale. It should be abolished, and if we must pay academics more to compensate for the loss of a valuable fringe benefit, that would be a good trade.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

6 years

I often get push back from academics & journalists when I say this, but now the notion is going mainstream — If you care about econ & social well-being of kids, you can’t pretend that family structure doesn’t matter. It’s showing up in these Atlases too -

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Opinion | A One-Question Quiz on the Poverty Trap (Published 2018)

What are the biggest signs that a community’s children will remain poor?

www.nytimes.com

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 years

100%. This line of argument from the WH is unbelievably disingenuous. The WH knows PPP "loans" were essentially grants, written as loans w/ an explicit expectation of forgiveness, w/ the expressed purpose of maintaining pay for workers. This level of discourse is depressing.

@ATabarrok

Alex Tabarrok 🛡️

2 years

These tweets are BS. PPP paid *workers* during COVID. PPP funds could have gone straight to workers but were structured as "loans" to employers to simplify administration.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 years

Oh come on with this headline; how about “Economists, a majority of whom are male, are freaking out over…” I’m not a macro economist & this isn’t my fight AND… “Male economists are freaking out over a NYT profile of Stephanie Kelton and MMT - Axios”

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Male economists are freaking out over a NYT profile

In this Twitter-based fight about an economic theory, the gender dynamics don’t look good.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 months

I don’t have a dog in the fight about whether anyone from Harvard or MIT plagiarized, but why so many of my fellow academics are now making jokes about plagiarism or suggesting “oh hey just a little bit is no biggie” is beyond me! Guys - America is already turning away from…

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 years

Note: earnings <$125k, is up to **3x** median earnings.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

6 years

Sometimes I wonder if DC is a bit of strange place to raise kids and then my young daughter asks me "Mom, I saw a guy today wearing a t-shirt that says r>g. What does that mean?" And I am sure yes, yes it is.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

5 years

This has been bothering me, so I'm putting it out there - The shift to 6 yrs for an Econ PhD is a TERRIBLE trend for female PhD students - & also some men, obviously - but especially for women. This issue warrants much more attention. #econtwitter @AEACSWEP

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

7 months

Actually, that’s just part of it. A 2nd parent is more than just a source of $ for their kids. How many parents are going to spend this Sunday w/ their kids - talking w/ them, taking them to sports games, helping them with homework, & so much more?

@BrentNYT

Brent Staples

7 months

“It’s not marriage, it’s the money.”: ⁦ @rtraister ⁩ on the Republican wave of pro-marriage propaganda

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

8 months

I do really like the headline the Atlantic put on my essay: A Driver of Inequality That Not Enough People Are Talking About Two-parent households should be a policy goal.

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A Driver of Inequality That Not Enough People Are Talking About

Two-parent households should be a policy goal.

www.theatlantic.com

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 years

…I have had *plenty* of misogynist crap thrown at me in the profession… But male economists criticizing the work of a female economist is not necessarily a gender issue & it doesn’t help us be taken seriously as women in economics to always pit things that way.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 years

I understand the claim that the most politically reliable way to get help to those who need it is to give benefits to everyone, but there is something very wrong with us as a society if the only way to generate political support for helping the disadvantaged is to bribe everyone.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 years

I feel like I owe Fortnite an apology. It used to be the bane of my parenting existing. I hated it, bad mouthed it, fought with my son about it. These days I am so grateful Fortnite gives him and his friends a way to "hang out" & experience some form of 14-yr old boy socializing.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

7 months

Do @MattBruenig and @rtraister disagree with my suggestion that we need to improve the economic position of non-college educated men so they are in a better position to be financially reliable as marriage partners and fathers? Or is the goal to give up on the dads altogether?

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

7 months

She also infers from my position that two parent households tend to be better for kids that I must be biased in my thinking, but I’m not sure there was any amount of data I could bring to the issue that would lead her to conclude otherwise. This is a common reaction and has me…

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

7 months

This ⁦ @washingtonpost ⁩ critic says I’m too conventional lamenting the decline of the 2-parent household, asking “why should we “work to restore and foster” the nuclear family…instead of working to foster a new norm of communal child-rearing?

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Review | ‘The Two-Parent Privilege’ gets caught in the trap of convention

In “The Two-Parent Privilege,” Melissa S. Kearney looks hard at the data but doesn’t dare to imagine new possibilities for societal structure.

www.washingtonpost.com

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 years

My fellow academics will understand... "Whatchya working on, Mel? I thought you finished up your teaching last month. You still have work to do?" - asks my Dad, year ~20 of my academic research career 😉

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 years

⁦ @DLeonhardt ⁩ nails it- “For the past 2 years, many communities in the U.S…have accepted more harm to children in exchange for less harm to adults, often without acknowledging the dilemma or assessing which decisions lead to less overall harm.”

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 years

I love when people ask if they can be in touch with my assistant about something. I always debate which kid I should put them in touch with. Probably the middle one. 🤔

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 years

These things can all be true: 1. Working moms are exhausted. 2. The US should invest much more $ in child care. 3. Child care issues are not what's currently holding back aggregate jobs recovery. via @politico

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

7 months

We're starting to get to the crux of some of the disagreement - I see these trends as something that should concern all of us worried about inequality, threats to social mobility, & the well-being of children/parents -- not progress.

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@mcbyrne

melissa “cancelled student debt” byrne

7 months

Folks are working overtime to undo 50 years of progress. Reactionaries gonna reactionary.

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 years

So a labor economist walks into a PA ski resort, & this place is WAY understaffed!! Tons of guests, not nearly enough people to staff the hotel, restaurants, etc... So she can’t help but ask around - young guy at the front desk tells me they need 1000 workers, they have <500...

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

9 months

It came in the mail! A real hard copy book! Thanks to all of you who helped make this happen!!! So so many people to thank for working with me on this. 🙏🏻🥰

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

6 years

There were roughly 16.9 MILLION undergrads in the US last year. There were < 10,000 at Harvard. With no disrespect to all the fine Crimsons, it would probably be socially productive to spread media attention and philanthropic $$$ around much more widely. Just sayin’.

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

15 days

I gave another talk about the Two Parent Privilege to college students today. And again, during the Q&A, a college student asked me why I don’t talk about porn/TikTok/OnlyFans, and how addiction to those sites is affecting young people’s ability to form healthy relationships. I…

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 years

Reviewer of paper: "Reject. This has only been done in one setting. Need replication." Review of proposal to fund replication in new setting: "This has already been done. Not novel." Sometimes it's really hard to make progress on building evidence. ☹️

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 years

Hey academics - how can we convince all schools to drop the request that recommenders check a bunch of boxes to rate students on a number of qualities against other students/graduates/high potential people? Do we all agree that those are meaningless & burdensome? #EconTwitter

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

1 year

It’s also the case that typically to get a raise, one needs an “outside offer,” which often requires being willing and able to move one’s family somewhere else in the country. Hypothesis: this contributes to women getting paid relatively less than men at the same university.

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

10 months

Hey look! There’s a second cover for my book! Any guesses as to why? 😊

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 years

Thought experiment: What if we gave the avg social security benefit to poor kids in the US? Ans: We’d essentially eradicate child poverty in this country. We can & should do more for our most vulnerable kids, in this pandemic & beyond. My essay on this:

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We could abolish child poverty in the U.S. with Social Security benefits for poor kids | Brookings

Melissa Kearney presents a data exercise on how we could almost eliminate US child poverty if we provided the same Social Security benefits we give to poor seniors to poor children.

www.brookings.edu

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 months

For the record, I love that @UofMaryland educates thousands of hard working students from less privileged backgrounds every year. Donors - please take note! If you care about expanding opportunity in America, you should invest in our nation’s large public universities and…

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

3 years

Kid1: “hi mom I’m on break from class..:” Kid2: “mom I need help....” Kid3: “mom, I’m in class, could you bring me....” Me: “why don’t any of you bother dad!?” Kid3: “he’s not as useful.” The incentives of this scheme are all wrong! I finally get it. 🤔

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

1 year

Is anyone ever going to be made to apologize for what was done to US kids during the pandemic?? to admit that closing schools for so long was too large a burden on children? to own the learning loss & youth mental health crisis? to promise to do better by kids in the future??

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@MargRev

Marginal Revolution

1 year

Lessons from the COVID War

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

5 months

Those math scores. Brutal. "The 2022 math score was not only lower than it was in 2012 but it was 'among the lowest ever measured by PISA in mathematics' for the U.S." Via @axios - U.S. students' math scores plunge in global education assessment

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U.S. students' math scores plunge in global education assessment

The U.S. scored below the OECD average in math, but above it in reading and science.

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

8 months

The book is now #1 Best Seller in “Income Inequality.” 🤩 Thanks to all who pre-ordered! The book is released TOMORROW.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

8 months

The Two-Parent Privilege is #1 new release in “Sociology of Marriage & Family” 🤩 I wonder what the economists who dismiss this line of research as “too much like sociology” & the sociologists who get annoyed w/ economists for our approach to these Qs would say about that. 🙃

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 years

@dbergstresser Is there a reason you are bringing this up now? I remember the day the “Feds” came into the computer lab and stated taking machines. I lost all the coding I had done on my job market project! They wouldn’t wait for me to back it up. 😭 That was a crazy episode!

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

7 months

Democrats have typically been more supportive of public spending on kids, favoring more government investment in children (something I have repeatedly argued for.) Do they really want to reject the idea that millions of kids would also benefit from more parental investments?

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

9 months

Wait, can I endorse an endorsement? @MITEcon @davidautor is right - single motherhood should not be considered a great advance for women. And we can acknowledge that without judgement & with empathy. @UChicagoPress

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

6 years

It's a good day for Univ of Maryland Economics Department: the university has awarded tenure to a terrific scholar, who is also a generous colleague and committed teacher and adviser. Horray for Associate Professor with Tenure Jessica Goldberg: . Yay!!!

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

10 months

This! The super rich kids who get preferred admissions treatment at elite colleges are crowding out the upper-middle-class, not low-income kids. (If I were cynical, I might suggest that's why the NYT is so fixated on the issue of elite college admissions.)

@DKThomp

Derek Thompson

10 months

Incredible snapshot of upper-middle-class college anxiety. Elite colleges have affirmative action for the very, very rich. Lower income students, who are less likely to apply, have a small advantage. This cashes out as a clear bias against upper-middle class applicants.

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

1 year

Any entrepreneurs want to give $100M to the U of Maryland econ department?? Actually, we can strike a bargain - $10M to our PhD program would be transformative! I’ll check with our Dean, but I bet we could give some naming rights too! Please! DM me! 🤗

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Chicago Booth’s PhD Program receives $100 million gift in celebration of its 100th anniversary

Transformative gift from entrepreneur and philanthropist Ross Stevens, PhD’96, will benefit the world-renowned program

news.uchicago.edu

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

2 years

In the past only 1/2 the class showed up the Wed before Thanksgiving. The U no longer holds classes that Wed, so guess what now happens on the Mon before Thanksgiving? Yep. You guessed it - only 1/2 the class shows up! Ah, unintended (yet totally predictable) consequences. 🤦🏽‍♀️

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

11 months

This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about me! Tyler Cowen says I'm "underrated as a social force for good" ☺️ I think I should add that to my professional bio. 😉 Thanks @tylercowen ! Population Dynamics and Economic Inequality -

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Population Dynamics and Economic Inequality - Marginal REVOLUTION

Broad movements in American earnings inequality since the mid-20th century show a correlation with the working-age share of the population, evoking concerns dating to the 18th century that as more...

marginalrevolution.com

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Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

5 years

Just reading some referee reports on a manuscript (not mine), and want to suggest that a referee’s job is NOT to make the author rewrite the paper exactly as the reviewer would have written it. Is the paper interesting? Credible? Are there concrete ways it could be improved?

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 years

I have literally spent all day giving feedback on my PHD students’ research, then I try to give one constructive comment on my 4th grader’s research project and she’s all “Whatever, Mom. I’m not gonna do that. 🙄”

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 years

And no, my parents weren’t professors. My dad thinks professors are out of touch, and my mom still says she doesn’t understand what Econ is. Talk to your profs & TAs. There are pros & cons. It isn’t an easy decision nor an easy path. But it could be the right one for you.

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@kearney_melissa

Melissa S. Kearney

@kearney_melissa

4 years

“Mute him! You’re the host, mute him!” Oh wait.... This really should be on zoom.

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