Miles Corak

If you are interested in #inequality, how it shapes economic opportunities, and the implications for both public policy and economic research, then listen to this engaging conversation I had with Steven Durlauf, director of @ucstonecenter.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t... #econsky

We will again be hiring for multiple junior positions at @oxfordecondept.bsky.social! Details and application instructions here: econjobmarket.org/positions/12... Apply numerously!

First laptops. Then coding. Now AI chatbots. New York Times reporter @natashanyt.bsky.social warns that tech companies keep promising to revolutionize education, but the evidence doesn't always live up to the hype. Watch “AI and the Future of Education” on YouTube youtu.be/FEfy81n8F0c

"The housing shortage in the United States not only drives up rents, it is also a significant driver of poverty." The New York Times summarizes my collaboration Pew, which quantifies how high housing costs lead to higher poverty rates for 10 U.S. states. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/r...

I spent the summer trying to understand what makes Mark Carney's government tick. What I found is a C-Suite obsessed with efficiency — which is trying to ignore what's deeply broken. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...

This is how we welcome visitors at @isi-munich.bsky.social. Great to have @alvarozc.bsky.social with us! Oktoberfest attendance not required. Instead, the next Pipeline cohort will get to attend the beautiful Munich christmas markets. Only 4 days left to apply: www.isi-munich.de/en/programs/...

Free Yoga at the Graduate Center! Take a break from your busy week and join us for yoga with instructor Michelle Morrison! Classes are every Tuesday on Zoom and Thursday in person (Room 5414), from 6:30–7:30 PM. All levels are welcome; no prior experience is needed! RSVP tinyurl.com/GradCenterYoga

Timely new paper in @socioeconreview.bsky.social: Does rising wealth concentration undermine American democracy? Using variation across the 50 U.S. states, results reveal a clear, negative effect of millionaire wealth concentration on democratic performance. doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwag058

This is an outstanding refutation of PM Carney's double-speak on proposed Canada Labour Code amendments, from Colleen Bauman and Mark Rowlinson: www.thestar.com/opinion/cont.... Previous misuse of Section 107 would be codified & routinized, even though it's still facing court challenges. #canlab

(1/) Last week, we welcomed Fabien Curto Millet, Google's Chief Economist, to MIT to share his insights on the workforce and economic impacts of AI. He emphasized that the full effect of AI on jobs will include jobs lost, jobs gained, and jobs changed. 🧵

Why are we in a trade war with Canada, exactly? What was the country's alleged transgression? Check out my conversation with @samsteindc.bsky.social: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...

1.87 American employees quit their job for each one fired in Aug. This #LaborLeverageRatio proxies for worker bargaining power in the job. Pretty flat over last 2 years, below immediate pre-pandemic level. www.upjohn.org/labor-levera...

US manufacturing employment share has now increased for three months in a row (1/2)

In 35 rich countries, a typical 15-year-old now reads no better than a 14-year-old did a decade ago. A slow-motion disaster is under way. We explain what must be done to stop it

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

@durlauf.bsky.social tells Money.com that the current level of wealth inequality is “unhealthy” for the U.S. economy and society. “Successful economic growth and innovation can be preserved with much smaller disparities.” Read now: money.com/us-billionai...

Shameless self-promotion and a request. My publisher is asking me to encourage Amazon reviews, so.... If you bought How Economics Discovered Women on Amazon and like it, it would help me out if you post a short review. news.ucsb.edu/2026/022818/...

“It’s the ‘fool me once, fool me twice’ point,” Mr. Carney said. “Once you see that, then you start to think, how do I diversify away?” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/w...

“The richest people in the tech industry have blocked policies that would raise taxes, increase wages or otherwise reduce their wealth to make life better for the people who live around them.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/o...

www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/b...

🌎 What does it mean to earn success, and does the answer depend on where you live? From college admissions to social mobility, Whither Meritocracy? Part Two: Meritocracy Across the Globe explores how societies and institutions define merit—and who gets rewarded for it. 📚 Out now: bit.ly/4AmNYGc

A six year old does not deserve to be in poverty. Full stop.⁣ ⁣ Every kid in poverty is a policy failure. But since kids don't have separate incomes, you can't help the kid without helping the household they're in. That's the whole political tension. https://youtu.be/gL2kxIbPitU

Believe me when I tell you Mark Carney writes his own speeches. Today’s was a rhetorical work of art.

In @nytimes.com, @durlauf.bsky.social helps explain what’s happening in the latest poverty and income numbers: the job market is shifting. Women’s earnings rose while men’s stayed flat, reflecting changes in who is working and what kinds of jobs are growing. https://har.rs/4hw1dNr

Children who were already among the poorest performers are falling even further behind. Across education systems, the gap between low- and high-performing students is now the largest ever recorded by PISA, in all the disciplines it tests

PM Carney's speech this morning to the European Parliament can be found here: www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/spee... My video at its conclusion. Chamber (791 MEPs) nearly full; most with a standing ovation.

www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...

I said there are three ways to deal with an increased capital share that may come with massive introduction of AI. 1 Create unconditional guaranteed minimum income (not ideal; people need meaning in their lives; they need jobs);

Stunting is one of the leading measures used to assess childhood malnutrition. It indicates that a child has failed to reach their growth potential as a result of disease, poor health, and malnutrition. A child is defined as “stunted” if they are too short for their age.

Listen to the full episode of this interview for a clear eyed take on the state of economic statistics and how to develop your sense of judgement #ECON4All

“The most exclusive ring of earners … , about 50 New York City families, saw the largest growth in incomes of any city tax bracket between 2019 and 2024. Their average income was almost $600 million a year in 2024, up from roughly $315 million in 2019.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/02/n...

I hereby declare the "learn to code" era officially dead: Big declines in the number of people studying computer science in the last year or two 📉 Chart from this week’s edition of our newsletter on AI and the labour market www.ft.com/content/9183...

In Opinion When Adam Grant asked students about cheating, their responses shocked him, he writes. “We’re under a lot of stress. Everyone else is doing it. We have no choice. They sounded like major league baseball players in the steroid era. ChatGPT was their performance-enhancing drug.”

Interested in spending 2 years at the Stone Center in NYC, studying inequality? See our call for postdoc applications. Two 2-year positions, starting Aug 2027. One focused on wealth inequality, the other more broadly on economic inequality. Apply by Nov. 2! 🍎 stonecenter.gc.cuny.edu/applications...

Important read!!

The combination of a richly valued stock market and rising long-term interest rates has historically been a toxic brew, @b-eichengreen.bsky.social warns. bit.ly/4xE3xaE

A 4.1% unemployment rate sounds pretty good. But that number only counts people actively looking for work.⁣ ⁣ If people give up searching, unemployment can fall even as the job market gets weaker.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-july-jobs-report-should-worry

Anthropic's CEO says AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs. Victorian bootmakers suggest a different possibility. A story about sewing machines, economics, and why history can help us think more clearly about AI. newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/what-victo...

🚨We're hiring 2 part-time Research Assistants to join Professor Zach Parolin's research team working on economic and social inequality in high-income countries. You will be a PhD student in a social science discipline (or relevant data science field) with experience in data management and analysis.

Don’t ask me about my profits, but let’s talk about your wages

Now, this is an informative, inspiring, and subtle read. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The point of a tariff is to make firms build factories at home. But if it's on Monday, off Tuesday, back on Wednesday, no one pours concrete. Chaotic tariffs give you all of the cost and almost none of the benefit.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/global-tariffs-are-back-did-they

“as the great Canadian songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen presciently put it, “You aren’t going to like what comes after America.” “ www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/o...

When older children carry common respiratory viruses back home to their infant siblings, it can have long-term detrimental effects on adulthood income, say researchers at @ucph.bsky.social, Fudan University, @stanforduniversity.bsky.social, and Northwestern. #econsky www.aeaweb.org/research/cha...

Nearly half of young children in Guatemala suffer from stunting— Chronic malnutrition in early childhood can slow development and growth, leaving children shorter than expected for their age.

✍️ New article: “How much are people across the world paying for their carbon emissions?” Around 30% of the world’s CO₂ emissions are covered by a carbon price, through either a tax or a trading scheme.

Looking for your next great read? Our summer book list highlights recent works by Graduate Center scholars that offer fresh perspectives on history, society, culture, and the ideas shaping our world

Prime Ministers since January 1, 2016 Canada 🇨🇦 Justin Trudeau Mark Carney United Kingdom 🇬🇧 David Cameron Theresa May Boris Johnson Liz Truss Rishi Sunak Keir Starmer Andy Burnham (probably)