Golden Cosmos
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In this issue, we’re talking about mistakes.
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In *Going Infinite*, the famed chronicler of American finance proves he’s more interested in myths than morals — or even math.
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interview
China’s Policy Failures
China’s experimental policy regime catalyzed the country’s economic ascent. Today, the system seems incapable of providing effective governance.
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The United States leads the world in airline safety. That’s because of the way we assign blame when accidents do happen.
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Most political scientists see democracy as the natural consequence of economic development or the result of strategic and rational choice. A detailed look through history suggests democracy emerges as often as not by another path: human error.
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America’s HVAC labor force is plagued by dishonesty and frequently incapable of meeting industry standards. Interventions in indoor air quality are the next frontier in pandemic prevention — but are they up to the task?
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In the early aughts, economists said it was a bad use of money to send antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV in low-income countries. Twenty years later, we can ask why they got it wrong.
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Weeks after it was clear that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, you could still make pennies on the dollar betting Joe Biden would win. Why doesn’t smart money drive out dumb money in election markets?
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interview
All Aboard the Bureaucracy Train
The United States has the most expensive transportation infrastructure in the world. That’s because we refuse to learn from experts, other countries, and our own history.
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Mumbai’s land use regulations are designed to keep population density low. Instead, they force Mumbaikars into slums, while all of India pays the price.
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The World Bank designed the Scaling Solar program to set Africa on a course to sustainable energy. Instead, it shed light on how a lack of transparency in the climate and development industry hampers progress.
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Good forecasting thrives on a delicate balance of math, expertise, and…vibes.
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The foundations of modern environmental legislation were laid in the early ‘70s. Some of these laws helped fix the ozone layer, clean up DDT, and fight lead pollution — while others are delaying the necessary transition to green energy. If the activists of fifty years ago had known what we know now, what might they have done differently?
05: Mistakes
The worst land use policy in the world. Everything Michael Lewis missed. Dictators. Dingbats. Do you know what’s wrong with your air conditioner? Bad laws and bad bets. When to imitate an Italian bureaucrat. Chinese food. Environmentalism’s original sin. What happens after an airplane crashes. The best way to spend $100 billion?