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#Chyna #Science – Two interesting findings on science in China; the extent to which it is also applicable to the US is left as an exercise to the reader: a new paper shows Chinese scholars have a bias towards citing other Chinese scholars to an extent seen nowhere else in the world; despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, 99.8% of studies in Chinese journals find that acupuncture works.
#EVs #AmericanManufacturing #Chyna – Speaking of China, its industrial policy EV push has been extraordinary, and caused a global glut of electric vehicles, causing problems for EU and US manufacturers. The Wire China has an in-depth look at this. CFR’s Brad Setser, one of our favorite trade experts, comments astutely: “The irony of the ‘free trade always is the best policy’ arguments […] is that keeping markets open even as China kept its EV market closed is that it effectively ‘rewards’ China’s dirigiste policies by ceding global market leadership to a non-market economy.”
#Populism – The New York Times’ David Leonhardt has an interesting article looking at what he calls “a new centrism” and “neopopulism.” For all the sturm und drang, the Biden Administration’s actual policies, especially as regards topics like trade and industrial policy, have been very “Trumpy.”
#Crime – From the indispensable Heather MacDonald at Manhattan Institute: “California is about to demonstrate what a world constructed from the tenets of critical race studies looks like. Starting this year, anyone serving time can retroactively challenge his conviction and sentencing on the ground of systemic racial bias.” This seems like…a very, very bad idea. More at City Journal.
#Religion – It seems that America’s secularization may have plateaued. The religious nones have hit a ceiling, and the share of religious nones is even shrinking among Gen Z. New research from Ryan Burge.
#Pharma – A $199 Ozempic copycat has been released. Yay markets?
#VoteBuying – Biden releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from Northeast reserve in bid to lower prices at pump
#Immigration – House GOP says Senate’s border bill is still dead
Chart of the Day
It is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But perhaps, it is the end of the beginning?
Meme of the Day
