Econ Journal Watch - EJW Audio

Michael Weissman on Lab Leak and Science

editor@econjournalwatch.org (Econ Journal Watch) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 03:37:37 GMT

An influential article by Jonathan Pekar and 28 other authors published in Science in 2022 claimed that Bayesian analysis of the molecular phylogeny of early SARS-CoV-2 cases indicated that the likelihood that two successful introductions to humans had occurred was greater than the likelihood that just one had occurred. Michael Weissman explains his EJW article, which discusses a fundamental error hiding in plain sight and initially pointed out by Angus McCowan. Weissman uses a simple analogy to explain the error. Correcting the error using the data, model, and simulations of the original paper reverses the implication of the analysis-the single-introduction likelihood becomes greater than the two-introductions likelihood. That undermines the article’s supposed support for natural origin. Weissman is interviewed by James M. Robins of Harvard University. Weissman and Robins discuss the editorial practices at Science, which, they suggest, ought to retract the article.

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Dan Johansson on Economics without Entrepreneurship or Institutions

editor@econjournalwatch.org (Econ Journal Watch) — Thu, 1 Jan 2026 17:49:21 GMT

Dan Johansson discusses his 2004 vocabulary analysis of graduate textbooks used in economics programs. He investigated their treatment of two sets of ideas. One is knowledge and discovery: entrepreneur, innovation, invention, tacit knowledge, and bounded rationality. The other deals with social rules: institutions, property rights, and economic freedom. Today, mainstream economics gives more attention to institutions, property rights, and economic freedom. But the textbooks remain pretty much the same today, and the mainstream generally continues to neglect entrepreneurship, discovery, and the richness of knowledge.
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Henry Hardy on Isaiah Berlin

editor@econjournalwatch.org (Econ Journal Watch) — Mon, 3 Nov 2025 23:32:49 GMT

The writings of Isaiah Berlin (1909–1997), now published chiefly by Princeton University Press, have in large part been brought to light thanks to the work—over five decades—of Henry Hardy. A Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, Hardy discusses Berlin’s life, work, and thoughts. Hardy maintains The Isaiah Berlin Virtual Library (link). Selections from Berlin on Karl Marx were republished in Econ Journal Watch in September 2025 (here and here). Hardy’s book In Search of Isaiah Berlin: A Literary Adventure (2018, Amazon link) tells of his own interaction with Berlin and his writings.
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Jason Sorens on Housing Supply Liberalization and Recent Research

editor@econjournalwatch.org (Econ Journal Watch) — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 07:16:30 GMT

Jason Sorens discusses his article about three recent papers that might lend support to opponents of liberalization. One paper finds that housing supply has no long-run effect on local rents, while two others find that restricting housing supply might translate into amenities. Sorens argues that the evidence so far still supports the conclusion that supply-side zoning liberalization typically lowers local rents over meaningful time horizons without generating disamenities substantial enough to overcome the welfare benefits of liberalization.
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Lars Magnusson on the History of Economic Thought in Sweden

editor@econjournalwatch.org (Econ Journal Watch) — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 22:56:11 GMT

In 2022, Swedish historian of economic thought Lars Magnusson published a major book (in Swedish) about Swedish economic thought, from the late Middle Ages to the mid 19^th century. The title (in English): From Medieval Provincial Law to State Liberalism: Economic Thought in Sweden. One theme is that proto-liberal thinking, often mixed in varying degrees with so-called mercantilist tendencies, marks Swedish thinkers both before and contemporary with Adam Smith. Another theme is the more thorough classical-liberal challenge to mercantilism from Anders Chydenius in the second half of the eighteenth century. Also, Magnusson limns a ‘pragmatic’ liberal vein in Swedish economic thought in the 19^th century. EJW published a a review essay by Max Skjönsberg, who interviews Magnusson here.
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