~marginalrevolution | Bookmarks (566)

Indian Americans own about half of all motels in the United States. Of them, 70% have the last name Patel. And: In the 1990s, then-leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-ll, and current leader Kim Jong-Un got fake Brazilian passports and went to Disneyland in Tokyo (probably). And: Waymo self-driving taxis generate 88% fewer property damage […] The post 52 more things Kent Hendricks learned...

Tirthankar Roy and K. Ravi Raman, Kerala: 1956 to the Present.  Short, nonetheless the best book I have read on why Kerala is (somewhat) special in the Indian context.  Stresses Kerala as part of a larger set of positive South Indian developments.  Overpriced though at $40, given the short length. Richard Franklin Bensel, Yankee Leviathan: […] The post What I’ve been reading appeared first...

South Korea in 2024 saw 242,334 babies born, marking the first increase in the annual figure since 2015, as the country struggles to improve its plummeting birth rate that is among the worst in the world. The official figure for childbirths rose by 7,295 from 235,039 in 2023, a 3.1 percent increase, according to the […] The post South Korea fact of the day...

In a justified resurgence of interest in the topic, The Telegraph covers the Rotherham scandals.  Liz Truss has spoken up too.  This is not a welcome issue for Starmer, to say the least.  No matter what you think he did/did not do wrong in this matter, he cannot come out ahead.  One implication is that […] The post Updates appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION....

In the comments to my post, India has Too Few Tourists, many people worried about the food, the touts and the poverty. Many of these comments are mistaken or apply only if you are traveling to India on the cheap as an adolescent backpacker (nothing wrong with that but I suspect the MR audience is […] The post How to Visit India for Normies...

1. How much of content are advertisers reluctant to be next to? (WSJ) 2. An intellectual’s travel guide to Madrid. 3. Plans to live under the ocean. 4. Top (architectural) hotels of 2024. 5. Cliff Asness, allocator. 6. Having read The Faerie Queene. 7. Greenland Prime Minister declares an interest in independence. The post Saturday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         CommentsIn...

Consumption of red wine in France has fallen by about 90 per cent since the 1970s, according to Conseil Interprofessionnel du vin de Bordeaux (CIVB), an industry association. Total wine consumption, spanning reds, whites and rosés, is down more than 80 per cent in France since 1945, according to survey data from Nielsen, and the […] The post France fact of the day appeared...

1. Facts about Sudan. 2. Does Romeo love Juliet? 3. Scott Sumner movie reviews, plus Scott confirms that Solenoid is a classic. 4. “So if you’re nostalgic, as Trump and many of his supporters are, for the old days when the U.S. economy was dominated by heavy industry, you should know that it was Reagan, […] The post Friday assorted links appeared first on...

He was one of the fathers of “happiness economics,” here is a NYT obituary.  Via John Chamberlin. The post Richard A. Easterlin, RIP appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         CommentsIn reply to It's like India. Don't poo in the loo! by Tyler CowenIn reply to ShatGPT. Is that the sound of a mood being ... by rsm“happiness economics” is bullshit by ShatGPTIn reply to...

In 2017, I wrote an article on India’s underperformance in tourism: India is one of the most desirable tourist destinations in the world. Thirty-five [now 43, AT!] UNESCO World Heritage sites–among them the Taj Mahal, one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World”—attract a global audience. India’s many food, dance and religious cultures are […] The post India has Too Few Tourists appeared...