Brigitte Roth Tran
Senior Economist at SF Fed
Primarily studying extreme weather effects
Views are my own, she/her
www.rothtran.com
- Just in time for #EarthDay, a dark-eyed JUNKO has made her nest UNDER the parsley in my raised-bed vegetable garden. The eggs are very small, ~ 3/4" long. The nest is beautifully constructed from fine strands. She flies off when I approach. I REALLY hope she likes slugs. Nature is amazing!
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- Very delightful story. But I was shocked by the lead poisoning bit! And chelation therapy for a wild opossum. Wow.
- I'm trying to consume more content that has next to nothing to do with the current moment. Eternal truth stuff. What are the most engaging non-fiction books about math?
- Read it a long time ago, but really enjoyed Fermat's Enigma.
- Very informative webinar on making claims after fires in CA. Helpful too for unaffected property owners concerned about their coverage. Communicate w/insurance in writing for records Keep receipts Be careful accepting FEMA funds if insured Know your rights Etc www.youtube.com/live/rABJ4mn...
- This Thursday the Virtual Seminar on Climate Economics kicks off the year with Catherine Wolfram, who will present on: The Economics of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms for Lower Income Countries 8 AM PST/11 AM EST Sign up to attend here: www.frbsf.org/news-and-med...
- Short piece on a study determining how to clean a home that has survived a wildfire but was close enough to be affected by the smoke. #wildfire #smoke theconversation.com/wildfire-smo...
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- I would not be surprised if the answer is often that researchers used the data their institutions already had access to. That was the case for me.
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- The site says, "Participants should possess a golf handicap or provide evidence of prior golfing experience to ensure a reasonable pace of play."
- Walked past this today and it looks like a great opportunity for people wanting professional looking headshots. Open tomorrow only. #assa
- Free Headshots - Photo Booth sponsored by the AEA available on Friday and Saturday 9 AM - 5 PM #econsky
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- Awesome, thanks, Aemit!
- Powerful article on #drought and #hydroelectricity. "By harnessing water, not burning oil or gas, to produce electricity, this new energy matrix was supposed to help mitigate the effects of global climate change — not make Ecuador a victim of it." www.nytimes.com/2024/12/30/w...
- "more than one billion people live in countries where more than 50 percent of their energy comes from hydroelectric plants" "More than a quarter of all hydroelectric dams are in places with a medium to extreme risk for water scarcity by 2050"
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- I:m not sure how you are coming to that conclusion. The way I read it is that IF the models are correct, the pricing should better reflect the property-level risks under the new plan. If that is the case, then insurance will become more expensive in riskier locations. What's your understanding?
- This seems like a big deal for insurance in California. I wonder what the experts on here think of the new rules? @kellyhereid.bsky.social @michaelwara.bsky.social @stevebowen.bsky.social @jacobgellman.com www.latimes.com/business/sto...
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- How about Think Again, by Adam Grant? adamgrant.net/book/think-a...
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- I had similar thoughts while reading. The placement of the data centers is not exogenous. But still an interesting article
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- You make a compelling case!
- The San Francisco Fed is still accepting applications for RAs to start this summer.
- The San Francisco Fed is now accepting applications for Research Associates! It's a 2-year role starting next summer. A really great development opportunity for people interested in econ grad studies. Great team environment. Solid placement track record. #econsky www.frbsf.org/work-with-us...
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- So sorry to hear it! I am curious, are you fully recovered now? And what are you doing to avoid getting it again?
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- So I made this mask for my daughter a couple of Halloweens ago. Requirements: PDF pattern from Etsy printing on cardstock paper good smaller scissors glue fine motor skills patience This was my first and only such project. It fit over my kid's head.
- PS I think this is called "papercraft"
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- Great to see you here!
- Just a couple more days to apply for summer internships at the San Francisco Fed. Deadline is November 1. #econsky
- The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is currently accepting applications for interns for summer 2025. See link below for details! #econsky rb.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/FRS/jo...
- Helping my parents with their finances has got me wondering: What share of consumer spending is essentially subscriptions that people signed up for long ago, that they no longer use? 🤔🤔🤔
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- If you are really curious, this book is a pretty gripping way to learn more about blockchain & cryptocurrency, along w/the criminal elements using them. It reads like a binge-worthy limited tv series. Definitely includes some dark themes, though. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/690603...
- It's fascinating to read about some of the mathematicians and law enforcement working on/in the field.
- Highly recommend this article about long-term care insurance. Particularly relevant for those of us in the #SandwichGeneration and for people interested in insurance generally. Some parallels w/property insurance (rising costs and claims), but very different time frames www.msn.com/en-us/money/...
- Re-upping my story from last month on “Zone Zero” in the wake of the Oakland hills fire in California on Friday that burned houses due to wind-blown embers. Zone Zero could remake the look of high fire risk urban neighborhoods but also save them. Free link. www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
- One question I have is: what kind of fences are people replacing their wooden fences with?
- Introducing the #econ_ra feed. Shows posts containing #econ_ra To share info about economics research assistant, pre-doc, post-doc, & similar positions. Either side of the market is welcome to post opportunities, intros, or questions. Pin the feed & monitor. 📉📈 bsky.app/profile/did:...
- Very basic question: To post something to it, do we just use the hashtag?
- Important read about mobile homes. Somehow this really stuck out: "Though she had flood insurance, the company is asking her to itemize, by serial number and receipt, every item she lost. Her belongings are rusted, and her receipts, if they exist, are now pulp.' www.nytimes.com/2024/10/14/c...
- The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is currently accepting applications for interns for summer 2025. See link below for details! #econsky rb.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/FRS/jo...
- Can anyone point me to #python cheat sheets that are thorough, clear, and compact like the really nifty #R ones for stringr, dplyr, etc.? (See example here: rstudio.github.io/cheatsheets/... )
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- It was great! The only movie I remember seeing in a theater w/ just my dad & me.
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- Before AI, only students with sufficient resources could outsource their assignments (usually to people who would write their essays for a fee or to loved ones with the skills, time, and willingness to do it.)
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- I have been lucky to have great co-authors with whom I could do that.
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- I agree that improving the grammar for non native speakers is a great benefit. But couldn't the grammar and spell checkers that were available in Word a couple years ago already do a lot of that?
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- Yeah. It seems like school writing assignments are often meant to assess understanding and it's not clear how that works in the AI world. Or maybe you are talking about other texts?
- So much of the time I spend on writing is spent figuring out what I actually want to say, what the real point is, not just how to assemble words into a sentence. I agree that much writing is busy work. But for me the writing process often refines my thinking, and I can't say the same for spelling.
- I know we can use AI to further refine, challenge, and expand our thinking. But we can also just have it write for us. What's to stop people from outsourcing the discussion of existing literature in a paper, for example? And is it considered to be a problem if they do that?
- How did people complain about spell checking? I imagine it was that people wouldn't learn to spell correctly anymore. But that is not the same as people having a spell checker come up with ideas and write for them or make up new words.
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- It does not look official to me.
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- I haven't seen a Federal Reserve account.
- This is consistent w/our finding that firms hit by #hurricanes talk about supply issues in analyst calls. In "Pricing Poseidon" (w/ Kruttli & Watugala, see link) we find several channels can explain elevated uncertainty for hit firms, which takes months to resolve. 📈📉 www.frbsf.org/research-and...
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- It's just that it looks like there was a strong upward trend pre-2020, which was significantly disrupted. And that earlier trend would not have been due to the 2021 law. I don't know if there is data to answer the question I posed.
- Can't help but wonder how much of this is driven by needing to repair infrastructure damaged by natural hazards/ disasters?
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- Note that this bill "will punish institutions that flout the law by publishing their names on a California Department of Justice website. An earlier version had proposed that schools face civil penalties for violating the law, but that provision was removed in the State Senate."
- The news and images of flooding in the Southeast US, Central Europe, and Nepal are all hitting so close together in time. Meanwhile the camp I grew up going to in the mountains in San Bernardino mountains was evacuated due to a wildfire a couple of weeks back. It's a lot all at once.
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- Very cool site. But I don't see the stream gauge I saw on there. I am pretty confident the photo was taken at Bent Creek, which is quite small compared to the Broad River that has gauges shown on the map. Now I wonder if the gauge I saw was in use even back in 2019. 🤔
