The AEA is making social media recommendations

Timur Kuran is right, they have no business doing this.  Furthermore the quality of the work is not befitting an AEA journal.  Demonstrated preference is not stressed, for instance that even survey respondents are about 10x more likely to be reading Twitter than BlueSky.  Maybe it is all a network effect and they would prefer the other network if it were much larger, but maybe not.  Talk is cheap, especially when the AEA is surveying you.  Or maybe it is a network effect, but the dominant network cannot be broken and we should just work to improve it rather than defecting.  Or maybe it is better to have economists on the platform where so much of the AI news is coming?  Maybe not, but is this trade-off (a key economic idea) even considered?  And did they perform his survey before the (quite significant) improvements in the X algorithm?

Think like an economist, people!  Or should the JEL instead create a new research classification for “mood affiliation”?  Kevin Bryan adds comment.

Here is your periodic reminder that the AEA elects a president through a process that allows only one person to run for the office.