Monday assorted links

1. There is now a formal 150 kph (93.2 mph) speed limit in one part of Czechia.

2. Why does the Japanese prime minister spend so much time in seclusion?

3. Decker defends academia (noting I do not think the “only the peaks” defense quite works.  I also worry about very high quality research that ends up being too context-specific to be very useful.  That is no fault of the researchers, but…the world is not wrong to be less than totally impressed in response.  Economists, when they discuss what they are up to, are far too taken in by “the quality of the work” as a relevant variable.  I think they can be fairly delusional as to how much progress they actually are making, even though along the “research quality” dimension the work is much better than what people were doing say thirty years ago.  In fact we train economists to make precisely this kind of mistake.)

4. Rhine Group.  More European optimism.

5. Entrepreneurs in state government improve state government.