Edward Conard

Top Ten New York Times Bestselling Author

  • “…a must-read for serious students of economic policy.” - Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia Business School, and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
  • “Unintended Consequences offers deep and well-argued analyses on almost every issue.” - The New York Times
  • “…a fresh argument for the productive value of inequality.” - David Autor, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • “…a must-read for serious students of economic policy.” - Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia Business School, and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
  • “Unintended Consequences represents the most cogent and persuasive analysis of the Financial Crisis to date.” - Andrei Shleifer, 1999 John Bates Clark Medal Winner
  • “There are an amazing number of good ideas and interesting points made in Unintended Consequences. The thinking underlying it, and the obvious depth of understanding of the author, are very impressive.” - Steven Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics; 2004 John Bates Clark Medal
  • “…a comprehensive explanation of the modern economy.” - Julian Robertson, Founder, Tiger Management
  • “A full-throated defense of economic dynamism.” - The Wall Street Journal
  • “…serious thinking for serious thinkers. …a thought-provoking blueprint for growing middle- and working-class incomes.” - Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts
  • “…reminds us that inequality sends a signal of what society lacks most, in America’s case, entrepreneurship and risk taking.” - Lawrence Lindsey, CEO, The Lindsey Group, former Director of the National Economic Council
  • “Unintended Consequences should be read by anyone who takes for granted the superiority of progressive taxation and has not thought carefully about the trade-offs involved.” - The New Republic
  • “…challenges misconceptions that distort our economic debates.” - Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute
Upside of Inequality Oxford Unintended Consequences

Macro Roundup


Monday, May 1, 2023

AI Summary. Managers account for 25–35% of the variance in store-level productivity in retail, about 50–70% of the explanatory power of store fixed effects. The authors estimate that moving a manager from the 10th to the 90th percentile raises productivity by 22–82%, equivalent to adding a fifth worker to a team of four.

Robert Metcalfe, Alexandre Sollaci and Chad Syverson National Bureau of Economic Research
Date Posted:
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Database

Using evidence from two large retailers @RDMetcalfe @ASollaci @ChadSyverson find that individual managers, outside of firm-wide management practices, explain 25-35% of variance in store level productivity.

How much do managers explain differences in retail store productivity?

Core argument: Managers explain 25–35% of the variance in store-level retail productivity, about 50–70% of the explanatory power of store fixed effects, according to the authors' estimates.

Overall, managers explain between 25 and 35% of the variance of store-level productivity, which is about 50-70% of the explanatory power of store fixed effects. In the four largest connected sets across both companies, moving a manager from the 10th percentile to the 90th percentile increases overall productivity by between 22% and 82%. On average, this implies an effect on output equivalent to adding a fifth employee to a team of four.  We estimate that replacing a manager at the bottom of the distribution by one at the top could increase a store’s productivity by at least 50%, and perhaps as much as doubling it, depending on the company and the relevant connected set. 

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. Managers explain 25–35% of the variance in store-level retail productivity, about 50–70% of the explanatory power of store fixed effects, according to the authors' estimates.
  2. Moving a manager from the 10th to the 90th percentile raises overall productivity by 22–82% across the four largest connected sets in both companies, equivalent on average to adding a fifth employee to a team of four.
  3. The authors estimate that replacing a manager at the bottom of the distribution with one at the top could raise a store's productivity by at least 50%, and perhaps double it, depending on company and connected set.

AI Summary. JPMorgan Chase agreed to acquire failed lender First Republic Bank in a government-led deal, taking on about $173bn of loans, $30bn of securities and $92bn in deposits. JPMorgan and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation agreed to share losses and any recoveries on First Republic's single-family and commercial loans.

Jennifer Surane, Hannah Levitt and Katanga Johnson Bloomberg
Date Posted:

JPM has acquired First Republic Bank. Commenting on recent banking instability in the aftermath of the SVB failure, Jamie Dimon said, “This is getting near the end of it.”

JPM has acquired First Republic Bank. Commenting on recent banking instability in the aftermath of the SVB failure, Jamie...

Does a government-led sale of a failed lender stabilize the banking system?

Core argument: JPMorgan Chase acquired roughly $173 billion of First Republic's loans, $30 billion of securities and $92 billion in deposits in a government-led deal for the failed lender.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to acquire First Republic Bank in a government-led deal for the failed lender. “This is getting near the end of it, and hopefully this helps stabilize everything,” JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said on a call with journalists Monday. Regional banks that reported first-quarter results in recent weeks “actually had some pretty good results,” the CEO said. “The American banking system is extraordinarily sound.” Dimon’s bank acquired about $173 billion of First Republic’s loans, $30 billion of securities and $92 billion in deposits. JPMorgan and the FDIC agreed to share the burden of losses, as well as any recoveries, on the firm’s single-family and commercial loans, the agency said in a statement.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. JPMorgan Chase acquired roughly $173 billion of First Republic's loans, $30 billion of securities and $92 billion in deposits in a government-led deal for the failed lender.
  2. JPMorgan and the FDIC agreed to share losses, as well as any recoveries, on First Republic's single-family and commercial loans, according to the agency.
  3. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the deal is "getting near the end of it" and hopefully helps stabilize everything, adding that regional banks reporting first-quarter results had "some pretty good results" and the American banking system is "extraordinarily sound.".

AI Summary. Historically, the unemployment rate has fallen while the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, with a median of 14 months from the first rate hike until unemployment bottoms and begins rising. The author argues it typically takes 12 to 18 months for tighter policy to soften the labor market.

Torsten Sløk Apollo
Date Posted:

Torsten Sløk @apolloglobal notes the median time from the start of the Fed’s hiking cycle until unemployment bottoms is 14 months. We are 13 months into the current hiking cycle.

How long does tighter monetary policy take to soften employment?

Core argument: The median time from the Fed's first rate hike until the unemployment rate bottoms and turns higher is 14 months historically, and softening the labor market usually takes 12 to 18 months.

The unemployment rate falls when the Fed hikes rates, see chart below. In fact, the declining unemployment rate is precisely the reason why the Fed is raising interest rates. And the chart below suggests that when the unemployment rate starts moving higher is when the Fed stops hiking. Looking back in history, the median time it takes from when the Fed starts hiking until the unemployment rate bottoms and moves higher is 14 months, and using this historical pattern as a guide, with the first Fed hike in March 2022, we should begin to see the unemployment rate increase within the next couple of months. The bottom line is that it usually takes 12 to 18 months for the Fed to soften the labor market, and today is no different.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. The median time from the Fed's first rate hike until the unemployment rate bottoms and turns higher is 14 months historically, and softening the labor market usually takes 12 to 18 months.
  2. With the Fed's first hike in March 2022, the historical 14-month pattern suggests the unemployment rate should begin rising within the next couple of months.
  3. The unemployment rate falls when the Fed hikes rates, the declining unemployment rate is the reason the Fed raises rates, and the Fed stops hiking once unemployment starts moving higher.

AI Summary. US construction spending and employment have reached new records, boosted by government infrastructure outlays, a domestic manufacturing building wave, and apartment construction delayed earlier by high materials prices. Signs of slowdown are emerging: apartment building is expected to decline as current projects finish, regional bank troubles are curbing project financing, and home improvement spending is forecast to contract.

Ryan and Will Parker Wall Street Journal
Date Posted:

While there are signs of a slowdown, the tightening cycle hasn’t yet had much of an impact on construction spending and employment. @WSJ

Is a construction boom keeping spending and employment at records?

Core argument: U.S. construction spending and employment have risen to records this year, boosted by government infrastructure outlays, a domestic manufacturing renaissance, and a wave of apartment building delayed early in the pandemic by high materials prices such as lumber.

Construction spending and employment have risen to new records this year, boosted by government outlays for infrastructure, a domestic manufacturing renaissance and a wave of apartment building that got off to a slow start during the pandemic when prices for building materials, such as lumber, were sky high. There are signs of slowdown, to be sure. Apartment construction is expected to decline once the latest batch of buildings is finished. Problems at regional banks are drying up financing for some projects. Spending on home improvement and repairs is forecast to decline over the next year, the first contraction since the depths of the foreclosure crisis in 2010, according to a closely watched barometer of the remodeling industry.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. U.S. construction spending and employment have risen to records this year, boosted by government infrastructure outlays, a domestic manufacturing renaissance, and a wave of apartment building delayed early in the pandemic by high materials prices such as lumber.
  2. Apartment construction is expected to decline once the latest batch of buildings is completed, while problems at regional banks are drying up financing for some construction projects.
  3. Spending on home improvement and repairs is forecast to contract over the next year for the first time since the depths of the foreclosure crisis in 2010, according to a closely watched remodeling-industry barometer.

AI Summary. The article argues the US operates a low-wage/high-welfare labor model that benefits employers through lower wages and some consumers through lower prices, while costing taxpayers and the working poor. It contends cheap labor substitutes for labor-saving machinery and weakens incentives for technological innovation, noting 31m workers and their children received Earned Income Tax Credit benefits averaging $2,043, costing $63bn.

Michael Lind Wall Street Journal
Date Posted:

Michael Lind argues that the earned-income tax credit slows productivity growth by subsidizing low-wage employers who in turn don’t need to invest in automation.

Michael Lind argues that the earned-income tax credit slows productivity growth by subsidizing low-wage employers who in...

Does a low-wage, high-welfare labor model burden taxpayers and slow innovation?

Core argument: For the 2022 tax year, 31 million American workers and their children received an average of $2,043 in Earned Income Tax Credit benefits, costing taxpayers $63 billion — money the author argues employers could have paid in wages instead.

We can call the current American labor market system the low-wage/high-welfare model. It is a success from the perspective of employers who get to pay lower wages. It is also a success for some consumers, since lower wages mean lower prices. The losers include taxpayers, the working poor themselves and workers who are not poor but fear poverty. The low-wage model also saps the incentives for technological innovation, because cheap labor so often substitutes for labor-saving machinery. For the 2022 tax year, 31 million American workers and their children received an average of $2,043 in EITC benefits, for a cost to taxpayers of $63 billion. That is $63 billion in taxpayer money that could have been saved if employers had paid those workers a little more each month.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. For the 2022 tax year, 31 million American workers and their children received an average of $2,043 in Earned Income Tax Credit benefits, costing taxpayers $63 billion — money the author argues employers could have paid in wages instead.
  2. The author characterizes the U.S. labor market as a low-wage/high-welfare model that benefits employers paying lower wages and consumers paying lower prices, while taxpayers, the working poor, and workers who fear poverty lose.
  3. The author argues the low-wage model saps incentives for technological innovation because cheap labor often substitutes for labor-saving machinery.

AI Summary. Inflation-adjusted wages for the lowest-earning 10% of US workers rose 6.4% and have returned to pre-pandemic levels, outpacing wage growth for top and middle earners, who have lost ground once price growth is taken into account.

Paul Kirkup Financial Times
Date Posted:
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Real hourly earnings for the bottom 10% earners rose by 6.4% between January 2020 and September 2022. Real hourly earnings for the top 10% and median earners were down in real terms.

Are low earners seeing faster real wage growth than top earners?

Core argument: Real hourly earnings for the lowest-paid US workers rose 6.4 percent between January 2020 and September 2022, returning the bottom 10 percent of the workforce to their pre-pandemic wage level.

America’s lowest-earning workers are enjoying higher wage growth than top earners, after taking into account the effects of the recent bout of high inflation. Since 2020, real wages for the bottom 10 percent of the workforce have returned to their pre-pandemic level. In contrast, top earners and those on average incomes have taken a substantial hit once the effect of price growth is taken into account.  Real hourly earnings for the lowest earners rose by 6.4 percent between January 2020 and September 2022.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. Real hourly earnings for the lowest-paid US workers rose 6.4 percent between January 2020 and September 2022, returning the bottom 10 percent of the workforce to their pre-pandemic wage level.
  2. Top earners and workers on average incomes in the US have taken a substantial hit to real wages since 2020 once high inflation is taken into account.
  3. America's lowest earners have seen faster inflation-adjusted wage growth than top earners since 2020.

AI Summary. Berkshire Hathaway has compounded annual returns of nearly 20% since 1965, about twice the S&P 500's rate, but that period reflected low interest rates, low equity values, and ample opportunities. Investors now face lower returns amid higher interest rates and more competitors chasing bargains, according to the firm's vice-chairman.

Eric Platt and Harriet Agnew Financial Times
Date Posted:

Charlie Munger warns that investors should expect lower returns going forward. Adding he and Buffett were “creature[s] of a particular time and a perfect set of opportunities…[We lived in] a perfect period to be a common stock investor.”

Charlie Munger warns that investors should expect lower returns going forward. Adding he and Buffett were “creature[s] of a...

Will investors earn lower returns than in past decades?

Core argument: Berkshire Hathaway has compounded annual returns of nearly 20 percent since 1965, twice the rate of the S&P 500, and Charlie Munger said the firm was "a creature of a particular time and a perfect set of opportunities.".

Berkshire has generated compounded annual returns of nearly 20 percent, twice the rate of the benchmark S&P 500 stock index, since 1965. “We were a creature of a particular time and a perfect set of opportunities,” said Munger, adding that he had lived during “a perfect period to be a common stock investor”. He and Buffett had benefited “by and large [from] low interest rates, low equity values, ample opportunities”, he said. Munger warned that the golden age for investing was over, and investors would need to contend with a period of lower returns. “It’s gotten very tough to have anything like the returns that were obtained in the past,” he said, pointing to higher interest rates and a crowded field of investors chasing bargains and looking for companies with inefficiencies.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. Berkshire Hathaway has compounded annual returns of nearly 20 percent since 1965, twice the rate of the S&P 500, and Charlie Munger said the firm was "a creature of a particular time and a perfect set of opportunities.".
  2. Munger said he and Warren Buffett benefited "by and large [from] low interest rates, low equity values, ample opportunities," in what he called "a perfect period to be a common stock investor.".
  3. Munger warned that the golden age for investing was over and that investors would contend with lower returns, pointing to higher interest rates and a crowded field of investors chasing bargains and companies with inefficiencies.

AI Summary. India is spending 1.7% of GDP on transport infrastructure this year, roughly twice the level in the United States and most European countries. The stated aim is to cut domestic logistics costs from about 14% of GDP to 8% by 2030.

Economist Staff The Economist
Date Posted:

In an effort to improve India’s growth trajectory, India’s government is making significant investments in railroad and highway infrastructure.

Is India outspending Western countries on transport infrastructure?

Core argument: India will spend 1.7% of GDP on transport infrastructure this year, roughly twice the level in America and most European countries.

India will spend 1.7% of GDP on transport infrastructure this year, around twice the level in America and most European countries. If such infrastructure were a central-government department, it would have the third-biggest budget after the finance and defence ministries. The stated aim of the splurge is to cut the cost of logistics within India from around 14% of GDP today to 8% by 2030.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. India will spend 1.7% of GDP on transport infrastructure this year, roughly twice the level in America and most European countries.
  2. India's stated aim for the transport spending is to cut domestic logistics costs from around 14% of GDP today to 8% by 2030.
  3. India's transport infrastructure spending, were it a central-government department, would carry the third-biggest budget after the finance and defence ministries.

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

AI Summary. Using a Dutch database matching parents' and children's test scores at similar ages, the authors find that parents who were relatively stronger in math than language as children are significantly more likely to have children with the same math advantage. Parents' comparative skill advantage also predicts their own and their children's science and technology field choices.

Eric Hanushek, Babs Jacobs, Guido Schwerdt, Rolf van der Velden, Stan Vermeulen and Simon Wiederhold National Bureau of Economic Research
Date Posted:
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Database

A new @NBERpubs paper shows that parents’ comparative skill advantage in math (vs. language) is significantly linked to the comparative skill advantage of their children. @EricHanushek @SimonWiederhold

Do parents pass their math-over-language skill advantage to children?

Core argument: Parents who were relatively better at math than language in childhood are significantly more likely to have children with the same comparative advantage in math, according to the authors' analysis of Dutch parent–child skill data.

Our analysis shows that comparative skill advantages are transferred across generations: Parents who were relatively better at math (vs. language) in childhood are more likely to have children with a similar comparative skill advantage in math. We also find that parents’ comparative skill advantage is a strong predictor of their own STEM choices and those of their children. The new Intergenerational Transmission of Skills (ITS) database that we develop permits matching skills of Dutch parents and children derived from similar tests taken at similar ages. We measure comparative skill advantage as the ordinal difference between math and language skills in the parent and child generation, respectively, each assessed by the percentile position in the nationwide skill distribution.  We find that parents with a comparative advantage in math skills are significantly more likely to have children with a similar math skill advantage.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. Parents who were relatively better at math than language in childhood are significantly more likely to have children with the same comparative advantage in math, according to the authors' analysis of Dutch parent–child skill data.
  2. The authors find that a parent's comparative skill advantage strongly predicts both the parent's own STEM choices and those of their children.
  3. The Intergenerational Transmission of Skills database developed by the authors matches Dutch parents and children on similar tests taken at similar ages, measuring comparative advantage as the ordinal gap between math and language percentile positions in the nationwide skill distribution.

AI Summary. Regional bank shares continued to sell off after JPMorgan's takeover of troubled California lender First Republic, with a KBW index of regional bank stocks falling more than 5%. Investors have placed heavy bets against some mid-sized banks, with short interest in California-based PacWest particularly high though little changed over the past month.

Brooke Masters, Harriet Clarfelt, Nicholas Megaw and Stephen Gandel Financial Times
Date Posted:

A KBW index of regional bank stocks was down at least 5% in the aftermath of JPM’s rescue of First Republic. The level of short interest in regional banks hasn’t increased in the past month.

Does the rescue of a troubled lender halt regional bank share declines?

Core argument: A KBW index of regional bank stocks fell more than 5 percent in morning dealings as investors digested JPMorgan's takeover of First Republic alongside gloomy economic data.

The rescue of First Republic this week has failed to arrest a sell-off in regional bank shares, which plunged on Tuesday morning as investors digested JPMorgan’s takeover of the troubled Californian lender along with gloomy economic data. A KBW index of regional bank stocks slid more than 5 percent in morning dealings. Investors have been heavily betting on further share declines in some of the mid-sized banks, with short interest in California-based PacWest particularly high. However, the level of shorting activity is little changed over the past month, according to Markit data.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. A KBW index of regional bank stocks fell more than 5 percent in morning dealings as investors digested JPMorgan's takeover of First Republic alongside gloomy economic data.
  2. Investors have placed heavy bets on further share declines in some mid-sized US banks, with short interest in California-based PacWest particularly high.
  3. Shorting activity is little changed over the past month, according to Markit data, even as the First Republic rescue failed to arrest the sell-off in regional bank shares.

AI Summary. Interest rates on 3-month certificates of deposit have diverged by bank size, increasing at small banks and declining at large banks.

Torsten Sløk Apollo
Date Posted:

Torsten Sløk @apolloglobal notes in the aftermath of SVB’s collapse the interest rates on banks 3-month CDs has diverged with rates at small banks increasing and decreasing at large banks.

Are deposit rates diverging between small and large banks?

Core argument: Interest rates on 3-month certificates of deposit have diverged since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, rising at small banks while declining at large banks, according to Torsten Sløk of Apollo Global Management.

Since SVB collapsed, the interest rate on a 3-month CD has increased at small banks and declined at large banks.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. Interest rates on 3-month certificates of deposit have diverged since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, rising at small banks while declining at large banks, according to Torsten Sløk of Apollo Global Management.

AI Summary. Education-technology company Chegg's shares fell more than 40% after it said OpenAI's ChatGPT is threatening growth in its homework-help services, while IBM said it will stop or slow hiring for roles it expects artificial intelligence to replace — about 30% of its 26,000 non-customer-facing workers over five years. Samsung Electronics banned chatbot use.

Amy Thomson Bloomberg
Date Posted:

IBM will stop or slow hiring for jobs that it thinks it can replace with AI driven systems; this impacts 30% of its 26,000 workers in non-customer facing roles over the next 5 years. @markets

IBM will stop or slow hiring for jobs that it thinks it can replace with AI driven systems; this impacts 30% of its 26,000...

Is AI already reshaping company valuations and hiring plans?

Core argument: Chegg shares plunged more than 40% in early trading after the education-technology company said OpenAI's ChatGPT is threatening the growth of its homework-help services.

The speed of disruption brought on by a worldwide rush into artificial intelligence was on full display this week, sending shares of education-technology company Chegg Inc. plunging, prompting IBM to halt some hiring and prompting a chatbot ban at Samsung Electronics Co. Chegg shares plunged more than 40% in early trading on Tuesday after the company said OpenAI’s ChatGPT is threatening the growth of its homework-help services. International Business Machines Corp. Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna said in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday that the company is going to stop or slow hiring for jobs it believes will be replaced by artificial intelligence. That amounts to about 30% of its 26,000 workers in non-customer facing roles over a 5-year period, he said.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. Chegg shares plunged more than 40% in early trading after the education-technology company said OpenAI's ChatGPT is threatening the growth of its homework-help services.
  2. IBM Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna said the company will stop or slow hiring for roles it believes artificial intelligence will replace, about 30% of its 26,000 non-customer-facing workers over a five-year period.
  3. Samsung Electronics banned chatbot use, one of several corporate responses to the worldwide rush into artificial intelligence.

AI Summary. The US National Ignition Facility aims to raise fusion energy output from 3.15 megajoules to hundreds of megajoules, with physicists seeing a path to tens of megajoules partly by increasing the laser energy delivered to the target. Many scientists now put commercial fusion 20–30 years away, describing the constraint as funding.

Jeff Tollefson Nature
Date Posted:

Scientists are firing up the US National Ignition Facility for the first time since its net positive fusion breakthrough last year. @Nature

Scientists are firing up the US National Ignition Facility for the first time since its net positive fusion breakthrough...

Is commercial fusion power now mainly a question of funding?

Core argument: The US National Ignition Facility produced 3.15 megajoules from fusion reactions, with a long-term goal of reaching hundreds of megajoules.

In the long term, the goal is to increase the amount of energy generated by fusion reactions from the 3.15 megajoules created last year to hundreds of megajoules. Richard Town a physicist, sees a viable path to increasing US National Ignition Facility’ (NIF) energy yields to tens of megajoules by, among other things, further boosting the lasers’ energy going into the target.  The old joke about fusion energy is that it’s 50 years away, and always will be. Many scientists now say the front end of that equation is closer to 20–30 years, but it’s really just a matter of funding, says Pravesh Patel, a former scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Lab who currently serves as scientific director at Focused Energy in Austin, Texas, a private laser-fusion firm.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. The US National Ignition Facility produced 3.15 megajoules from fusion reactions, with a long-term goal of reaching hundreds of megajoules.
  2. Physicist Richard Town sees a viable path to raising National Ignition Facility yields to tens of megajoules, partly by further boosting the laser energy delivered to the target.
  3. Pravesh Patel, scientific director at laser-fusion firm Focused Energy and a former Lawrence Livermore National Lab scientist, says many scientists now put fusion energy 20–30 years away and that it is really just a matter of funding.

AI Summary. A bird flu infection in a Cambodian village took a week to reach the attention of the government health system, as villagers attributed dead chickens to hot weather and hospital doctors initially assumed a schoolgirl had seasonal flu. Health officials deemed the eventual response a success.

Michelle Fay Cortez and Suzi Ring Bloomberg
Date Posted:

Since 2021, 50mm birds have been killed in Europe, 58mm in the United States and 17mm in Japan, but, despite these large-scale culls, avian flu is endemic.

Since 2021, 50mm birds have been killed in Europe, 58mm in the United States and 17mm in Japan, but, despite these...

How quickly do bird flu infections reach government health systems?

Core argument: A full week elapsed between the infection in Rolaing and its detection by the government health system, even though health officials deemed the response a success.

Although the response in Rolaing has been deemed a success by health officials, the challenge is clear. It took a full week for the infection to come to the attention of the government health system. The villagers didn’t think anything was amiss when a handful of dead chickens were found along the river, blaming hot weather for the deaths. It was only as the schoolgirl’s condition deteriorated that the connection was made. When she arrived at hospital on Feb. 21, doctors — unaware that two of the family’s four chickens, which lived largely underneath the room where she slept, had died — assumed she had a seasonal flu.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. A full week elapsed between the infection in Rolaing and its detection by the government health system, even though health officials deemed the response a success.
  2. Villagers in Rolaing attributed a handful of dead chickens found along the river to hot weather, and the link was made only as a schoolgirl's condition deteriorated.
  3. Doctors treating the schoolgirl when she arrived at hospital on Feb. 21 assumed she had seasonal flu, unaware that two of her family's four chickens, which lived largely beneath the room where she slept, had died.

AI Summary. China revised its military service regulations to allow retired personnel to reenlist and to prioritize recruiting science and engineering students for warfare in new domains such as space and cyber, as it builds military strength for possible all-out war in the Taiwan Strait.

Yukio Tajima Nikkei Asia
Date Posted:

China has revised its conscription law to allow the government to quickly draft science and engineering students, especially those trained in artificial intelligence and robotics. @NikkeiAsia

China has revised its conscription law to allow the government to quickly draft science and engineering students, especially...

Is China reshaping its conscription rules to prepare for war over Taiwan?

Core argument: China's revised military service law allows retired military personnel to be reenlisted to secure experienced soldiers, as the country builds military strength to prepare for possible all-out war in the Taiwan Strait.

China enacted revisions to its military service law that will allow retired military personnel to be reenlisted to secure experienced soldiers. The law also focuses on recruiting tech-savvy science and engineering students to prepare for warfare in new domains such as space and cyber, as the country tries to build its military strength to prepare for possible all-out war in the Taiwan Strait. The State Council and the Central Military Commission, the Chinese military's top decision-making body, approved the revised regulations on conscription, based on the Military Service Law. "We will build a military draft system that can respond, from peacetime to emergencies, swiftly and seamlessly," Tan Kefei, a spokesman at the Chinese defense ministry, said.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. China's revised military service law allows retired military personnel to be reenlisted to secure experienced soldiers, as the country builds military strength to prepare for possible all-out war in the Taiwan Strait.
  2. The revised Chinese conscription regulations, approved by the State Council and the Central Military Commission, focus on recruiting science and engineering students for warfare in new domains such as space and cyber.
  3. Chinese defense ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said China will build a military draft system that can respond "from peacetime to emergencies, swiftly and seamlessly.".