Marginal Revolution Sunday Assorted Links: Post-Apartheid South Africa, AI Policy, a Vollmann Box Set, and the Fate of EJMR
Key Takeaways
- •Ken Opalo examined what he described as the end of post-apartheid South Africa in his Africanist Perspective newsletter.
- •Noah Smith published 23 low-regret recommendations for artificial intelligence policy amid ongoing rulemaking debates in Washington and Brussels.
- •Jesús Fernández-Villaverde shared recommended economics reading on X.
- •A publisher’s catalog page listed a box set edition of William T. Vollmann’s A Table for Fortune from Arcade Publishing.
- •A post titled RIP EJMR (2008–2026) discussed the apparent end of the anonymous Economics Job Market Rumors forum.
Marginal Revolution, the economics blog co-written by Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok of George Mason University and running since 2003, published its recurring "Sunday assorted links" roundup on August 16, 2026. The seven-item collection spans African political economy, artificial intelligence policy, literary news, and the apparent end of a long-running anonymous economics forum.
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Ken Opalo on the evolution of post-post-apartheid South Africa. Kenyan political scientist Ken Opalo, who teaches at Georgetown University and whose research centers on African political institutions, examines what he calls the end of post-apartheid South Africa in his Africanist Perspective newsletter: The end of post-apartheid South Africa.
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Reasonable recommendations for AI policy over at Noah's. Economist and columnist Noah Smith offers a set of low-regret recommendations for artificial intelligence policy, a topic on which governments in Washington and Brussels have been actively weighing new rules, on his Noahpinion blog: 23 low-regret recommendations for AI policy.
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JFV recommends some economics articles. University of Pennsylvania economist Jesús Fernández-Villaverde (JFV), known for applying computational methods to macroeconomics, shares recommended economics reading on X: https://x.com/JesusFerna7026/status/2088384251482009867
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William Vollmann update. A publisher's catalog page lists a box set edition of William T. Vollmann's "A Table for Fortune" from Arcade Publishing, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing. Vollmann, an author known for long works of fiction and reportage, won the National Book Award for "Europe Central": A Table for Fortune box set.
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More writing for the AIs. https://x.com/jacob_wendler/status/2088406882734027243
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When Europeans from Warsaw live role-play an Ohio trailer park. The Washington Post reports on what a fake Ohio trailer park built in Poland taught one writer about the American Dream: What a fake Ohio trailer park in Poland taught me about the American Dream.
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Is EJMR gone for good? A post titled "RIP EJMR (2008–2026)" discusses the apparent end of Economics Job Market Rumors (EJMR), the anonymous online forum founded in 2008 that has long served as a venue for job market discussion among economists and has repeatedly drawn criticism over the years for content posted anonymously on the site: RIP EJMR 2008–2026.
