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Allison Shertzer

@econhist-allday.bsky.social
3.1K followers 464 following 98 posts

Economic historian of U.S. cities. Interested in infrastructure, land use regulation, and housing prices over the long run. Views expressed here are my own. Personal website at allisonshertzer.com.

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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
The kids played legos all morning like it was 1990 or sitting something. Then they showed me their houses. "Mom, this breaks all the zoning rules!" My heart great three sizes.
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Collisions in idea space!
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Hillbilly loaf
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Oh The Urbanity! @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
I know this describes a lot of people on here.
thebeaverton.com
Local nerd disappointed he didn’t get the long form census
TATAMAGOUCHE, NS - An event five years in anticipation turned to bitter disappointment this week, as a local census dweeb did not receive the coveted long form questionnaire.
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Anne Fitzpatrick @annefitz13.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
I ended my last class today to my masters students who are graduating by saying “And if I could give you one piece of advice it would be…to never put grease down the drain.” Student in front row “WHAT? Why? I do that all the time.”
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Hahahaha
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Ben Keys @benkeys.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Excited to share a new @nber.org paper w/Blonz/Hossain/Mulder/Weill where we show credit scores impact homeowners insurance premiums as much as disaster risk. Here’s what happened in WA when they banned credit scoring:
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
My husband was watching the Muppets movie with the kids and was *delighted* when the villain of the film was shown reading the Economist. Does our profession have a branding problem?
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
One of the great experiments in space exploration history was putting one of these naval officer brothers in orbit while keeping the other on the ground. Talk about a good control group!
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Ben Keys @benkeys.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
New year, new op-ed from me and Vincent Reina on the need for aggressive multifaceted action to address the housing affordability crisis: It’s not simply a zoning story! thehill.com/opinion/fina...
thehill.com
Don’t let this housing crisis go to waste
Overly restrictive zoning, cautious lending and anti-development politics created a long freeze in housing production.
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Just looked in my son's room and I think I need to accept that he does not share my views on optimal urban transportation.
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Trade Diversion (Jonathan Dingel) @tradediversion.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Join us Saturday at 10:15am for an #ASSA2026 session on Development of American Cities featuring papers on mortgage markets, slavery, migration & ghost towns by L D'Amico, S Naidu, T Jaworski, M Hoelzlein Discussants: @econhist-allday.bsky.social, S Heblich, @allie-green.com, @jeffrlin.bsky.social
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Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
HPV Vaccination Tied to Huge Reduction in Cervical Cancer Risk www.medpagetoday.com/hematologyon...
medpagetoday.com
HPV Vaccination Tied to Huge Reduction in Cervical Cancer Risk
Two large meta-analyses reassure on safety, efficacy
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
NYT: “.. high insurance costs are cascading into the broader real estate market, suppressing home values by an average of $44,000 in the top 10 percent of U.S. ZIP codes most vulnerable to hurricanes and wildfires ..” @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
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Caitlin Kelly @caitlinkelly.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
NEW: In 2024, Tierra Walker was sick and getting sicker. She was also pregnant. She knew abortion was illegal in Texas, but thought there was an exception for women like her, whose health was at risk. Doctors told her there was no emergency. Then she died. www.propublica.org/article/texa...
propublica.org
“Ticking Time Bomb”: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas.
Walker is one of several women ProPublica found with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions.
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Pier Paolo Creanza @ppcreanza.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
🚀 I'm on the #EconSky Job Market! My JMP asks a classic question: Do large, dominant firms foster or hinder innovation? To study this, I turn to the Great Merger Wave (1895–1904), when >2,600 U.S. firms combined into corporate giants like U.S. Steel and DuPont. A JMP 🧵👇 (1/13)
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
After 15 years together, it was time to refresh DRECON.
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Rick, you dropped this. 👑 Seriously what an incredible data project!
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depths of wikipedia @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
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Erik Loomis @erikloomis.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
This Day in Labor History: October 26, 1825. The Erie Canal opened, eight years after construction commenced. This engineering marvel would have enormous impacts on the future of American work, including spurring ever-greater industrialization. It also killed over 1,000 workers building it!
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Thrilled to work with @andrewvandam.bsky.social on this piece! wapo.st/46ZuESX
wapo.st
Column | The cities where home prices have changed the most (and least) over the past 130 years
Did your grandparents and great-grandparents really pay less for their homes than you did, even after inflation? The Department of Data might have the answer.
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The Quarterly Journal of Economics @qjeharvard.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Recently accepted by #QJE, “The Price of Housing in the United States, 1890–2006,” by Lyons (@ronanlyons), Shertzer (@econhist-allday), Gray (@econhistoryorbust), and Agorastos: doi.org/10.1093/qje/...
doi.org
The Price of Housing in the United States, 1890–2006*
Abstract. We construct the first annual market rent and home sales price series for American cities over the 20th century using 2.7 million newspaper real
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VoxEU @ CEPR @voxeu.org · 14/10/2025
@enghin-atalay.bsky.social, Ali Hortacsu, Nicole Kimmel, & Chad Syverson argue that standard measurements understate true #productivity growth in the US #manufacturing sector, especially in industries were it is difficult to track changes in quality growth. cepr.org/voxeu/column... #EconSky
A chart showing measured and corrected total factor productivity growth in various sectors of US manufacturing.

Manufacturing is a locus of innovation, yet standard industry data show manufacturing productivity stagnating in the US. This column argues that standard measurements understate true productivity growth in the sector, especially in industries where it is difficult to track changes in quality growth. Comparing producer and consumer price indexes, the authors show that ‘missing’ quality growth in standard industry output deflators is substantial in manufacturing and results in total factor productivity growth being understated. This is heavily driven by the Computer and Electronic Products industry, which is highly innovative and produces goods that have rapid turnover in product characteristics.
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Pseudoerasmus @pseudoerasmus.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
Mokyr's work could not have been done today in most economics departments, but the irony is that his work would not fit in history departments today, either. Methodologically he seems more 'history' than 'economics' to economists, but the content and reasoning are too 'economics' for most historians
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Ronan is dropping more facts about the U.S. housing market over time and space using the HHP dataset: ronanlyons.substack.com/p/101-things...
ronanlyons.substack.com
101 things we now know about US housing markets (Part IV)
World War I and the Roaring Twenties
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Joshua Goodman @joshua-goodman.com · 12/08/2025
Help my colleague find all the ways in which his work is reaching your students!
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NBER @nber.org · 16/07/2025
Examining the effects of public debt on municipal services and real outcomes during financial crises using data on US cities from 1924 to 1943, from Pawel Janas www.nber.org/papers/w34011
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
New release for the HHP project. We now have rent and sales price indexes for 30 cities along with rental yields, capital gains, and housing returns for the years 1890-2006. Online data viz tools and download here: www.philadelphiafed.org/surveys-and-...
philadelphiafed.org
Historical Housing Prices Project
The Historical Housing Prices (HHP) Project at the Philadelphia Fed provides new data on the price of housing for sale and for rent over the 20th century using the real estate sections of historical n...
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David L. Ortega @dlortega.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
One of the most surprising details in the latest CPI: an increasing share of price data was estimated, not observed. In June, over 1/3 of #CPI imputations came from other items or locations likely due to budget cuts and staffing shortages at BLS. We can’t fight #inflation without reliable data.
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
I am looking for a research assistant to work with me on the development of U.S. housing markets. Experience with ArcGIS, Stata useful. We build datasets that allow us to understand housing affordability, the impacts of transit and zoning, and more: rb.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/FRS/jo...
rb.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
Research Assistant/Sr. Research Assistant
Company Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Job Description Summary Research assistants (RAs) at the Philadelphia Fed play a key role in the Economic Research Department. Whether they are helping eco...
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
My 9 yo composed a song about me. 🥹
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
How was this in the bargain bin??
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Ben Casselman @bencasselman.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
This isn't good: "BLS is reducing sample in areas across the country. In April, BLS suspended CPI data collection entirely in Lincoln, NE, and Provo, UT. In June, BLS suspended collection entirely in Buffalo, NY." #EconSky www.bls.gov/cpi/notices/...
bls.gov
Notice of CPI collection reductions
Notice of CPI collection reductions
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Economic historians take note - big methodological advances in digitizing data from old, irregularly formatted tables. But they are easy to use.
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
In Dublin to meet with @ronanlyons.bsky.social and present to @cephie.bsky.social. Enjoying the sunshine, eating all the pub food, and doing research in together in person. Highly recommend getting an Irish coauthor.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 05/05/2025
JUST IN: ProPublica’s “Life of the Mother” series, which exposes the fatal consequences of abortion bans, has won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. This is the second consecutive year we’ve been awarded this distinction and our eighth Pulitzer: www.propublica.org/series/life-...
Pulitzer Prizes Public Service Winner: ProPublica. Image (right) displays headline that reads: Their States Banned Abortion. Doctors Now Say They Can't Give Women Potentially Lifesaving Care.
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Urban Economics Association @urbaneconomics.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
The next OSUS seminar is tomorrow at 11:30am ET. osus.info Marco Gonzalez-Navarro (UC Berkeley) presents “Immigration and Slums”. Sebastian Galiani and Aradhya Sood will be our panelists.
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
Petting zoo inexplicably set up by the federal building next door today. If anyone is trying to think of a present for me, I'd like one of these tiny pigs.
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
As I was walking home, all the neighbors and kids were wishing me a happy birthday and I couldn't figure out how everyone knew 🥲
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Arpit Gupta @arpitrage.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
📢Heavily revised working paper on AI + Zoning — with @alexbartik.bsky.social and Dan Milo, we have a new draft of our paper which expands on our method to understand housing regulations with AI. Incudes a new public data release with more housing regulation data:
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
To switch up everyone's feed, an example of progress. My husband is fixing up this house we bought in Philadelphia. May I present living room before and after:
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Super congrats to my amazing collaborator Ronan Lyons (@ronanlyons.bsky.social) for his promotion!
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
me: all the news is terrible, let me cheer myself up reading about exciting new research in economics the NBER: www.nber.org/papers/w3362...
nber.org
The Menopause "Penalty"
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Excited to dust off my professor hat and looking forward to meeting some great students!
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Sheilagh Ogilvie @sheilaghogilvie.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Why do sewers matter for the economy? People like them! But not only that: sewers encourage agglomeration economies, making us more productive. Super interesting new working paper: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Sewers and Urbanization in the Developing World
We investigate the effects of sewer access on neighborhood characteristics in developing world cities. Because it is more difficult to move sewage uphill than d
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Let's see if bluesky has hit critical mass of economic historians. Does anyone know what policy drives the near-doubling of government transfers from 1949Q4 to 1950Q1 in the NIPA?
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
The Research and Statistics Division at the FHFA was put on leave last week: nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news/housing...
nationalmortgageprofessional.com
Housing Shake-Up: HUD And FHFA Slash Staff, Close Offices
The Trump administration has initiated sweeping staff cuts and office closures at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), marking a signifi...
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Ken Schwencke @schwanksta.com · 20/02/2025
Life-threatening infections in Texas have soared among women losing a pregnancy after the state’s abortion ban. www.propublica.org/article/texa...
propublica.org
Texas Banned Abortion. Then Sepsis Rates Soared.
ProPublica’s first-of-its-kind analysis is the most detailed look yet into a rise in life-threatening complications for women experiencing pregnancy loss under Texas’ abortion ban.
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Allison Shertzer @econhist-allday.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
It's been a day since we fled our home to escape the toxic smoke from this explosion. We have one change of clothes each and my toddler's stuffies. No timeline on when we can go home. It's surreal to live through a highly localized disaster like this. whyy.org/articles/mas...
whyy.org
Firefighters tackle blaze at SPS Technologies in Jenkintown; residents urged to shelter in place
Air quality readings so far haven’t picked up any hazardous materials in the air.
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