4 ms·

So epsilon * phi is exactly 1, no ?

codetrotter 2y ago
Yup. Patrick Boyle has an interesting video on the tariffs that I watched earlier, and he mentions that too. https://youtu.be/IpKe_HbVG64 https://youtu.be/IpKe_HbVG64 Worth watching this video.
nkoren 2y ago
Yes. They added greek letters to make themselves sound smart. But the terms cancel out and are therefore meaningless.
- _t9ow 2y ago
  > They added greek letters to make themselves sound smart That's because they know that most Americans won't be able to figure out that those terms cancel out.
- vntok 2y ago
  That's not how applied math works. Sure, two variables may cancel out when set to specific values and multiplied or divided together... however that certainly does not mean that the variables are meaningless in the overall equation!
- marcusb 2y ago
  Between the Penguin Tax and the wonky math, I maintain this entire thing was developed by LLM. The only thing that gives me any pause is the wonky math is consistent.
- nasmorn 2y ago
  My theory is the tariffs have simply been set by relative trade deficit and after Trump has announced them and been ridiculed someone tasked economists with finding an explanation for the rates. This formula kind of just works out if you estimate the elasticities for all import from all countries conveniently at 2.
garciasn 2y ago
https://bsky.app/profile/carlquintanilla.bsky.social/post/3llw7cx2bd22z https://bsky.app/profile/carlquintanilla.bsky.social/post/3l...
rayiner 2y ago
It happens to work out that way for the particular values selected. You’re welcome to argue those selections are wrong, e.g. https://x.com/monacelt/status/1908040195888353595?s=46 https://x.com/monacelt/status/1908040195888353595?s=46
namdnay 2y ago
As the great Matt Levine said: Well, yes. I just like that they made up the numbers to get an exact negative 1. Again, I am a financial columnist, and I have a patriotic appreciation for the US’s export industry of finance, and two of that industry’s most popular products are: 1) Sprinkling some Greek letters on your work to add visual interest, and 2) Making up parameters to solve for the result you want. Even in this tariff announcement, you see the US leaning into its comparative advantage.

Yup. Patrick Boyle has an interesting video on the tariffs that I watched earlier, and he mentions that too. https://youtu.be/IpKe_HbVG64 https://youtu.be/IpKe_HbVG64 Worth watching this video.

nkoren 2y ago

Yes. They added greek letters to make themselves sound smart. But the terms cancel out and are therefore meaningless.

_t9ow 2y ago
> They added greek letters to make themselves sound smart That's because they know that most Americans won't be able to figure out that those terms cancel out.
vntok 2y ago
That's not how applied math works. Sure, two variables may cancel out when set to specific values and multiplied or divided together... however that certainly does not mean that the variables are meaningless in the overall equation!
marcusb 2y ago
Between the Penguin Tax and the wonky math, I maintain this entire thing was developed by LLM. The only thing that gives me any pause is the wonky math is consistent.
nasmorn 2y ago
My theory is the tariffs have simply been set by relative trade deficit and after Trump has announced them and been ridiculed someone tasked economists with finding an explanation for the rates. This formula kind of just works out if you estimate the elasticities for all import from all countries conveniently at 2.

garciasn 2y ago

https://bsky.app/profile/carlquintanilla.bsky.social/post/3llw7cx2bd22z https://bsky.app/profile/carlquintanilla.bsky.social/post/3l...

rayiner 2y ago

It happens to work out that way for the particular values selected. You’re welcome to argue those selections are wrong, e.g. https://x.com/monacelt/status/1908040195888353595?s=46 https://x.com/monacelt/status/1908040195888353595?s=46

namdnay 2y ago

As the great Matt Levine said: Well, yes. I just like that they made up the numbers to get an exact negative 1. Again, I am a financial columnist, and I have a patriotic appreciation for the US’s export industry of finance, and two of that industry’s most popular products are: 1) Sprinkling some Greek letters on your work to add visual interest, and 2) Making up parameters to solve for the result you want. Even in this tariff announcement, you see the US leaning into its comparative advantage.