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The best part f the review is on institutions. We know how to reduce externalities; tax them. We knw how to redistribute at low cost; tax progressively and redistribute with cash-like transfers. But how to increase urban density, educate kids from dysfunctional families,or get that subway line built?

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Thanks! It's hard to make policies for all eventualities. In some ways the system builds slowly on itself. You start with the basics - tax and redistribution and spend on military and roads and some science. Soon you end up with harder problems like you said - should you spend the marginal billion on better trains, or fuel subsidies, or flying cars, all of which will solve urban density just in very different ways? Tyler's thesis would lead you towards the latter (probably) because all things equal that will increase the GDP of Earth circa 2100, but it comes with very wide error bars!

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