Veugerity — Issue #1

A monthly roundup of what I've been writing, saying, and doing.

This is the inaugural issue of what so many of you have long begged for: a monthly selection of my work. You are receiving it as family, a friend, or a much admired professional contact. There’s an unsubscribe link at the bottom if you’d prefer not to get these.

This is the June 2026 edition.

Writing

The Strange Logic of World Cup Ticket Prices — Foreign Policy, with Filipe Campante and Florian Ederer. We explain what drove FIFA World Cup ticket prices before the tournament started: host country fans, superstar players, and diaspora communities.

Does Immigration Lead to “Democratic Drain” and Illiberalism in Native Countries? — The UnPopulist. I review Justin Gest’s new book, mostly disagreeing with his argument that emigration weakens democracy in migrants’ countries of origin.

Immigration Policy and Labor Supply — Business Economics, with Anna Maria Mayda and Andrew Selee. This is the article version of a panel discussion at the 2026 NABE Economic Policy Conference. Anna Maria, Andrew, and I discuss how Trump administration changes to immigration policy have affected net migration and the labor market.

Media

Economics in One World Cup — More World Cup content, this time on the Cato Institute podcast, with Ryan Bourne. We talk about ticket prices, local economic impact, immigration, Passportgate, whether it will be coming home, etc.

Al Jazeera English, “This is America” — Ryan and I were also on Al Jazeera together recently, to talk about prediction markets.

I was quoted in Barron’s on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mullin v. Doe, which strips Temporary Protected Status from more than 350,000 immigrants. It is a “big blow for TPS beneficiaries from all countries, as their status (and with that their work authorization) is now either gone or extremely vulnerable.”

Events

The Future of International Tax Reform — I moderated the opening panel, on principles for international tax reform, at this two-day AEI conference (June 15-16) organized by Mindy Herzfeld and Kyle Pomerleau.

As part of AEI’s Summer Honors Program I taught a week-long seminar, “Across Borders: Navigating Globalization,” to undergraduates. Always a joy.

I spoke on trade policy and the transatlantic relationship at the 16th Transatlantic Think Tank Conference, hosted by the Hudson Institute (June 22–24), and hosted Roberto Viola, Director-General of the European Commission’s DG CONNECT, at AEI on June 26. No video footage sadly!

That’s June. Thanks for reading the first issue of Veugerity — feedback is very welcome!

— Stan