This
note helps you in writing an economics paper. The first thing to keep in mind
is that is fun! You need to like what you do, otherwise it will be a
torture (and probably a waste of time). Secondly, the paper has to meet certain
requirements. This note hopefully provides some assistance and gives you
information on the selection of a topic, designing a structure of your
activities, the set-up of the paper, the style, and finishing it in the
appropriate way finally. It also gives you the focus of the valuation of the
quality of your work:. Moreover, I give some advice in presenting the
paper.
The
most important element of the whole process is the brainwave that leads to the
selection of the topic. It is of the utmost importance that you select
the topic yourself. Copying ideas from others is not a good advice. As you can
see below originality counts to a large extent, so try to present something
new. How do you get the valuable brainwaves? In economics there are ten ways to
get inspiration: reading, reading, reading, … and reading. Where do you start
reading? Of course you start with the main textbooks you used in class. But
next to that the library (via Internet) is a prominent source. the library
provides a large number of electronic journals. For instance, all economics
journals produced by Elsevier can be found on:
http://www1.elsevier.com/homepage/sae/econworld/menu.htm and for the most
interesting journals it is good to go to: www.jstor.org, where you can find the
volumes of the top-journals up to few
years ago. It is also advisable for getting the big picture to look at the Journal
of Economic Literature. Here you can find a full description of subfields
in economics. See http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AEA/. In any case it is also good
to go to the library itself, sit down, and read the paper copies of journals.
It is definitely more inspiring than sitting behind your PC.
So it
is first your interest that hints at a special topic. Next we go to practicle
problems: finding the relevant models, the required data, other views on the
topic, etc. The main problem is to find these source within time available.
Once you have all this it is time to write an abstract. Writing this abstract
helps in focusing thoughts. Normally this is one page that includes: a concise
statement of the problem, a short review of the literature (two key
references), a description of the research design (model, empirics, testing)
and the intended contribution of your work.
After
finishing the abstract it is wise to go one step further: think about the
theory/models, try to find data, and other relevant literature. How do you find
the relevant model? Again, reading the journals is the ultimate way. Try to
find a model that is close to what you want (finding the precise model you had
in mind creates a problem: there is nothing left for you). Use this model setup
and change the things you think that need to be changed. Do this in a precise
way. A model should be supportive to your ideas. There is a basic principle in
modelling is KISS: keep it simple stupid. So it can be helpful to strip a model
to its bare necessities. Drop unuseful equations, use homogeneous sectors, get
rid of too many indices, etc. Give the key solution to the model and relate the
outcomes to the assumptions. If you assume risk aversion of agents it will come
as no surprise that they will like bonds more than equity.
How do
you find the required data? This can be hard, but again the library can be very
helpful. In macroeconomics a lot of the data are consistently supplied by the
IMF (International Financial Statistics), the World Bank (World Development
Indicators), the OECD, Eurostat, central banks (like the ECB: www.ecb.de), etc.
On the micro level it might be a little harder. But for firm-level data you can
use Amadeus or for bank-data Bankscope. There is a lot more data than you can
imagine.
Finding
other papers related to your topic is rather easy once you know the way to the
library. Nowadays search engines on the internet can also provide useful tips.
The probability that you will find more papers than you can review is quite
large. So selecting the really relevant literature is essential. You need to
think of criteria that help you in narrowing the focus of the review. What are
the essential characteristics of …? See
hereafter for more details.
Let's
start with the most essential one: the format of the paper. The typical outline
of your paper should be:
1.
The
front page: give the title of the paper, the name of the author, the date of
production and the name of your supervisor. In a footnote you can give the address to contact the author. Also include an abstract of no more than 50 words. Please add the so-called JEL-code (see the Journal of Economic Literature) and include two to four keywords. Do
NOT produce a table of contents!.
2.
Introduction.
This is the place to present the basic problem of the paper. Try to give the
motivation why this problem is so important. Also explain what the interested
reader might learn from your work: who should be interested in the results? At
the end of this section briefly describe the contents that will follow in the
next section.
3.
Review
of the literature. Your problem is not new. Summarize the relevant literature.
The best thing to do is to identify key concepts in this literature you
are interested in that you want the reader to remember. Make a table of these
concepts and the attributes given in the various papers you reviewed. In this
overview at least the papers that motivated you need to be mentioned. It is extremely
important to note that you do not need to review all literature, only the
stuff you think that is relevant.
4.
The
model. If you use a model (either a formal mathematical model or a statistical
model or a more conceptual model), explain it clearly. Be brief, keep it
simple, and don't use inessential jargon. If you use a formal model it is
necessary to explain the basic assumptions. Illustrate the plausibility of the
assumptions. After that formulate the key hypotheses. For instance: I estimate
a consumption function C=aY+b. The assumption is that income Y
affects private consumption C. My hypothesis is that a=0.8.
5.
The
data. Describe the data, sources of the data, and your reservations concerning
the data. If there are many variables to be introduced use an appendix to give
the sources. Explain the main descriptive statistics of the data in a table.
For instance give the mean, median, and standard deviation of the key variables
in a table.
6.
Results.
Explain the statistical methods you use. Present the results and link the
outcomes with the hypotheses you formulated. Give more formal tests if
required. For instance, give a t-test of the significance of the
estimate of a in the consumption equation C=aY+b.
7.
Summary
and conclusions. Give a very, very, very short summary and go to conclusions.
These conclusions can include policy advise, food for further thought (possible
extensions) and the limitations of the analysis.
8.
References.
Produce a consistent list of references. Use one style format (see
hereafter).
Styling
your paper is an essential part of the job. Style relates to the use of
English, the structure, decent numbering of figures and equation, consistent
use of symbols, clear referencing, etc. Let us review these things one by one.
First of all: use 12-point fonts, 1.5 line spacing and wide margins (4cm) at
least in drafts of your paper. Small letter fonts really trouble reading your
work. If you use 1 line spacing, it is hard to write comments on the paper. So
12-point fonts, 1.5 spacing and wide margins on all sides!!!
1.
Language.
Be precise in formulating your thoughts. Reread your paper more than once
before handing in, use spell-checkers and grammar instructions. Typo's are
likely to downgrade the final assessment of the paper.
2.
Structure.
Use clear headings of sections and subsections. Number sections consecutively.
Do not use too many subsections and paragraphs: this makes the paper hard to
read.
3.
If
you use figures and tables: number them and make each figure or table
self-explanatory! Be transparent in the figures: label the axes, label the
functions, explain the symbols you use, highlight the important features, give
a concise title, and if relevant, repeat the necessary equations. For tables
even more precision is required. A table should contain a one-shot overview of
all the relevant material. Give a topic-covering title to the table in the
caption. Explain the model that generated the numbers in the table. Explain all symbols used, give
equations estimated. In a footnote to the table: give the sources of the data
used. Take care of mathematical precision in the table. For instance if all
values of variable x are like 0.001436 or 0.001976 it is better to
relabel the variable into x.10-3 and put 1.436 and 1.976 as
figures. Do not denote the one by 1.436 and the other by 1.98: use the same
order of precision!
4.
Throughout
the paper: check for consistency. In words this means that you are not allowed
to reformulate your hypotheses halfway, give a reverse interpretation of Mister
A and B's (200x) paper in the conclusions, use the same symbols for the same
variables.
5.
Referencing
is a discipline on its own. There are two basic rules: consistence and completeness.
There needs to be a one-to-one match between references in the text and the
list of literature used in the end. Refer in the text to John Smith (19xx), or
John Smith and Keith Richards (19xx), or to John Smith et al. (19xx) in case of
three or more authors. Depending on the publication-type use a consistent
referencing at the end of the paper.
a.
For a
journal article use:
Smith, John (19xx), Habit Formation in Publishing Economics Texts, Journal
of Nonsense, vol. 12, pages 1-30.
Note the italics for the journal name. Give the volume of the journal, since
some journals have more volumes per year.
b.
For
books use:
Smith, John and Keith Richard (19xx), How To Write Nonsense in Economics,
Rolling Stones Press, London.
Note that the book title is in italics. Give the name and place of the
publisher.
c.
For a
chapter in a contributed volume use:
Smith, John, Keith Richard, and Stuart O'Grady (19xx), How to Cycle Down Under?
in: Jean-Michel LeBlanc (ed.), The Tour de France Revisited, Equipe
Press, Paris, Chapter 7, pages 567-587.
Give the full set of references in alphabetical order
of the last name of the first author.
Start this part of the paper with REFERENCES. One can vary the style of
referencing between papers, but be consistent within one paper. So use full
first names or initials consistently throughout, or use vol. 15, pages 13-17 or
vol. 15, pp 13-17, or 15, 13-17 consistently to denote the volume and the page
numbers.
Writing
a paper is an iterative process. The best way to proceed after writing the
abstract is finishing a version of your work right away (without interference
of anybody else), unless you face problems in computing your model, statistical
analysis, etc. for which you would like 'professional' advice. Confine the professional
advice to things you really cannot solve yourself. In lots of cases in writing
an empirical paper one is worried about 'not getting the right results'. Don't
be: no result is a result. So don't be afraid to find no significant
correlation or no significant parameter. Anyhow, halfway advice is mostly
technical and rather exceptional.
Now you
have the first draft of the paper. You checked the format and the style
carefully. In such a case it still is wise to let the draft rest for one or two
days. Reread your work after this period and you will notice some mistakes in
the details. Change the things you like and hand in the corrected draft. Now we
start iterating between your commentors and yourself. In lots of cases this
iteration converges into a final proof (if not, it might be in your interest to
widen the group of readers!). This proof is now ready for precise typesetting.
Typesetting can be helpful: start new (sub)-sections at the top of the page (as
do with figure and tables). Avoid so-called widows and orphans: single line of
paragraphs at the bottom and top of a page. Do the page numbering, make boxes
if you like to highlight details, etc. You will notice this typesetting will be
rewarded!
The
assessment of your paper is an assessment of:
1.
The
description of the goal of the paper (originality, relevance);
2.
The
originality of the setup of the project;
3.
The
quality of use of theory and methods;
4.
The
structure of the paper;
5.
The
style;
6.
The
degree of independent production of the paper;
7.
The oral
presentation and participation during the presentation seminars.
All
these items are valued in principal equally.
If the paper is finalized and assessed you are required to hand in a pdf-file at the secretary of general economics. Make sure your paper includes an abstract of no more than 50 words and two to four keywords. Also include the name of your supervisor.
Writing
a paper is exciting: it can be even more exciting to present your work. In
presenting the paper one thing must be clear: you are selling your work, so at
the end the opinion of the audience is the only thing that counts. So the game
is to transfer what you regard essential to the audience in a very limited
amount of time. A presentation can be used to improve the quality of the final
paper. Nowadays
it is common to use (electronic) slides to highlight the key features of your
work. Slide number one contains the title and your name. Slide two gives the
summarized contents of your presentation, while slide three presents the
motivation of it all. After that, depending on the time available, you present
a literature overview, theory, your model, main hypothesis,
methodology/methods, and main results. Use some time to conclude and to reflect
on your results. There
is one basic rule in producing slides: do not put too much information on one
slide! Use large fonts (say 28+-point fonts). Do not copy full tables, but
highlight only the figures you want to focus on. Graphs and figures help in
presenting the key facts/assumptions/outcomes. In
presenting the paper, make sure that you do not block the view on the screen.
Also allow the audience to ask about unclear statements, but try to postpone
discussion till after your presentation. So allow questions for clarification
during your talk. Do not pretend to know answers to all questions: you do not
need to do so. Admit mistakes (if you thinks you made some) and do not fool
around to hide problems. Allow for other opinions, but do not be weak on your
own opinions. Remember that the final results will be what the audience
remembers one hour after your presentation! Presenting your paper