ECON UA 351: Labor Economics
Project
Introduction
Working in groups of 1-3 students, this project consists of writing an original research paper with Current Population Survey (CPS), Panel of Income Dynamics (PSID), or another public data. The paper must be typeset in LATEX. Your research design should be a Diff-in-diff/Fixed Effects model. Details on how to use STATA, LATEX, CPS data, and the Diff-in-diff/Fixed Effects model are provided in Homework 1 and Lecture Slides 2.
The “best” paper (or two or three papers), as determined by me at the end of with semester, will win the Best Paper Award. I will pay for the winners’ submission costs to an academic journal.
Timeline
1. (1 point) Project Proposal - Due 02/07/24
- A one page research proposal. Should included proposed dataset (if not CPS or PSID) and argue its feasibility. You can run the idea by me and/or the TA before submitting the proposal to make sure it will be accepted.
2. (3 points) Literature Review/Introduction Section - Due 02/14/24
- A two or more page literature review summarizing relevant research and arguing how your paper contributes to the literature. This can also serve as the Introduction section of your paper.
3. (3 points) Data Section and Descriptive Statistics - Due 03/06/24
- Describe the data. Should include at least one summary statistics table and one graph.
4. (3 points) Methodology Section and main Results - Due 03/27/24
- A Methodology section explaining the Diff-in-diff/Fixed Effects model, and a Results section with the main results of your paper.
5. (1 points) First Draft - 04/01/24
- Update the introduction to include a summary of results and why they are policy relevant. Add an abstract and a conclusion section.
6. (1 point) Referee Reports - Due 04/10/24
- You will be given two other groups’ projects and will be asked to write referee reports offering constructive criticism. Details on how to write a referee report will be provided.
7. (3 point) Final Draft - Due 04/24/24
- Should include at least one robustness check in the Results section based on feedback from referee reports on your paper.
Grading
At each stage of the project, you will reserve a satisfactory grade (full points for that portion of the project) or unsatisfactory grade (no points for that portion of the project). The project is would 15% of your overall grade for the class.