Research Paper

Eco 441K

Spring 2023
Grading Policy
Approximate Paper  
Length Percentage of
With Tables Final Grade
Requirement
Topic 0
Proposal 3-4 pages 5
First Draft 7-10 pages 15
Final Paper 10-15 pages 10

    30
Topic
 Topic should be approved by instructor or TA
before you submit your proposal
 The goal is to identify a topic for your
independent paper
 Upload your Topic/Paper Title in Canvas
 Try to upload your topics by February 17.
Choosing a Topic
 Topic should specify your dependent variable and your
independent variable of interest.
 Title of your paper (e.g. Effect of Minimum Wage on Crime Rates)
 Empirical research focuses on testing one or more specific
hypotheses.
 Uncertainty about the outcome

 Previous literature is ambiguous

 Economic theory does not give a clear prediction

 There may be many empirical issues that are new or could be

explored more fully.
 Opioid crisis, marijuana legalization, maternal mortality in

the US, tax cuts, effect of___ on Covid infections

 Alternatively, you may be interested in determining whether

the empirical results found in one of your course readings

can be supported using more recent data.
Choosing a Topic (cts)
 You may want to pursue a topic you have written about for an upper
level economics course.
 A step towards thesis
 Can I use Mortality Rate as dependent variable?
 Need to use a different unit of analysis
 Reverse causality
 Undergraduates sometimes wish to write on a topic that, although
interesting and important, is in an area in which they have not taken
any courses (e.g., economics of the arts). Consequently, they must
spend a considerable amount of time learning about the field before
they can begin to apply econometrics tools. Such topics may be more
suitable for your honor thesis than this class.
Proposal
 Due on February 24
 The purpose of the proposal is to narrow down on a testable
hypothesis and to motivate the study to the reader.
 Proposals will include
 the research question you want to address,

 Unit of analysis

 discuss the importance of your study (i.e. why it is an

important public policy issue)

 literature review.

 Revised proposals become introductions to the research paper.

 Graded based on writing quality.
First Draft

 First drafts are due on March 24

 First drafts should include

 A revised introduction

 First drafts should add:

 Empirical model

 A data section

 Preliminary empirical results

 Brief conclusions and policy implications

Revised Final Paper
 Final paper is due on April 21
 Revised papers will
 address instructor and/or TA comments
 add the abstract and diagnostic tests
 add alternative specifications and revise empirical
results based on results of diagnostic tests
 point out avenues for future research
 shortcomings of the data and of the paper in general
Grading Criteria
 Innovation & novelty: demonstration of independence of thought or approach in
terms of the research question asked, methodology or the data analyzed
 Contribution to existing literature
 Research hypothesis: a well-defined question or problem that requires economic
analysis and that is narrow, feasible (in terms of the available data) and well
motivated
 Empirical method: a well developed empirical model that addresses the topic of
interest
 Data: well chosen data that helps economic inquiry
 Structure: easy to follow structure (introduction, empirical model, data, empirical
results, conclusions & policy implications)
 Style: writing should be informative, clear and concise
 Readable sentences
 Well-defined key terms