Writing an Economic PaperWriting an Economic Paper

Noer Azam Achsani, PhD

Department of Economics andGraduate School of Management and Business

Bogor Agricultural Universityachsani@mb.ipb.ac.id or achsani@yahoo.com

(preferred)

OutlineOutlineIntroduction

◦Why should we learn this?◦Writing papers, what for?◦A long journey to be a successful writers◦Small tips….

Step by Step of Writing PapersCheck it out..!Is my paper interesting?Strong selling points are…?

IntroductionIntroductionWhy should we learn this?Why should we learn this?

On average, economist are not good at writing (they don’t explain technicalities very well and don’t tell you why something is important)

People who write well-structured papers habe well-structured thought process

On the other hand, fuzzy writing reflects fuzzy thinking

IntroductionIntroductionWriting papers, what for?Writing papers, what for?

In academia, you need to write papers that will get published.

◦ Half the battle of getting published is about what result what you get and half the battle is about how to sell them

Outside academia, you need to write reports, proposals etc.

◦ These must be understandable very quickly (the boss will only have 2 minutes to look at it) and usually by non-specialist.

IntroductionIntroductionA long journey to be a successful writers A long journey to be a successful writers

No one can tell you how to research and write a paper. Good research and writing skills require constant practice.

Most good economists spend at least 50% of the time they put into any project on writing. For me, it’s more like 80% (Cochrane, 2005).

These are only suggestions… that’s right. But, I strongly encourage you to follow as many of these as possible.

If you feel you need further discussion in researching and writing, please do not hesitate to contact me .

IntroductionIntroductionSmall tips….Small tips….

Writing paper is fun..!Enjoy it or you will get a Ph.D

(permanently head damage….!)

Step by Step of Writing Step by Step of Writing Papers Papers Selecting topics Designing and structuring our

activities Set-up the paper

The style Finishing

Selecting TopicsSelecting TopicsWhat …?What …?

Select the topic yourself◦ Find an interesting topic so that you can enjoy it

hours without getting headache.◦ You may have to narrow your topic so that it could

be write in a one paper (Remember: Keep it short. A paper should not more that 20 pages)

Originality is the most important thingNovelty - find something new

◦ New idea◦ Old idea with new angle, new data, new

methodology

Selecting TopicsSelecting TopicsHow…?How…?

Brainstorming ◦ Take a paper and pencil and just write

down everything in your mind◦ Construct a diagram

Important resources:◦ Journal of Economic Literature◦ Journal of Economic Perspectives ◦ (Applied) Economics Letters, (Applied)

Financial Letters◦ Internet resources

Designing and structuring our Designing and structuring our activitiesactivitiesFind the relevant modelsData required?Outline of the paperFinishing touchesCheck it out!

Always read, read and read the current journal and working papers….!

Designing and structuring our Designing and structuring our activitiesactivitiesFind the relevant modelsFind the relevant modelsRead the current and previous literature (at

least 20 papers!).

Make a literature survey/review and construct a table containing summary of them.◦ Author(s)◦ Year of publication◦ Data◦ Models◦ Summary of the findings

Get something out of them….

Designing and structuring our Designing and structuring our activities activities Finding the dataFinding the dataMacro dataWorld Bank, IMF, OECD, ECB, ASEANBI, BPS, Ministry of Finance etc

Micro DataSusenas, Podes, IFLS, Bank’s DataOwn Dataetc

Designing and structuring our Designing and structuring our activitiesactivitiesOutline of the paperFront page (title, authors, affiliations, abstract,

JEL Classification, keywords) Introduction (basic problem, motivation,

potential benefits, briefly content of the paper)Review of the literature (summarize and table

of previous papers, key concept, inconclusiveness)The Data and Model (explain the model clearly,

the data and sources, descriptive statistics and explanations)

Results and DiscussionConcluding RemarksReferences

Outline of the PaperOutline of the PaperFront pagesTitle (and subtitle if needed)

Authors and affiliationAbstract (100 words)

◦ Problem statements◦ Short review of literature◦ Description of the research design (model testing,

empirical etc)◦ Contribution of the research

Keywords (2 – 5 words, not more)

JEL Classification (3 class)

Outline of the PaperOutline of the PaperIntroductionWhat questions do you address? Why do these questions arise? From what

literature or real-world events? Offer background that clarifies your question.

What answers do you offer? How will you reach your answer? Explain

about your sources and models/methodsThe novelty and potential benefits?What comes next? Provide a roadmap to the

rest of the paper

Outline of the PaperOutline of the PaperLiterature Review It can be included in the introduction (but

don’t put it in the beginning of the introduction) or in a separate section.

It is not necessary to cite every single paper in the literature and put it in the literature review.

The main point of the literature review should be to set your paper off against the 2 or 3 closest current papers, and then find some inconclusiveness or “new ideas” to be explored further.

Outline of the PaperOutline of the PaperData and MethodologyExplain the data clearly

◦ Primary or secondary◦ How the data compiled◦ Sources of the data◦ Descriptive statistics and brief explanation

The model◦ Economic model and the theoretical consideration◦ How to estimate the model?◦ Has the model been used in the previous papers? ◦ What is the difference or new thing?

Outline of the PaperOutline of the PaperResult and DiscussionGet to the central result as fast as possible. In the empirical research, start with the main

result. Do not do warm up exercise, data descriptions, preliminary estimates etc. If any of this is really important, put it in the appendix.

Give explanation and argumentation to the main results◦ Follow the main result with graphs and tables. Use

empirical evidence –facts, numbers, history– to support your argument.

◦ Clearly frame the general points that your evidence supports. Don’t ask facts to speak themselves.

◦ “Argue against yourself”. After laying out your argument, acknowledge questions or objections that a skeptical reader might arise, and briefly address them.

Outline of the PaperOutline of the PaperConcluding remarksConcluding remarks should be short and

sweet. Do not re-state all of the findings. Even, a conclusions section should not be

necessary. If you did a good job in explaining your contribution in the introduction and documenting those claims in the paper, then saying it again is pointless.

Better include a few paragraphs explaining the limitation and suggesting the policy implications or possible future research. But remember… keep it short!

Finishing touchesFinishing touchesCheck the style (depends on the journal

we want to submit). Every journals have their own style. So, make sure to see “guide for the authors”

The consistency, mathematical formula, definitions etc

Completeness and consistence of the references

Take a rest (1-2 days) and read it again… !

Check it out…! Check it out…!

Assessment of a paper is mainly assessment of :◦The description of the goal of the paper ◦Novelty (originality) and relevance of the paper ◦The quality of use of theory, methods and data◦The structure of the paper ◦The style of the paper◦Presentation and participation on the seminars

Is my Paper Interesting?Is my Paper Interesting?Who wants to know the answer to the

problem that I am analyzing?Where does this research fit into the

existing literature? What is the innovation of this paper? Where will this paper be published? How can I sell this piece of research?

And the answer is…. Interesting!

Strong selling points are… ?Strong selling points are… ?KISS (Keep it short and simple)Addressing a sexy and fashionable

questionIntroducing a new (superior) data setUse tables and figuresFinding a funky instrumentUtilizing a new (more advanced)

econometric technique

Strong selling points are… ?Strong selling points are… ?Empirical and comparative analysis is

more advantagesTesting a model that has not yet been

tested Nesting several models within one testUse conferences or seminars as entry

point and write it down in the acknowledgements

Write our own relevant publication on the references

Do it now or never..!Do it now or never..!

ReferencesReferences

Anonym. 2009. How to Write An Economics Paper? Institute of Economics and Econometrics., The University of Groningen. The Netherlands

Duffy, J. 2009. How to Research and Write an Economics Term Paper. Department of Economics, The University of Pittsburgh. USA

Bunt, L. 2007. How to Write a Good Paper in Economics. The University of Lausanne

Cochrane, J.H. 2005. Writing Tips for PhD Students. Graduate School of Business. The University of Chicago

Useful ResourcesUseful ResourcesThe Grant DoctorAlan Marnett

◦10 Ways to be A Successful Scientist◦The Seven Habits of A Highly

Successful Scientist