Backstory: How Research Papers in Economics Get Made – Details, episodes & analysis

Join Maddison as she speaks with Susanna Berkouwer, Assistant Professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  In this episode, they discuss Susanna's paper with Joshua Dean, "Cooking, Health, and Daily Exposure to Transient Air Pollution Peaks" in Kenya.  Tune in to hear how Susanna started this project as a grad student and how it evolved into two different papers, including their job market paper.  Susanna shares insight into their experimental design, the development of their research questions in this area, and the formation of their ongoing coauthorship collaboration. Here is the link to the working paper: https://sberkouwer.github.io/BerkouwerDean_Health.pdf

In this episode, Aakash talks to Erin Kelley about her project titled “Long-Range Forecasts as Climate Adaptation: Experimental Evidence from Developing-Country Agriculture." Erin shares some fascinating insights about developing and maintaining relationships in research, different types of field projects, and a great idea for testing early ideas: pitch it to your parents! Here is the link to the working paper, co-authored with Fiona Burlig, Amir Jina, Gregory V. Lane & Harshil Sahai: https://www.nber.org/papers/w32173

Santiago talks to Vincent Pons, Associate Professor at Harvard Business School, about his paper: 'Keep your Enemies Closer: Strategic Platform Adjustments during U.S. and French Elections'. Vincent shares his thoughts on deciding to make upfront investments in data collection, how his political curiosity took him to be a national field coordinator for a presidential campaign and how he has used that experience in his research.

In this episode, Santiago sits down with Teresa Molina, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and current visitor at UCSD. They delve into her paper, 'An Examination of Intergenerational Mobility in the Philippines.' The discussion highlights the paper's origins, the crucial role of having the right collaborators, and the valuable contributions of motivated undergraduate students. They also explore the evolution of a research agenda from graduate school through the early years as an assistant professor. The episode concludes with invaluable advice for graduate students. Tune in to hear more!

Join us in conversation with Bryce Steinberg, Assistant Professor of Economics at Brown University, as we delve into her paper, "Family Planning, Now and Later: Infertility Fear and Contraception Take-Up." This discussion offers a comprehensive look into the fieldwork process from start to finish. Along the way, we uncover intriguing research questions that surfaced during the study and share anecdotes that provide a unique glimpse into the world of field research.

In this episode, Associate Professor Pauline Rossi from Ecole Polytechnique-CREST discusses her paper, "Drivers of Fertility: Experimental Evidence from Burkina Faso." She shares practical insights from conducting field research, including managing the challenges of data collection and responding to unexpected hurdles. We also explore the process behind developing research ideas and Rossi's journey to becoming an economist.

In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Diana Martinez, a job market candidate at UC San Diego. Diana shares the backstory of her job market paper, "How Does Immigration Affect Incumbent Students? The Case of the Venezuelan Migration to Peru." She provides valuable insights into the process of developing a paper during a Ph.D. program, detailing the highs and lows, as well as the challenges of acquiring the necessary data to answer her research question. Don't miss out on this informative conversation!

In this episode we spoke with Ernest Liu, Assistant Professor at the Bendheim Center for Finance at Princeton's Department of Economics. He discussed the backstory of his research on "Innovation Networks and R&D Allocation", how he got the idea for his job market paper, and the challenges he overcame during his research journey.

In this episode we have a conversation with Jeff Weaver, an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California, about his paper titled Polity Size and Local Government Performance: evidence from India. The interview has very useful advice on identification strategies motivated by a question, forming teams, picking research projects, and some other great perspectives from Jeff. 

In this episode, we're joined by Garima Sharma, currently a post-doctoral fellow at Princeton University and soon-to-be Assistant Professor at Northwestern. She discusses her paper, Monopsony and Gender, which served as her job market paper. Dive in to explore not only the backstory of her paper but also insights on balancing modeling with empirics, selecting the right tools for structural modeling, and the distinction between a single research paper and a broader research agenda