From CEU Econ Wiki

Contents 1 Rules 2 Questions 3 Meetings 3.1 2010-2011 3.2 2011-2012 4 Methods 5 IO 6 Public 7 Labor 8 Development 9 Trade 10 Macro 11 Political economy 12 Urban 13 Measuring interactions

Rules

• Each meeting lasts 75 minutes. The presenter is responsible for handling the time.
• Meetings start and finish on time.
• You are required to read the paper in advance. A randomly selected student is called on to summarize the paper in 3 minutes.
• Presenters: prepare with slides that answer the questions below and go into details as necessary. Begin your presentation with 3 summary slides.

Questions

To prepare for the meetings, please try to answer the following questions about each paper we read.

1. What are the big questions the paper tries to answer?
2. How does the study design help answer these questions?
3. What are the most interesting findings?
4. What did you learn about the world?

Meetings

2010-2011

• November 19, 3.30pm. David Card: The Impact of the Mariel Boatlift on the Miami Labor Market (1990). Discussed by Eszter Nagy. slides
• November 24, 9.00am. N11 402. Obtaining a Driving License in India: An Experimental Approach to Studying Corruption. Discussed by Anna Adamecz. slides
• Week of December 13. Trade Shocks and Labor Adjustment: A Structural Empirical Approach. Discussed by Corina Haita. slides
• January 21. Entry and Competition in Concentrated Markets. Discussed by Péter Zsohár.
• February 4. Nevo, Aviv “A Practitioner’s Guide to Estimation of Random-Coefficients Logit Models of Demand.” Discussed by Marta Bisztray. slides
  • Recommended: Berry, Levinsohn, and Pakes. "Differentiated Products Demand Systems from a Combination of Micro and Macro Data: The New Car Market" JPE, 1994
  • Furthermore: Berry, Levinsohn, and Pakes. "Automobile Prices in Market Equilibrium" Econometrica, 1995
• February 21. MATLAB codes of A. Nevo Discussed by Marta Bisztray. slides
  • everything in a zip file, with a small modification in gmmobjg.m so that it runs
• March 4. MATLAB estimation based on the Nevo paper - continued
• March 18. Olley and Pakes. “The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry.” Econometrica, 1996. Discussed by Miklós Koren.
  • Recommended: Levinsohn and Petrin. "Estimating Production Functions Using Inputs to Control for Unobservables" Review of Economic Studies , 2003
  • Furthermore: Ackerberg, Caves and Frazer. "Structural Identification of Production Functions", 2006. The beginning of ACF is a very good summary of OP. You might also want to look at Bronwyn Hall's slides.
  • This Stata code simulates some data and then implements all three steps of OP: proxying for productivity, controlling for selection, and for productivity dynamics.
• April 29. Raj Chetty. "Sufficient statistics for welfare analysis" Discussed by Dzsamila Vonnák slides
• May 5. Dave Donaldson. "Railroads and the Raj: Estimating the Economic Impact of Transportation Infrastructure" Discussed by Ildikó Magyari slides
• May 13. Mion and Opromolla. "Managers' mobility, trade status, and wages" Discussed by Marta Bisztray slides
• June 20. Katherine Ho and Joy Ishiiy. "Location and Competition in Retail Banking" Discussed by Peter Zsohar slides
• June 23. Pol Antràs and C. Fritz Foley. "Poultry in Motion: A Study of International Trade Finance Practices" Discussed by Ildiko Magyari slides

2011-2012

• Oct 4. T.J. Holmes: The Diffusion of Wal-Mart and Economies of Density (Econometrica, 2011) Discussed by Péter Zsohár slides
• Oct 18. Mas and Moretti: Peers at work Discussed by Anna Adamecz slides
• Nov 2. Sacerdote: Peer Effects with Random Assignment: Results for Dartmouth Roommates Discussed by András Kiss slides
• Nov 9. Conley and Udrey: Learning about a New Technology: Pineapple in Ghana Discussed by Kinga Marczell slides
• Nov 22. Carrell et al.: From Natural Variation to Optimal Policy? The Lucas Critique Meets Peer Effects Discussed by Eszter Nagy slides
• Dec 14. Card et al.: Inequality at Work: The Effect of Peer Salaries on Job Satisfaction Discussed by Dzsamila Vonnák slides
• Jan 20. Nunn-Wantchekon: The Slave Trade and the Origins of Mistrust in Africa Discussed by Marta Bisztray slides
• Feb 3. Michalopoulos-Papaioannou: Divide and Rule or the Rule of the Divided? Evidence from Africa Discussed by Pawel Bukowski slides
• Feb 17. Optimal non-parametric estimation of first-price auctions Discussed by Jeno Pal - sections 3 and 4.2 are optional; the main focus is identification slides
• March 2. Bloom et al.: Does Management Matter? Evidence from India Discussed by Gabor Nyeki slides
• March 23. Comparing open and sealed bid auctions: Evidence from timber auctions Discussed by Peter Zsohar slides
• April 6. Ellison, Glaeser, Kerr: What Causes Industry Agglomeration? Evidence from Coagglomeration Patterns Discussed by Kinga Marczell slides
• April 19. Dell: The Persistent Effects of Peru's Mining Mita Discussed by Marta Bisztray slides
• April 27. Cho and Rust: The Flat Rental Puzzle Discussed by Corneliu Todirica slides
• May 11. Becker et al.: The Empire Is Dead, Long Live the Empire! Discussed by Pawel Bukowski slides
• May 25.

Methods

• * (1) Highly readable piece on the "Freakonomics revolution".
• How to do empirical economics? An interview with a number of practitioners.
• The JEP has a symposium on structural vs program evaluation
  • An experimental paper: http://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.24.2.3
  • A structural paper: http://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.24.2.69
  • Non-technical essay to give some perspective on the IO part. Einav and Levin. "Empirical Industrial Organization: A Progress Report"
• James Heckman weighs in. A JEL survey. The first 2 sections are nontechnical.
• * (1) Angus Deaton Randomization in the tropics
• * (1) Guido Imbens Better LATE than nothing

IO

• * Bresnahan and Reiss: "Entry and Competition in Concentrated Markets", JPE. A structural, but relatively simple exercise.
• Foster, Haltiwanger and Syverson. "Reallocation, Firm Turnover, and Efficiency: Selection on Productivity or Profitability?" AER
• * Nevo, Aviv “A Practitioner’s Guide to Estimation of Random-Coefficients Logit Models of Demand.”
• Berry, Levinsohn, and Pakes. "Differentiated Products Demand Systems from a Combination of Micro and Macro Data: The New Car Market" JPE, 1994. Hard, but highly influential paper in empirical IO.
• Bajari, Benkard, and Levin. "Estimating Dynamic Models of Imperfect Competition", Econometrica. 2007. An even harder paper, but almost all IO job candidates these years use BBL.
• * Location and Competition in Retail Banking
• Advertising in the US PC industry
• * Olley and Pakes. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry", Econometrica, 1996
• Houde. "Spatial differentiation and vertical mergers in retail markets for gasoline" forthcoming, AER
• *Cho and Rust. "The Flat-Rental Puzzle", ReStud, 2010
• * Guerre, Perrigne, Vuong. Optimal non-parametric estimation of first-price auctions Econometrica, 2000. - A very popular method of structural identification. Extended and applied to many settings in the auctions literature.
• * Athey, Levin, Seira. Comparing open and sealed bid auctions: Evidence from timber auctions QJE, 2011. - A careful structural analysis of two popular types of auctions.
• Haile, Tamer. "Inference with an Incomplete Model of English Auctions" JPE, 2003. - Using structural identification when the structure is uncertain.

Public

• * Raj Chetty: Sufficient statistics for welfare analysis.
• Card, Mas, Moretti and Saez Inequality at Work: The Effect of Peer Salaries on Job Satisfaction
• http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/kleven-knudsen-kreiner-pedersen-saez10taxaudit.pdf

Labor

• * David Card: Mariel boatlift
• Borjas: The labor demand curve is downward sloping
• David Card: http://emlab.berkeley.edu/users/card/papers/cash-on-hand.pdf http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/chetty/files/cashonhand_qje.pdf
• Josh Angrist: http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/priindrel/631.htm
• Kiefer and Neumann: http://www.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-3808(197902)87:1%3C89:AEJMWA%3E2.0.CO;2-U&origin=repec
• Lee: Training, Wages, and Sample Selection: Estimating Sharp Bounds on Treatment Effects
  • Also see: http://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/7656.html
• Abowd, Kramarz, Margolis. “High Wage Workers and High Wage Firms,” Econometrica, 1999.
• Zada-Gradstein-Reuven: Class Size and the Regression Discontinuity Design: The Case of Public Schools

Development

• * Obtaining a Driving License in India: An Experimental Approach to Studying Corruption QJE 2007.
• Incentives Work: Getting Teachers to Come to School
• The Simple Economics of Extortion: Evidence from Trucking in Aceh
• TYING ODYSSEUS TO THE MAST: EVIDENCE FROM A COMMITMENT SAVINGS PRODUCT IN THE PHILIPPINES
• Bloom et al.: Does Management Matter? Evidence from India
• Acemoglu-Hassan-Robinson: Social Structure and Development: A Legacy of the Holocaust in Russia
• Dell: Insurgency and Long-Run Development: Lessons from the Mexican Revolution
• * Nunn-Wantchekon: The Slave Trade and the Origins of Mistrust in Africa
• Nunn: The Long-Term Effects of Africa's Slave Trades
• * Divide and Rule or the Rule of the Divided? Evidence from Africa
• The Empire is dead, long live the Empire!
• * Dell: The Persistent Effects of Peru's Mining Mita
• Returns to Capital in Microenterprises
• Levitt et al.: Toward an Understanding of Learning by Doing: Evidence from an Automobile Assembly Plant
• On the Origins of Gender Roles: Women and the Plough

Trade

• Das, Roberts and Tybout, 2007. Econometrica
• * Mion and Opromolla: Managers' mobility, trade status, and wages
• * Artuç, Shubham Chaudhuri and McLaren: Trade Shocks and Labor Adjustment: A Structural Empirical Approach. AER 2010.
• * Pol Antràs and C. Fritz Foley. "Poultry in Motion: A Study of International Trade Finance Practices"
• * Dave Donaldson. "Railroads and the Raj: Estimating the Economic Impact of Transportation Infrastructure"
• Morales-Sheu-Zahler: Gravity and Extended Gravity: Estimating a Structural Model of Export Entry - using moment inequalities approach

Macro

• Estimating the Border Effect: Some New Evidence

Political economy

• Acemoglu et al.: The Consequences of Radical Reform: The French Revolution
• Berger et al.: Commercial Imperialism? Political Influence and Trade During the Cold War

Urban

• Ahlfeldt, Redding, Sturm and Wolf. The economics of density: Evidence from the Berlin Wall
• * Tom Holmes on Walmart
• * Ellison, Glaeser, Kerr. What Causes Industry Agglomeration? Evidence from Coagglomeration Patterns

Also, an older paper by Ellison and Glaeser. Geographic concentration of US Manufacturing industries: A dartboard approach, JPE, 1997. - a rigorous approach to interpreting patterns in sparse data.

Measuring interactions

• Manski: Identification of Endogenous Social Effects: The Reflection Problem
• Glaeser, Sacerdote and Scheinkman: The Social Multiplier
• * Sacerdote: Peer Effects with Random Assignment: Results for Dartmouth Roommates
• * Conley and Udrey: Learning about a New Technology: Pineapple in Ghana
• * Mas and Moretti: Peers at work
• Moretti: Social Learning and Peer Effects in Consumption: Evidence from Movie Sales
• Saez et al on EITC
• * Carrell et al.: From Natural Variation to Optimal Policy? The Lucas Critique Meets Peer Effects
• * Card et al.: Inequality at Work: The Effect of Peer Salaries on Job Satisfaction
• Banerjee et al.: The Diffusion of Microfinance
• Greenstone, Hornbeck, Moretti. Identifying Agglomeration Spillovers: Evidence from Million Dollar Plants, JPE, 2010.
• Productivity Spillovers Across Firms through Worker Mobility

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(stars indicate already discussed papers)