The real cost of 90 page long working papers
…is that very few economists read them and evaluate their claims and as a result the “conversation” among economists becomes impoverished, argues Miles Kimball. He cites the Case, Deaton 6-page paper on the rising death rates for middle-aged white men as a perfect example of a short paper that incited wide spread debate over the link between mortality and economic distress.
Must All Economics Papers Be Doorstoppers?
By:Miles Kimball – University of Colorado
How to write short “meaty” papers
Not only papers are too long but the important part of the paper is hidden in the appendix!
Theory papers don’t include proofs or derivations any more! Empirical papers don’t include an actual complete specification of the specification. This is the paper. It’s what you did. Throw the rest out!
Shorter Papers
By: John Cochrane – Stanford University
Nevermind the length…no paper is that good!
Bryan Caplan focuses on empirical papers and finds 5 main problems: 1) debatable external validity; 2) debatable identification of a “natural experiment”; 3) big careless mistakes; 4) questionable definition of evidence; 5) ideological conformity.
No Paper Is That Good
By: Bryan Caplan – George Mason University
