Wintersemester 25/26

Research Seminar in Economics

Term:
Winter Semester 2025/2026
Time:
Kick-off-meeting:16.10.2025 (14.15-15.45, WST A.08.17) / Seminar (Wednesdays, 14.15-3.30, R12 R04 B21)
Room:
WST A.08.17 / R12 R04 B21
Start:
16.10.2025
End:
30.01.2026
Language:
English

Important Notes:

Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of microeconometrics and economics is recommended.

Registration
Please send an email to Prof. Mikael Lindahl mikael.lindahl (at) economics.gu.se to register.

Degree program eligibility
Students from the following master degree programs can enroll in the seminar: Gesunheitsökonomik, Märkte und Unternehmen, and Volkswirtschaftslehre.

Description:

Overview
This course introduces students to contemporary cutting-edge research in economics. It is built around frontier work presented in the Essen Economics Seminar. Topics covered in recent seminars span a wide range of fields, including labor economics, public economics, health economics, and applied econometrics. Through participation in these seminars, students gain insights into the research process in economics and engage with academic discussions on current and policy-relevant topics.

Content
Introduction to academic research in economics
Participation in the Economics Seminar Series and selected external seminars
Writing referee reports on presented research
Developing a research proposal in economics
Discussing methodological challenges and empirical strategies in economics research

Dates
Kick-off meeting: 16.10.2025, 14.15-15.45 (room WST A.08.17).
Seminar sessions: Wednesdays, 14:15-3:30 PM, Room: R12 R04 B21.
Research proposal presentations: to be determined in class.

Literature:

Background Literature
There is no required textbook for this course. Instead, students will engage with research papers presented in the seminars. The following resources may assist with assignments and the term paper:
Referee Report Guidance

Berk, J.B., Harvey, C.R., & Hirshleifer, D. (2017). "How to write an effective referee report and improve the scientific review process." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(1), 231-244.

Hamermesh, D.S. (1994). "Facts and myths about refereeing." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8(1), 153–163.

Research Proposal Writing

Varian, H.R. (2016). "How to build an economic model in your spare time." The American Economist, 61(1), 81-90.

Karlsson, M., & Hyde, N. (2010). "How to Write a Term Paper in Economics," Technical University of Darmstadt. 

McCloskey, D. (1985). "Economical writing." Economic Inquiry, 23(2), 187-222.

Additional Readings on Economic Research and Methods

Heckman, J.J., & Moktan, S. (2020). "Publishing and promotion in economics: The tyranny of the top five." Journal of Economic Literature, 58(2), 419-70.

Cunningham, S. (2020). Causal Inference: The Mixtape. Yale University Press.

Abadie, A., & Cattaneo, M.D. (2018). “Econometric Methods for Program Evaluation.” Annual Review of Economics, 10(1), 465-503.

Formalities:

Grading and ECTS
Students will be graded based on the following components: Three referee reports (each 700-1000 words) analyzing presented papers (30%). Research proposal (2000-4000 words) with presentation (70%). Total: 6 ECTS (equivalent to approximately 180 hours of workload, including seminar participation, reading, and preparation).

Material: