Econ 900: PhD Workshop
Course
Description: This
is a required course for PhD students about to enter their 3rd year
of the program; see the department's Satisfactory
Progress Guidelines for
PhD students. PhD Students will usually attend the course (but not
present) starting with the Fall term of their 2nd
year.
They are expected to enroll and to give their first presentation in
the Summer term of their 2nd
year.
The purpose of this course is threefold: (1) to help you begin doing
your own economic research; (2) to teach you how to give and receive
feedback; and (3) to develop your public speaking skills.
How
to Begin: By
the time you enroll in this course, you will have completed most (or
all) of your course requirements. It is now time to start thinking
about research topics. One way to do this is to think about questions
that you find interesting and/or puzzling. Look around in the
literature and see what has been done in these areas. Identify the
issues or questions that you think might be worthy of further
investigation. Meet with colleagues and professors to discuss your
ideas. Settle on a question.
This last point cannot be overemphasized: You should be able to
explain to an audience what question you wish to answer and why you
believe the question to be important. Finally, identify at least one
professor and ask them whether they might serve as a mentor for your
project. If all goes well, the mentor may eventually agree to be your
supervisor.
Presentations:
The
exact nature of your presentation will depend on how far along you
have progressed in your work. You are encouraged to present ideas
that are in a very preliminary stage; this course is designed to give
you feedback. You might begin, for example, by simply presenting and
describing data, and/or reviewing some of the key contributions made
in the literature (describing where and why these contributions
appear to fall short in your view). Research at a more advanced stage
may consist of a formal economic theory and/or explicit econometric
investigations. If your particular research program appears to be
going nowhere (a frequent phenomenon), discard it and start again
(you will want to consult your mentor). When you project has advanced
sufficiently, you will be in a position to present it in a Brown
Bag Seminar (this will complete your course requirement).
Guide
for Presenters: You
should aim for a presentation lasting between 30-55 minutes. Do not
waste this time with an extensive literature review. Prepare a set of
slides (please do not use Power Point). One of your first slides
should provide a clear statement regarding the question
you
are interested in examining (or be prepared to state the question
verbally). For those presenting theoretical work, make sure to
describe the decision-making agents in your model economy
(preferences, constraints, information structure, solution concept,
etc.). Prepare to get raked over the coals if you fail to do any of
this.
Finally, here is the procedure you should follow:
Contact the Graduate Chair to schedule a presentation
Inform you mentor/supervisor of this date and ask them to attend
On the day before your presentation, email the class reminding them of your upcoming presentation
On the day of your presentation, make sure that all the equipment you will need is in place and ready to go. Do not keep your audience waiting while you try to sort out technical glitches. For equipment needs, contact Tim Coram (tim_coram@sfu.ca)
Guide
for Participants: During the presentation itself, you should limit
yourself to asking clarifying
questions only.
These can take the following form: What is the question? Why are you
doing this? What does that symbol represent? Who Cares? And so on.
Once the presenter has finished, feel free to offer constructive
criticism, suggestions and your opinions. Note: if you cannot attend
the presentation, please email the presenter and the graduate chair,
sending your regrets.
Course
Readings: The
Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White. Writing
Tips for PhD Students, by John H. Cochrane.
Summer
2011
Schedule: Thursdays, 11.30 - 12.20, in the “Fish Bowl”
(WMC 4602).
Summer 2011 |
||
May 19 |
Soheil Mahmoodzadeh |
“On Development and Energy Economics”
|
May 26 |
Graeme Walker |
“The Co-evolution of Beliefs and Networks” (with Curt Eaton and Jasmina Arifovic) |
June 2 |
Ideen Riahi |
“Income and State Terrorism” |
June 9 |
Andryi Baransky |
“Group learning dynamics in a moral hazard framework”
|
June 16 |
Sophie Wang |
“The Effect of Migrant Parents on Their Left-behind Children's Educational Attainment in China"
|
June 23 |
Giuseppe Danese |
“Idiosyncratic heterogeneity in network-formation games: experiments”
|
June 30 |
Shora Ebrahimi |
“Authority in Organizations with Multiple Informants“ |
July 7 |
Bakhit Embergenov |
canceled |
July 14 |
Nick Dadson |
“On the Immigrant Real Wage Gap” |
July 21 |
Ebrahim Azimi |
“The Effect of Children on Female Labor Force Participation in Iran - Evidence from Exogenous Change in Family Size” |
July 28 |
Yang Wang |
“Occupational Mobility and Earnings Profile”
|
Aug 4 |
Josh Boitnott |
“Belief Based IELORP” |
Spring 2011 |
||
Jan 13 |
Daniele Signori |
"Econometrics of Networks (with an Application to Asset Pricing)" |
Jan 20 |
Georgi Boichev |
"The Effects of Property Rights Institutions on Public Goods Contribution” |
Feb 10 |
Mohsen Javdani |
“Glass Ceilings or Glass Doors? The Role of Firms in Male-Female Wage Disparity in Canada” |
Feb 24 |
Nick Dadson |
"Fun with Functionals: The Decomposition of Inequality, Social Welfare and Poverty" |
Mar 10 |
Giuseppe Danese |
“Idiosyncratic heterogeneity in network-formation games: experiments” (with Jasmina Arivovic) |
Mar 17 |
David Oh |
“Video game platform competition with quality differentiation” |
Mar 31 |
Nik Kasimatis |
? |
Fall 2010 |
||
Sep 16 |
Leanna Mitchell |
"Effects of Community on Marriage and Other Markets" |
Sep 23 |
Pierre Nguimkeu |
"Third-order inference for autocorrelation in nonlinear regression models"
|
Oct 7 |
2nd yr PhD infosession w/ Nic |
(( |
Oct 21 |
Michele Battisti |
"Learning about diversity in the workplace"
|
Oct 28 |
Ben Harris |
“School choice and school segregation: Evidence from
public and private schools” (with Simon Woodock and Jane Friesen)
|
Nov 4 |
Christoph Eder |
"Displacement and Education of the Next Generation: Evidence from Bosnia and Herzegovina"
|
Nov 25 |
Pierre Nguimkeu |
"Third-order inference for autocorrelation in nonlinear regression models" |
Summer 2010 |
||
May 20 |
Nick Kasimatis |
"Power, Capacity and Good Governments" |
May 21 |
Nick Dadson |
"Status and Redistributive Politics"
|
May 28 |
Ebrahim Azimi |
"Canadian Workplace and Employee Survey" |
June 4 |
Ideen Riahi |
"Cognitive models in political economy"
|
June 11 |
David Oh |
"The value of runner-up firm in the CPU market" |
July 15 |
Christoph Eder |
"Estimating the Effects of Migration in Bosnia and Herzegovina" |
July 16 |
Graeme Walker |
"Social Learning, Social Persuasion, and Voting" |
July 22 |
Fatemeh Mokhtarzadeh |
"Business cycle accounting in oil-oriented economies"
|
July 23 |
Giuseppe Danese |
“Sustainability and the Social Contract” |
July 30 |
Leanna Mitchell |
"Self-Interested Voting and Community Incentives".
|
Spring 2010 |
||
Jan 14 |
Ben Harris |
“Calculating conditional mean income when wages are censored due to selection”
|
Jan 22 |
Steve Fagan |
"Hippocrates and Financial Stability Policy"
|
Jan 29 |
Michele Battisti |
"Sources of Wage growth and Returns to Job Tenure" |
Feb 5 |
Sophie Wang |
"The Effect of Migrant Parents on Their Left-behind Children's Educational Attainment in China"
|
Feb 12 |
Georgi Boichev |
“Insecure Property Rights under Proportional Representation” |
Mar 5 |
Pierre Nguimkeu |
cancelled |
Mar 12 |
Giuseppe Danese |
“Idiosyncratic Heterogeneity in Network Formation Games” (with Jasmina Arifovic)
|
Mar 19 |
Hagen Schwerin |
“Time inconsistent environmental policy”
|
Mar 26 |
Georgi Boichev |
“On Ethnic Fractionalization and Federations/Unitary States” |
Apr 9 |
Ben Harris |
"The impact of gender-based earnings differentials on gay men and lesbians in Canada" |
Fall 2009 |
||
Sept 11 |
Mohsen Javdani |
Noise or News? Learning about the content of test-based school achievement measures |
Sept 18 |
Bianjun Xia |
Group decision and group composition
|
Sept 25 |
Michele Battisti |
School choice, networks and segregation |
Oct 2 |
Georgi Boichev |
Insecure Property Rights Under Proportional Representation |
Oct 9 |
Ebrahim Azimi |
Fertility and Female Labour Force Participation in Iran; An Instrumental Variable Approach |
Oct 16 |
Ben Harris |
Gender gaps are totally gay: the impact of gender-based earnings differentials on gay men and lesbians in Canada |
Oct 23 |
Pierre Nguimkeu |
Specification Tests for Conditional Moments Restrictions Models: Uniform-in-Bandwidth Theory
|
Oct 30 |
Hagen Schwerin |
Self-enforcing agreement under uncertainty |
Nov 6 |
Stephen Fagan |
cancelled |
Nov 20 |
Iryna Dudnyk |
On Mary Carter Settlement Agreements
|
Dec 4 |
Ideen Riahi |
On Stability and Repressive Nature of Rentier States |
Summer 2009 |
||
May 08 |
David Andolfatto |
On the Societal Benefits of Private Information |
May 15 |
Steve Fagan |
Liquidity and Large Speculators in Futures Markets |
May 22 |
Ben Harris |
Wage Gaps Are Totally Gay |
May 30 |
Georgi Boichev |
(moved to Jun 26) |
Jun 05 |
Haitao Xiang |
TBA |
Jun 12 |
Hagen Schwerin |
Investment in Clean Technologies |
Jun 19 |
Bianjun Xia |
(moved to September) |
Jun 26 |
Georgi Boichev |
(Moved to September) |
Jul 03 |
Michele Battisti |
School Choice and Ethnicity |
Spring 2009 |
||
Jan 23 |
Mohsen Javdani |
On the Information Content of Test-Based School Achievement Measures |
Jan 30 |
Haitao Xiang |
Money, Capital, and Banking |
Feb 06 |
Hagen Schwerin |
Transportation Costs and Pollution |
Feb 13 |
Kenneth Lam |
Macroeconomic Factors and Credit Rating Transitions |
Feb 20 |
Ben Fu |
China's Rural Development and Domestic Migration |
Feb 27 |
Michelle Battisti |
Sources of Wage Growth and Returns to Seniority in Italy |
Mar 06 |
|
|
Mar 13 |
|
|
Mar 20 |
|
|
Mar 27 |
|
|
Apr 03 |
Michelle Battisti |
School Choice and Taste for Diversity |
Fall 2008 |
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Sep 19 |
Hagen Schwerin |
Environmental Asset Externality and Natural Resource Scarcity |
Sep 26 |
Michele Battisti |
Present-Biased Preferences and Optimal Compensation Schedules |
Oct 03 |
Andreas Ludwig |
Evolution of Moral Codes in Small Groups |
Oct 10 |
Horatio Morgan |
Capital Adequacy in the Banking Sector |
Oct 17 |
Kenneth Lam |
Macroeconomic Factors and Credit Rating Transitions |
Oct 24 |
Mohsen Javdani |
The Effect of Test-Based School Effectiveness Measures on School Choice |
Oct 31 |
Ben Fu |
China's Rural Development and Domestic Migration |
Nov 07 |
Sophie Wang |
Credit Markets with Limited Enforcement |
Nov 14 |
Alfred Kong |
Social Norms and Obesity |
Nov 21 |
Haitao Xiang |
Money, Capital, and Banking |
Nov 28 |
Michele Battisti |
Sources of Wage Growth and the Return to Tenure |
Summer 2008 |
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May 21 |
Mei Dong |
Money and Costly Credit |
May 28 |
Bianjun Xia |
Do People Care About Status? |
Jun 04 |
Mohsen Javdani |
Standardized Testing, Information, and School Choice |
Jun 11 |
Horatio Morgan |
Stock Index Futures Mispricing Tests and Mispricing Shock Persistence |
Jun 18 |
Tony Xiang |
Bad News and Long Slumps |
Jun 25 |
Sophie Wang |
Learning in Credit Markets |
Jul 02 |
Michele Battisti |
Present-Biased Preferences |
Jul 09 |
Kenneth Lam |
Bond Rating Agencies and the Business Cycle |
Jul 16 |
Mohsen Javdani |
Standardized Testing, Information, and School Choice |
Jul 23 |
Horatio Morgan |
A Copula Approach to Investigating the U.S. Subprime Mortgage Market |
Jul 30 |
Michele Battisti |
Present-Biased Preferences |
Spring 2008 |
||
Jan 15 |
Yi Xue |
Trading Frequencies and the Volatility Clustering of Returns |
Jan 21 |
Ben Fu |
Overlapping Generations and the Environmental Kuznets Curve |
Jan 28 |
Kenneth Lam |
Bond Rating Agencies and the Business Cycle |
Feb 04 |
Sophie Wang |
Generalists versus Specialists |
Feb 13 |
Tony Xiang |
Bad News and Long Slumps |
Feb 18 |
Hagen Schwerin |
Capital Accumulation and Global Warming |
Feb 25 |
Bianjun Xia |
A Simple Explanation of Some Key Time Preference Anomolies |
Mar 07 |
Alfred Kong |
Obesity and School Performance Among Children |
Mar 10 |
Andreas Ludwig |
The Evolution of Vengeance in Small Groups |
Mar 17 |
Mei Dong |
Money and Costly Credit |
Mar 25 |
Dingding Xu |
The Impact of Post Secondary Expansion Policy in China |
Fall 2007 |
||
Sep 20 |
Yi Xue |
Identifying Private Information in Asset Prices |
Sep 28 |
Ben Fu |
An Environmental Kuznets Curve |
Oct 12 |
Andreas Ludwig |
Sharing Among Anonymous Agents |
Oct 18 |
Bo Chen |
Trade Variety and Productivity in Canada |
Nov 02 |
Scott Skjei |
War and Feasts: Signaling in Pre-State Societies |
Nov 08 |
Ross Hickey |
Electoral Accountability in Federations |
Nov 16 |
Alfred Kong |
Obesity and School Performance Among Children |
Nov 22 |
Kenneth Lam |
Ranking Credit Risk |
Nov 30 |
Mei Dong |
Indivisible Labor, Inflation and Unemployment |
Dec 07 |
Dingding Xu |
The Impact of Educational Expansion Policies in Developing Countries |