Structure for an Economics Paper
I. INTRODUCTION
A. State your question.
B. Explain why it is interesting.
C. Give a guide for the rest of the paper:
"In section 2 I will provide a review of the literature relating to this question. Section 3 looks more closely at... Section 4 addresses... Section 5 provides some concluding remarks."
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
A. How have other people answered your question, or one closely related?
"A number of authors have addressed question X. One can divide their ideas into three rough categories...."
III. YOUR CONTRIBUTION: WHAT DO YOU THINK THE ANSWER IS, AND WHY.
A. Explain why you agree or disagree with the arguments discussed in the literature review.
B. Present a theoretical model
C. Present new evidence.
a. Case Study
b. Empirical data
a. simple tables
b. regression analysis
IV. CONCLUSION
A. Briefly restate your question, your answer, and the main reasons for your answer.
B. Does your answer have any relevance to debates about government policy?
Essential items:
*A one-sentence, central question somewhere in the introduction, repeated in the conclusion. This has to be a real question, with a question mark at the end! Division into sections, with section headings (generally 4-6, including introduction and conclusion.)
Citation Style for an Economics Paper
Examples:
- According to Jones (1984: 32), pig smell depends directly on pig size.
- It has been argued that pig smell depends directly on pig size. [Jones (1984: 32)]
- Jones (1984: 32) maintains that "big pigs smell the worst".
- One authority feels that "big pigs smell the worst". [Jones (1984: 32)]
At the end of the paper, alphabetically by last name, put:
References
Jones, A. S. (1984) "Pigs and Smells", The Journal of Pig Science, 12-3, 234-245.
Smith, L. and Jones A.S. (1991) Pigs Who Smell Too Much (Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ)
Journals: author(s), (year), "Article Name", Journal Name, journal volume-journal number, page numbers---
Books: author(s), (year), Book Name (Publisher: City)