requests for information about papers, books, or other sources that address a particular economic question or issue.
Questions tagged [reference-request]
703 questions
80
votes
20 answers
What are some results in Economics that are both a consensus and far from common sense?
What are some results in Economics that are both a consensus between most economists and far from common sense?
I would also welcome suggestions of clear definitions for what we should mean as consensus , specially considering that economics is an…
psn
- 695
- 1
- 6
- 8
35
votes
9 answers
Are there any non-paywalled reputable economics journals?
I'm contributing to another open-source economics project, and was looking to compile a list of primary sources for modern developments in the field.
Basically something to help bridge the (occasionally decades long) time lag between what's taught…
Jason Nichols
- 3,515
- 1
- 16
- 38
20
votes
5 answers
Where to start learning economics as a mathematician?
I study pure mathematics at university and I'm looking to get into economics, with pretty much no background knowledge about it.
Are there good sources to learn from with a decent mathematical background in mind, or should I just start learning from…
user1633011
- 303
- 2
- 5
18
votes
2 answers
The efficacy of death penalty in reducing violent crimes
Common sense says that the provision of death penalty would make it costlier for people to commit crimes like murder or rape, thus reducing the expected payoffs and accordingly the occurrence of such crimes. But I have also read articles that say…
Ishan Kashyap Hazarika
- 1,458
- 6
- 15
15
votes
1 answer
Solving the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation; necessary and sufficient for optimality?
Consider the following differential equation
\begin{align}
\dot x(t)=f(x(t),u(t))
\end{align}
where $x$ is the state and $u$ the control variable. The solution is given by
\begin{align}
x(t)=x_0 + \int^t_0f(x(s),u(s))ds.
\end{align}
where…
clueless
- 1,509
- 8
- 21
15
votes
2 answers
How much do second-hand good purchases affect first-hand demand?
For the purpose of this question, I'm only interested in relatively cheap goods (clothing, appliances, furniture, phones), not extremely substantial purchases like cars or houses.
Proceeding from rational choice theory, it seems that the existence…
H Huang
- 336
- 2
- 10
15
votes
3 answers
The Economics of Coronavirus
People are concerned about the economic impacts of the virus. How severe will the economic downturn be? Will the coronavirus cause a global recession worse than the 2008 crisis?
I'm not looking here for speculative answers, but references with a…
emeryville
- 6,642
- 2
- 19
- 40
14
votes
2 answers
Larry Summers on the causes of secular stagnation
In an influential speech on November 8, 2013 at the IMF Annual Research Conference, Larry Summers suggested that slow economic growth in the years following the 2007–2008 financial crisis might be due to "secular stagnation" (a concept introduced in…
Marko Amnell
- 409
- 3
- 9
14
votes
3 answers
Current knowledge about the empirics of consumer theory
I would like to get up to speed on the current state of empirical work done to test the assumptions and predictions of consumer theory (think Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 6 of Mas-Colell et al.).
Can anyone recommend a good survey or provide a brief…
Ubiquitous
- 16,480
- 4
- 33
- 80
14
votes
3 answers
Economics of Homelessness: Are housing prices to blame?
Lots has been written in terms of the social context of homelessness. Often attributing the causes due to mental illness, previous criminal activity and addiction.
I've been wondering, how much of a role (if any) does home price or rent play into…
EconJohn
- 7,520
- 5
- 23
- 57
14
votes
5 answers
Should I stay or should I quit?
Is there an economic theory of quitting an activity? A theory that weighs the investment costs put into something and the opportunity costs of pursuing it.
I am aware of Fershtman and Gneezy Quitting in Tournaments paper that investigates the…
emeryville
- 6,642
- 2
- 19
- 40
13
votes
2 answers
Uses of convex analysis in Economics
I'm taking kind of a crash-course in convex analysis to complement my mathematical skills and was wondering if anyone knew about nice ways in which this kind of tools were used in Economics.
To be more precise, some of the things I've seen so far…
BVJ
- 380
- 2
- 7
13
votes
3 answers
What have been the main developments in macroeconomics and financial economics since the 2008 financial crisis?
In the aftermath of 2008 economists were, fairly or not, blamed for a failure to foresee the coming crisis. Ideas such as "The Great Moderation" and market efficiency were openly ridiculed as hubristic.
Now, almost a decade later, seems like a good…
Ubiquitous
- 16,480
- 4
- 33
- 80
12
votes
2 answers
Economics of forgetting
I'm interested to know economic justifications of forgetting in various fields.
On example is Green and Porter(1984). To sustain a Cartel, Cartel members have incentive to forget deviations in a sufficiently distant past.
Another is Ekmekciy(2011)…
Metta World Peace
- 1,416
- 9
- 20
12
votes
2 answers
Depreciation and second-hand markets for bicycles
Probably the answer to this question is "business as usual", but I've observed of late that the market for bicycles is pretty weird.
You can buy a brand new factory-produced bicycle in the US (I'm really only talking about the US here) for anywhere…
Hot Licks
- 336
- 2
- 15