Summarize the research paper. What is the motivation for the research? What data was used? What is the paper’s
economic model? What were the results? What conclusions can we draw from the results? Are there any
government policy implications? Each research paper will begin with an abstract, which is a summary that usually
contains all of the above. Use the abstract to help you write your own summary, but make sure your
summary is your own and goes beyond simply paraphrasing the abstract.
2. Write out the main economic model of the paper. It will nearly always be a mathematical equation with variables.
A research paper will often contain multiple models, but there is typically one “primary” model that is the main
focus of the paper, while the others are intermediate steps. Explain the economic model in your own words. What
is the primary cause-and-effect relationship the model examines? Next, come up with your own model that builds
upon the one in the paper. What new research could an economist conduct that builds upon the research of your
economic paper?