Economics 305a: Senior Thesis Seminar.

Professor David Kennett

Fall 2002

During the semester the seminar will have occasional group meetings to discuss important aspects of this process. Most meetings, which will not be every week will occur on Monday, 310 in BH 201. We will be in contact by e-mail. My e-mail is Kennett@vassar.edu.

The next section of this document provides you with information about how to proceed and characterize the main types of thesis topics which make acceptable and interesting papers. Let us begin with a simple definition of 'thesis' from Webster's dictionary: A proposition, specifically, a position or proposition which a person advances and offers to maintain by argument. Please notice that this rules out a purely descriptive approach. For instance, "The History of the Federal Reserve System in the United States" would not be an appropriate thesis topic. You must pose a question or deal with a controversy and present arguments to support (or in some cases refute) that assertion. The arguments may be empirical (using statistics) or logical, using verbal argument.

The first and very important step is to choose a topic. It must be a topic that you find compelling, gripping, not merely of vague interest. Otherwise you will not enjoy the year's work. Consult the material on the following pages in thinking about what is appropriate. Notice tha you must do more that just a literature review. The topic you choose must be one on which economists have written and at the time that you present your prospectus, you must have some body of literature, a journal article or chapter in a book, which forms a reference point for your thesis (and the beginning of your bibliography).

Your final thesis, which is due before Spring vacation, second semester, must include:

A title page

A table of contents

An introductory chapter

A review of the literature

A presentation of your thesis question and relevant model(s)

A chapter or more of analysis leading to your conclusion: For some of you this will be some econometric work, for others it will be a critical analysis of a body of literature, and for a few it may be working through your modification of a theoretical model.

A conclusion chapter

Appendices, if applicable

Bibliography

Your Prospectus, which is due Friday, September 20th by 3pm, should be 2-3 pages in length; and you should attach the article that will be your starting point in framing the question and undertaking the analysis. [Please note: The previously announced deadline has been changed because of Rosh Hashanah.]

First Semester Time Table:

(1) Wednesday, September 4. First Class meeting, 1:15.

(2) September 4-14. Individual Conferences with Professor Kennett. (It is a good idea to speak with one other professor who can also help you define your topic area.)

(3) Friday, September 20^th, 3:00pm.

Deadline for submission of Prospectus.

(4) Week of September 23-27^th. Designation of Thesis Advisors.

Once you have learned who will be your advisor, you should schedule a conference to go over your prospectus. During this week you will also receive written comments on what you have submitted from Professor Kennett.

(5) Wednesday, October 2^nd: Meeting of seminar, 1:15-3:00 The Topic: The Mechanics of Writing a Thesis. [Vassar standards, re. Attribution and writing will be reviewed at this meeting]

(6) Weeks of September 31^st and October 7^th: Individual work on bibliography and outline.

(7) Friday, October 25^th: Outline of Thesis to be Submitted with Detailed Bibliograhpy.

(8) Weeks of November 11^th and 18^th. Oral Presentations of Hypothesis and Methodology.

Professor Kennett and your thesis advisor and probably several other departmental faculty will attend your presentation. [These meetings will be set up for either Wednesday or Friday afternoons, exact times to be announced after faculty member availability has been determined.] Members of the seminar will be subdivided into at least two groups. You should regard these meetings as an opportunity to articulate what you are doing and receive helpful feedback from the faculty and your fellow seminar members.

(9) November 29^th: Submission of Draft of Chapter. This should be a draft of the chapter in which you present your model, i.e., the theoretical presentation of your problem or hypothesis.

(10) Monday, December 16^th: Submission of Two Copies of Revised Chapter to Professor Kennett. This written work will be the main component in the provisional grade given for the first semester's work in the provisional grade given for the first semester's work in the Economics 305-306 sequence.

(11) Pre-Break Meetings with Advisor: Before leaving for the December-January break you should go over your draft chapters with your advisors and plan for work you will take away with you to do before the beginning of the second semester. Most people who elect to write the Senior Thesis find it necessary or helpful to do some work on it during winter break.

Identifying Topics

Your first and hardest task is to identify interesting and feasible thesis topics. You should have a couple of possible topics in case your first choice does not work out. Start with a broad topic and narrow it; you will be surprised how refined the final topic will be.

Where to Start:

1) Course Work. You should select topics you are prepared to address, i.e., related to your 200 and 300 level course work in Economics. An old term paper is an excellent starting point. In rare cases, you may consider topics related to courses you will take in the Fall semester of your Senior year, but this makes the process harder.

2) Popular Media. These include The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week, broadcast news reports, and the Internet. Often topics are interesting because they are timely, for example electric utility deregulation or the impact of eliminating the inheritance tax.

3) Economic Journals. These have the advantage of identifying issues of interest to economists. They have the disadvantage of being dry. Some good ones to consult are The Journal of Economic Perspectives and The Journal of Economic Literature. There may also be some less technical journals specific to the field that interests you. You can search Economic journals using EconLit, available via the Library's Web page.

4) Professors. Take the time to talk to us (or at least e-mail) before you leave for the summer. Each professor has speicific specialties and should be able to point you toward the right journals and topics. You should fell free to contact professor over the summer (especially via e-mail) as we will all be delighted to see that you are working on finding thesis topics.

5) Past Theses. A selection of these are available in the department office (BH 129) and can be taken into the lounge for reading. While you will not want to repeat a topic, these will give you a good idea of what an Economics thesis is like.

Characteristics of good thesis topics:

1) Interesting.

2) Well-defined. The thesis answers a specific question.

3) Feasible. The question can be addressed in a thesis-length treatment (typically 40-70 pages) and in the available time (before the start of Spring Break). You need to draw on existing literature; do not start from scratch with a topic the literature has ignored.

4) Economic. The topic, or at least the dimension you plan to investigate, should be economic. We define this pretty broadly, but it certainly must be positive rather than normative, involve economic theory (even if not high-tech) and analysis, and draw primarily (though not necessarily exclusively) on the Economic literature. There is often great potential for cross-discipline work, e.g., a question raised in one field that can be answered well in another field. But be careful that it is not purely Political Science, Sociology, etc. - it will not fare well.

Typical Categories:

1) Mathematical. A thesis may extend or modify an existing theoretical Microeconomic or Macroeconomic model with only a limited applied side. Such theses are not common but are very fulfilling as they push the frontiers of knowledge. In addition to a careful review of the existing literature, they require a lot of work that does not show-up in the final paper since proofs/simulations represent the culmination of a longer process.

2) Critical. Many branches of Economics present well-developed but not necessarily mathematical theories and models (e.g., Marxist, Classical, Austrian). You could extend or evaluate a theory or use one theory to critique another (e.g., an orthodox Marxist critique of dependency theory, a Neoclassical critique of Sraffa's Labor Theory of Value, a Real Business Cycle critique of Keynesian Economics). Projects of this sort must display a command of the relevant literature but go beyond a simple review to some significant critical or analytical work. It is vital to limit your question carefully. The examples listed above, for instance, are far too broad without further refinement.

3) Empirical. This is the most typical type of article in journals since Economics' strength is its ability to test theories and models statistically with real world data. You must have a background in Econometrics (e.g., Economics 210), a body of literature to draw on, anda data set. While you can construct a data set on your won (e.g., conducting a survey or entering information from a printed source (such as the newspapers)), larger, preexisting data sets are very useful. These may be available over the Web or from the library or purchased on CD, disk, or tape. Ideally you will find existing theoretical and empirical literature with a gap that needs filling - a question not answered or a technique applied in one situation but not another (different location, different setting, different time period). A fair number of students usually pursue this avenue; it is especially useful if you are considering a career using Economic analysis (consulting, banking, finance, academia).

4) Comparative/Case Study. This is perhaps the closest to a research paper in that it relies heavily on library sources and synthesis of existing research. It should, nonetheless, address a new issue or provide a new angel for viewing an old issue. The most productive approach is usually to find an unexplored intersection of two or more different literatures. Although not typically including econometric estimations, many comparative/case study theses do use numerical data (averages, econometric results from other studies, etc.) for "back of the envelope" calculations, predictions, simulations, or counterfactual exercises. As an example, one might ask what the impact of the Free Trade Area for the Americas (FTAA) will be on environmental standards. An educated answer would draw on relevant economic models and theories as well as research about the impact of other trade agreements (NAFTA, MERCOSUR, EU, ASEAN) and specific country experiences.

This is not an exhaustive list and it is certainly possible for a thesis to combine elements of these various categories.

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Writing a thesis is not for everyone. It is certainly more difficult than the alternative route (the Senior Exercise) and will not be a good experience unless you love your topic. The key to a successful thesis is getting an early start (in picking a topic, in researching, and in writing).