Also see his previous advice for undergrads and his recommendations for math courses future economists should take.
Because there appeared to be much interest in the advice I offered undergrads in a previous post, let me provide the same service for graduate students in economics.
But rather than doing the work myself, I will outsource the task to some of my colleagues in the profession:
- Don Davis gives some guidance about finding research topics.
- John Cochrane tells grad students how to write a paper.
- Michael Kremer provides a checklist to make sure your paper is as good as it can be.
- David Romer gives you the rules to follow to finish your PhD.
- David Laibson offers some advice about how the navigate the job market for new PhD economists.
- John Cawley covers the same ground as Laibson but in more detail.
- Dan Hamermesh offers advice on, well, just about everything.
- Assar Lindbeck tells you how, after getting that first academic post, to win the Nobel prize.
Here are Romer's rules for getting out with your PhD in five years:
- Don't clutter up your life with other activities; just write.
- Don't carry out a thorough and comprehensive search of the literature; just write.
- Don't attempt to make sure that every page you write shows the full extent of your professional skills; just write.
- Don't write a well-organized, well-integrated, unified dissertation; just write.
- Don't think profound thoughts that shake the intellectual foundations of the discipline; just write.
- If you don't have a paper started by the spring of your third year, be alarmed.
- If you don't have a paper largely drafted by the fall of your fourth year, panic.
- Have three new ideas a week while you are getting started.
- Don't try to game the profession, work on what interests you.
- Good papers in economics have three characteristics:
- A viewpoint.
- A lever.
- A result.
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