I organize a Reading Group with the Year 0 and Year 1 PhD students in the Department of Economics. It takes place every Thursday between 2.30 pm and 4 pm in Humanities Bridgford Street Room 2.53 (note: the room for 29/2 is Humanities Bridgford St G.032). Please get in touch with me if you would like to attend the reading group. The schedule for 2023-2024 is available here.
The reading group is an opportunity for students to get into the habit of presenting research in their field to a general audience. It also provides an opportunity to critically evaluate a paper students find interesting. There is no requirement to choose papers from a specific field - students can choose any paper that interests them or is important for their dissertation.
Presenters do not need to present the entire paper with all its extensions. The idea is to explain the key idea using a simple example and (if possible) through diagrams. For empirical papers, the focus should be on the interpretation of coefficients, identifying assumptions, and model choice rather than the results themselves. We typically seek to answer questions of the following form in these sessions: Why this model choice? What is the additional value of having the structural model? Why did we need to relax this assumption?
UPDATE: CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
BASIC RULES
Every Year 0 and Year 1 must present at least once in the reading group. They are also expected to attend others' sessions and be collegial.
Once a student picks a paper, they should treat it as if it is their own. The presenter is expected to teach that particular paper to the audience in a way that is comprehensible to a non-expert. Brownie points for any student who chooses to present their work!
There is a preference for presenting on a whiteboard/chalkboard and using slides only when necessary (e.g. to display tables). Please get in touch with me if alternate arrangements are needed - we are happy to accommodate the best we can.
Sign up here to present in the reading group.