In this course, we guide you through the process of an empirical research project in the field of Economics of Distribution, from your idea to a written research report. In groups of up to three, you will either replicate a well-published research/working paper and extend it following your research interests and ideas or work on a topic/question of your choice.

At the end of the course, you successfully managed to 

- obtain a good command of the programming language R, and you have learned how to perform an empirical analysis using survey data

- comprehend the argument and methods of a well-published paper, you were able to replicate the results, and you have extended the paper following your ideas 

- have a good understanding of current lines of research and debates in the field of inequality research, especially in terms of wealth inequality

- improve your general skills, especially your writing and presentation skills 

The course mainly consists of synchronous dates; attendance is strictly compulsory.

Exceptional absence has to be compensated; otherwise, it will result in a loss of 10 points (out of 100 points). 

The course consists of four types of classes. 

• Introduction to survey data and the LWS (Introduction / Data). 

• Applied empirical inequality research & and learning to use/program in R; we focus on general aspects and special topics/methods relevant for the group projects (R Class).

• Students present their replication projects' ideas, progress, and outcomes (Presentations).

• Group-specific R sessions, where we discuss and work on specific problems arising during the project. While the topics will be specific to one group, all students are required to attend the classes to learn from the work of their peers (Peer-Class).

In each R session, the instructor will discuss some practical aspects of the research process, such as reading academic papers, research writing, and presentations.

20 % - Presentation 1 (Presentation of paper that will be replicated and extended)
30 % - Presentation 2 (Presentation of replication project) 
50 % - Written research report 

A positive grade on each component of the final grade is required for successful course completion.

Grading scheme

100 % - 90 %: Excellent

 89 % - 80 %: Good

 79 % - 65 %: Satisfactory

 64 % - 50 %: Sufficient

<= 50 %: Not Sufficient  

Attendance of the “Economics of Distribution” field course during this semester or completion in previous semester.

Important deadlines: 

- October 31: Provide a three-sentence summary of your research idea or, in case of a replication project, the paper you will replicate (via Canvas).

- November 14: Students present the core idea and argument paper and their ideas for extensions. An in-depth understanding of the paper is necessary for the presentation, but the presentation should focus on your idea(s) and motivations for extending it. The presentation should not be longer than 15 minutes, so we have enough time to discuss your research ideas. It is not necessary that each group member actively presents. The form of the presentation (slides, flipchart, board,...) is up to you, as long as the presentation is clear. 

- January 16 / 23: Final presentation of the project. The presentation should not be longer than 30 minutes. Focus has to be on what (you did), why (you did it), how (you did that), your findings, and how these compare to the benchmark paper. 

- January 31: Written research report.