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Are You Estimating the Right Thing? An Editor Reflects

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  • John Gibson

Abstract

A key aspect of applied economics over the last decade has been the status accorded to research designs that may credibly identify causal effects. Without such designs, one may not estimate the right thing and publishing options may be limited. Yet situations where reported results are not for parameters that researchers think they have identified are potentially more widespread than what is usually considered in discussion of research designs or identification strategies. I give five examples of applied practice where what is estimated may not identify what is wanted. Each practice came up in submissions I handled as co-editor of an agricultural economics journal, and these issues seem common in applied work. A narrow focus on identification strategies may lead to the neglect of these examples, and of other productive ways to improve the credibility and usefulness of applied economics research.

Suggested Citation

  • John Gibson, 2019. "Are You Estimating the Right Thing? An Editor Reflects," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 41(3), pages 329-350.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:apecpp:v:41:y:2019:i:3:p:329-350.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/aepp/ppz009
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    Cited by:

    1. Arne Henningsen & Guy Low & David Wuepper & Tobias Dalhaus & Hugo Storm & Dagim Belay & Stefan Hirsch, 2024. "Estimating Causal Effects with Observational Data: Guidelines for Agricultural and Applied Economists," IFRO Working Paper 2024/03, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    2. Hari Sharma & John Gibson, 2023. "Escalation of civil war in Nepal: The role of local poverty, inequality and caste polarization," Oxford Open Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 2, pages 590-606.
    3. GIBSON, John & ZHANG, Xiaoxuan & PARK, Albert & YI, Jiang & XI, Li, 2024. "Remotely measuring rural economic activity and poverty : Do we just need better sensors?," CEI Working Paper Series 2023-08, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    4. Alan de Brauw & Sylvan Herskowitz, 2021. "Income Variability, Evolving Diets, and Elasticity Estimation of Demand for Processed Foods in Nigeria," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(4), pages 1294-1313, August.
    5. Godwin Kwabla Ekpe & Anna A. Klis, 2023. "Spillover Effects in Irrigated Agriculture from the Groundwater Commons," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 86(3), pages 469-507, November.
    6. repec:lic:licosd:41819 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Kaiyatsa, Stevier & Schneider, Kate R. & Masters, William A., 2021. "Missing prices in CPI data reflect both seasonal availability and random omissions: Evidence from a novel survey of market informants in Malawi," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 313972, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Julio C. Arteaga & Daniel Flores & Edgar Luna, 2021. "The effect of a soft drink tax in Mexico: evidence from time series industry data," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 65(2), pages 349-366, April.
    9. Sharma, Hari, 2020. "The effect of emigration and remittances on labour supply of the left-behind: Evidence from Nepal," MPRA Paper 102091, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Schneider, Kate R., 2022. "Nationally representative estimates of the cost of adequate diets, nutrient level drivers, and policy options for households in rural Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    11. Sharma, Hari & Gibson, John, 2020. "Escalation of civil war in Nepal: The role of poverty, inequality and caste polarisation," MPRA Paper 101450, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Travis J. Lybbert & Steven T. Buccola, 2021. "The evolving ethics of analysis, publication, and transparency in applied economics," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(4), pages 1330-1351, December.
    13. Ludger Schuknecht & Vincent Siegerink, 2021. "The Political Economy of the International Tax Transparency Agenda in the G20/OECD Context," CESifo Working Paper Series 8813, CESifo.
    14. Bessen, James & Impink, Stephen Michael & Reichensperger, Lydia & Seamans, Robert, 2022. "The role of data for AI startup growth," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(5).
    15. Verme, Paolo, 2023. "Predicting Poverty with Missing Incomes," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1260, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    16. Christopher Kilby & Carolyn McWhirter, 2022. "The World Bank COVID-19 response: Politics as usual?," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 627-656, July.

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