ECON 376 Term Project: Write a research paper that you present to the class.

The Detailed OUTLINE is due October 24. The outlines are for grade.

Complete written first drafts are due Monday, December 1.

Oral presentations take place during the last two weeks.

Finished papers are absolutely due by Friday, December 19.

The FINISHED paper will include these five parts:

1. Identify and describe a theme: a particular industry, demographic group, political issue, ...

2. Use and properly cite books and scholarly journal articles to review what is already known about your topic. (You should cite more than 3 references in your paper)

3. Pose a hypothesis: to formalize a model (applying Econ 376 theories) of the behavior that could lead to the spatial outcome you are looking at.

4. Describe your data and Test the hypothesis by statistically analyzing at least 30 observations.

5. Interpret your findings, summarize your results (what did we learn from this research?)

One of the following two perspectives is required:

Use ONE of the following two approaches:

Spatial Cross-Section: How does your theme vary across space? Explain the observed variations, concentration, or dispersion.

or

Time-Series: How has the location pattern characterizing your theme changed over time?

Choose your topic in consultation with the professor before October 23. The sooner we meet and figure out your most easily do-able and interesting research project, the better.

The OUTLINE must include (full sentences describing) these seven parts:

1. Your theme: what it is and why you chose it?

2. Apply “Prof. K’s 5-Question approach” to formulate a testable hypothesis:

1.Who is involved? Pick one “who” to focus upon in your paper.

2. What is their objective?

3. What are their instruments (that is, what can they choose? For many Econ 376 term papers the answer to this question is “a location.”)

4. What are the constraints?

5. What is the relevant time horizon?

3. In general, how does your theme vary across space (for cross-section) or over time (for time-series) ?

4. Which ECON 376 concepts or theories will you apply to study your theme?

What might the concepts or theories help explain?

5. What hypothesis will you test?

What kind of data do you need to statistically test it?

Where can you find such data?

What will the statistical test help explain or show?

6. Who else has studied this issue and where can we find what they learned?

Fully cite at least three scientific articles or reference materials, excluding our textbook. (You should cite more than 3 references in your paper). A citation of a scientific article has this format:

Author last name, first name (year) "title of article," Name of Journal volume(number):pages.

A citation of a book has this format: Author last name, first name (year) Book Title publisher, city.

Four examples:

1. Kilkenny, Maureen (1998) "Transport Costs and Rural Development," Journal of Regional Science, 38(2):293-312.

2. Iowa State University (ISU) Extension (1994) A Directory of Multi-community Development Organizations in Iowa, Ames, Iowa.

3. Boadway, R. and D. Wildasin (1984) Public Sector Economics Little, Brown, and Co., Boston.

4. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) 2002, “Institution Directory” http://www.fdic.gov/

7. What will your classmates learn from your study and presentation?