Network analysis shows a stable network between states, but a changing environment between individual actors, with a growing importance of connectedness. The popular maxim that everyone is connected by six degrees of separation is tested with surprising results.
We model the diffusion of economic knowledge using an epidemiological model of susceptible, exposed, infected, and recovered populations (SEIR). Treating bibliographic citations as evidence of contagion, we estimate the coefficients of a four-equation system simultaneously for each of 759 subfields of economics. Results show that some subfields grow endogenously much faster than others, and just over half have basic reproduction properties sufficient to ensure survival without the annual addition of new protégé scholars.
This paper investigates whether the curricular structure of an Economics course (semester, trimester, or compressed block schedule) has an effect on an undergraduate's subsequent retention of course material. We test separately for theoretical/process comprehension and for graphical construction/interpretation, while separating micro from macro content as well. We use an instrument to address the no stakes testing problem, and our Heckman two-stage estimations present some interesting results for educators and institutional policymakers alike.
