TY  - JOUR
AU  - Hamermesh,Daniel S.
TI  - The Art of Labormetrics
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 6927
PY  - 1999
Y2  - February 1999
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w6927
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w6927.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Daniel S. Hamermesh
Department of Economics
University of Texas
Austin, TX 78712-1173
Tel: 512/475-8526
Fax: 512/471-3510
E-Mail: hamermes@eco.utexas.edu
AB  - Using a wide array of examples from the literature and from original estimates, this essay examines the pitfalls that make good empirical research in labor economics as much art as science.  Appropriateness and cleanliness of data are considered, as are problems of extreme observations and interactions.  The validity of attempts to produce exogeneity using instrumental variables and  natural experiments' is examined, as are the treatment of selectivity and unobservable individual effects. Testing empirical results to ensure that they make sense is stressed along with the importance of clear, economical and useful presentation of those results.
ER  -