Literature Review Assistant

Purpose

This skill helps economists conduct literature reviews by structuring searches, summarizing papers, and synthesizing findings. It provides templates for organizing literature and identifying research gaps.

When to Use

• Starting a literature review for a new project

• Finding related work for a paper's introduction

• Synthesizing existing evidence on a topic

• Identifying gaps in the literature

Instructions

Step 1: Define the Research Domain

Ask the user:

• What is your specific research question?

• What's the scope? (Narrow field survey vs. cross-disciplinary review)

• What databases do you have access to? (JSTOR, EconLit, Google Scholar, NBER)

• What time period is relevant?

• Are there seminal papers to start from?

Step 2: Structure the Search

Help define search terms:

• Primary terms: Core concepts (e.g., "minimum wage", "employment")

• Methodological filters: (RCT, IV, difference-in-differences)

• Outcome terms: What effects are measured

• Geographic/temporal scope: If relevant

Step 3: Organize and Synthesize

Create a structured summary for each paper:

• Citation

• Research question

• Data and methods

• Key findings

• Limitations

• How it relates to user's project

Step 4: Identify Patterns and Gaps

• What do papers agree on?

• Where are disagreements?

• What questions remain unanswered?

• What methods haven't been applied?

Example Output: Literature Summary Template

Literature Review: [TOPIC]

Search Strategy

Databases: EconLit, NBER, Google Scholar, SSRN Date range: 2010-2024 Search terms:

• ("minimum wage" OR "wage floor") AND (employment OR jobs)
• ("minimum wage") AND ("difference-in-differences" OR "DiD")

Inclusion criteria:

• Peer-reviewed or NBER working papers
• Focused on [specific outcome]
• Uses causal identification strategy

Seminal Papers

Card and Krueger (1994)

Citation: Card, D., & Krueger, A. B. (1994). Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. American Economic Review, 84(4), 772-793.

Research Question: What is the effect of minimum wage increases on employment?

Data & Method:

• DiD comparing NJ (treatment) to PA (control)
• Survey of fast-food restaurants before/after NJ minimum wage increase

Key Findings:

• No negative employment effect found
• Employment slightly increased in NJ relative to PA

Contribution: Challenged conventional view; pioneered quasi-experimental methods in labor economics

Limitations:

• Single state, short time horizon
• Potential survey response bias

Cengiz et al. (2019)

Citation: Cengiz, D., Dube, A., Lindner, A., & Zipperer, B. (2019). The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low-Wage Jobs. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 134(3), 1405-1454.

Research Question: Do minimum wage increases destroy jobs or compress the wage distribution?

Data & Method:

• Bunching estimator using 138 minimum wage events
• Examine employment distribution around minimum wage

Key Findings:

• Jobs below the new minimum wage disappear
• But replaced by jobs just above the minimum
• No significant overall employment loss

Contribution: Novel bunching methodology; large-scale evidence

Synthesis: What We Know

Research Gaps

1. Mechanism: How do firms absorb higher labor costs? (Prices, profits, productivity?)
2. Long-run effects: Most studies focus on 1-2 years
3. Geographic heterogeneity: Do effects differ in low vs. high cost-of-living areas?
4. Spillovers: Effects on workers earning above minimum wage

Connection to Your Project

Your study of [SPECIFIC QUESTION] can contribute by:

• [How your work fills a gap]
• [What new data/method you bring]

Paper Summary Template

[Author(s)] ([Year])

Title: [Full title]

Published in: [Journal/Working Paper Series]

Research Question: [One sentence]

Data:

• Source: [Dataset name]
• Period: [Years]
• Sample: [N observations, unit of analysis]

Identification Strategy: [Method in one sentence]

Main Findings:

1. [Key result 1 with magnitude]
2. [Key result 2]
3. [Robustness/heterogeneity]

Limitations:

• [Main concern 1]
• [Main concern 2]

Relevance to your project: [One sentence on how it connects]

Key quote: "[Most important direct quote]" (p. XX)

Search Strategy Tips

Google Scholar Operators

• "exact phrase"

• Exact matching

• author:surname

• Papers by specific author

• source:journal

• Papers in specific journal

• -exclude

• Exclude terms

• [year]..[year]

• Date range

Finding Seminal Papers

• Check citations in recent survey papers

• Look for papers with 1000+ citations

• Check JEL codes in EconLit

• Review "related articles" in Google Scholar

Building Citation Networks

• Start with 2-3 seminal papers

• Check what recent papers cite them (forward citations)

• Check their references (backward citations)

• Identify clusters of related work

Best Practices

• Use reference managers (Zotero, Mendeley, BibDesk)

• Create annotated bibliographies as you read

• Track search queries for reproducibility

• Update regularly before submission

• Balance breadth and depth - cover field but focus on closest work

Common Pitfalls

• ❌ Only citing papers that support your argument

• ❌ Not engaging with contradictory findings

• ❌ Confusing correlation with causation when summarizing

• ❌ Citing papers you haven't actually read

• ❌ Missing important recent papers

References

• EconLit - Authoritative economics database

• NBER Working Papers - Latest research

• IDEAS/RePEc - Free economics papers

• Connected Papers - Visual citation networks

Changelog

v1.0.0

• Initial release with templates and search strategies