1. : Law and Economics
Topic: Law and Economics. Issue: Illegal immigration (Literature REview)Order
DescriptionLaw and EconomicsECNU424Term Paper AssignmentIntroduction: Identifying
and Justifying a Research TopicThe goals of this assignment are the selection of a research
topic/question for follow-on quantitative analysis and justification of the importance of the
study. The assignment should include the following:1) State the issue and/or research
problem/question. What is the intent of your analysis? It is good to formulate your question
with a ?how? or ?why? question. For example: 1) How do immigrant laws affect assimilation
into the labor market? Or, 2) How does increased traffic law enforcement decrease
fatalities?2) In four or five double-spaced paragraphs, justify why this is an important topic.
Envision submitting the idea to a government agency or corporate client for funding.
AIDress the following questions: 1) Why is research necessary on this law and economics
topic? 2) How will it help lawmakers develop good policies or change existing policies? 3)
How will it contribute to the growth of knowledge of law and economics?3) Prepare a
synthesis of the findings from the literature. The process begins with a survey of the
scholarly literature in the selected research area: the literature will help conceptualize and
operationalize your issue of importance and /or research question. The scholarly literature
can be initially accessed via Google Scholar, but must include searches of EconLit and JStor,
as well as other resources accessible via the NU Libraries.It is expected that many citations
will be considered and included in a ?bibliography,? and most ofnthem will be detailed in
the literature review. Focus on reputable peer-reviewed articles or books (and state your
method for determining the quality of each reference) and publications since 2002 (older
publications may be definitive, but it important to access the most recent state-of-the-art
references).Quantitative AnalysisThis assignment will require the inclusion of two major
parts: 1) the theoretical background and hypothesis; and 2) the analytical
section.Background and HypothesisBuilding upon the literature review, this section of the
term paper will link the quantitative analysis directly to the existing literature. Theories,
explanatory frameworks and/or empirical evidence pertinent to your research question are
to be presented: aIDitional sources will be aIDed as appropriate (the final term paper
should have five to seven sources in total).For the ?research question,? the following needs
to be considered:1) What is the theoretical basis for answering the research question? That
is, what are the arguments, given the existing theories, about how you key independent
variable ?X? is associated with the dependent variable ?Y?? Each theory should provide an
argument about the relationship. If this is not explicit, an extrapolation from theory about
2. how ?X? affects ?Y? needs to be applied.2) How does the research build upon findings of
earlier studies? In discussing how theory relates X to Y, existing studies that reinforce the
relationship with theory should be stated. Accordingly, the theory explanation can be placed
in a research context.In constructing the research approach, at least two theories or two
arguments should be made to explain the relationship between Y and X. (Hence, support the
theory of interest by eliminating the competing theory of disinterest). With the
establishment of the competing theories and/or arguments, the supporting references
should be assigned to the appropriate theory/argument (?put into ?piles? corresponding to
the theories?). Important questions to consider are: what concepts are being used in each
theory? What are the results? Do they support the theories? How does the finding of follow-
on articles support/refute earlier work?In drafting the research approach, briefly
summarize competing theories relevant to your argument. Specify major assumptions and
key concepts of the theory of interest (the ?Y? that explains ?X?). With the details
assembled, create a section called ?Hypotheses.? State at least one hypothesis about the
relationship between X and Y for the theory you present. Your hypotheses should follow
logically from the description of the theories/literature in the outline.MethodologyThis
section requires the description of the data used in conducting your analysis, outline the
how the variables in the study are operartionalized, and described how you test the
hypotheses. Briefly describe the data: what is it? And, how will it be used? What is the unit
of analysis? (for example, fatal crash; individual driver) What is the data source? (Be as
specific as possible).The goal of assignment #2 is the synthesis and augmentation of the
materials written in assignments #1 along with the quantitative (empirical) findings of your
final research effort. The following sections should be included:1) Introduction-follow the
guidelines from assignment #1?briefly restate;2) Theory/Literature Review-present
competing arguments-explain how references explain the relationship between
independent and dependent variables, and competing arguments-references should be
included according to how they inform the research and on a study-by-study basis3)
Hypotheses-present competing hypotheses-link directly to section 2For this paper i only
need parts 1-3. LAter on i ail contact same writer to complete parts 4-
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XXX4) DataDescribe:-the unit of analysis (for example, the individual product consumer,
lease-holder, or company)– analyses and/or data source(s)-strengths and weaknesses of
the analyses and/or data5) Variables/ModelDescribe:-dependent variable(s)-key
independent variables-test/control variables6) Analysis/FindingsDiscuss:-how are the
variables related-explanatory ability of the model-how results support competing
hypothesesPresent:-tables of statistical findings7)
ConclusionXXxXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXRestate:-research objectives, data used, analytical results and significance of
the effortPlease use section headings in order to improve the flow of the paper. The final
report should be double-spaces and 5-7 pages (excluding references and tables). The final
paper should be free of spelling and/or grammatical mistakes.Due Date: Wednsday
february 26, before 12 pm. Please be prepared to briefly present your thesis/issue review in
class and submit a hard-copy. Also submit an electronic version via Blackboard.Examples of
3. Bibliographic Citations1) Journal Article/Newspaper ArticleBruning, Edward R. 1989. ?The
Relationship Between Profitability and Safety Performance in Trucking Firms.?
Transportation Journal. 28(3):40-49.Choi, Seungmook, Don Hardigree and Paul D. Thistle.
2002. ?The Property/Liability Insurance Cycle: A Comparison of Alternative Models.?
Southern Economic Journal. 68(3):530-548.2) BookBreyer, Stephen. 1993. Breaking the
Vicious Circle: Toward Effective Risk Regulation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.3) Chapter in a bookArrow, Kenneth J., Maureen L. Cropper, George C. Eads, et al.
2002. ?Is there a Role for Benefit-Cost Analysis in Environmental, Health, and Safety
Regulation.? Pp. 153-158 in Lawrence O. Gostin, Public Health Law and Ethics: A Reader.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Savage, Ian. 1999. ?The Economics of
Commercial Transportation Safety.? Pp. 531-562 in Essays in Transportation Economics
and Policy. Editors: Jose Gomez-Ibanez, William B. Tye, and Clifford Winston. Washington
D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.Examples of Citations within a Paper1) Savage (1999)
argues that the socially optimal number of commercial vehicle crashes will exceed the
minimum number that is technically feasible.2) The socially optimal number of commercial
vehicle crashes will exceed the minimum number that is technically feasible (Savage
1999).3) ?Risk-related matters that enter the forum of public debate may have to pass
political as well as technical tests for safety.? (Breyer 1993:55)4) According to Breyer
(1993:55), ?risk-related matters that enter the forum of public debate may have to pass
political as well as technical tests for safety.?How to Write An Economics Paper:1. Intro /
Issue and it?s Importance / Relevancea. In this section you introduce the issue, describe it,
and give general context.i. Talk about the magnitude of the problemii. Why is it important
now? Why is it ripe for your research?iii. Only talk about the solutions if you want to give
them as context2. Review of the Literaturea. In this section you talk about what everyone
else has published about it (if not everyone than the most influential)i. A review of the
literature isn?t just a bunch of quotes taken from studies you found. You briefly summarize
what the author says, but more importantly you talk about what you learned from their
article and how it will be incorporated into your later researchii. Include a brief summary of
what the consensus is within the literature3. or 4. Economic Frameworka. Talk about the
economics that you will be using to analyze your later analysisi. Bombard the reader with
economics here. Talk about why you choose oneeconomic theory over another here.
Convince the reader that you know whatyou are talking about and how economics is
helping your thought process. 4. Or 3. Methodologya. Talk about any decisions that went
into the process here. This includes most specifically why you chose the data you did, and
why you plan to/ did the analysis that you did do.i. This can be a discussion on anything
from why you are listening to some literature over another, or why you are using data from
the source you are.5. Analysisa. This is your quantitative analysis. Talk about something
new here. Create newinformation pertaining to your topic, even if it means doing something
outside of the box to be novel.i. Take the data, do something with it. Show the reader. Tell
the reader how to interpret. Talk about what it means. Introduce some implications.6.
Conclusionsa. Talk about the implications extensively and tell readers what the best course
of actionis. You are writing about an issue…this means there must be solutions. If you want
4. to refute or support a previously suggested option this is where you do it. Conclude your
thoughts and wrap up the paper.
