Guide and criteria for producing a thesis on Macroeconomics - Global Economics

Prerequisites

Students willing to write a sound BA thesis under my supervision must be

• versed in (or at least not allergic to) Statisticcs and Mathematics

• ready to use Matlab or at least able to use a spreadsheet software

• punctual in returning their work

• ready to work autonomously

Finding the right topic

The following rules can be of great help in guiding you to find the right topic (the parts in quotation marks are taken from: Eco, U., 2015, How to Write a Thesis, The MIT Press, chapter 1, section Four Obvious Rules for Choosing a Thesis Topic)

1. The topic must be of particularly interest to you.

2. "The topic should reflect your previous studies and experience. It should be related to your completed courses."

3. "The necessary sources should be materially accessible [...] and you should have the permission you need to access them."

4. "The necessary sources should be manageable. In other words, you should have the ability, experience, and background knowledge needed to understand the sources."

5. "You should have some experience with the methodological framework that you will use in the thesis." For instance, if your thesis requires data analysis you should be versed in Statistics.

Overall, the topic you choose must be something feasible and manageable for you. You cannot choose an overwhelming topic that is well above your skill level and abilities.

What is expected from a BA thesis on this subject

The thesis will be judged on interestingness of the topic, clarity of writing and well-rounded presentation. It should reflect the student's ability in mastering a lot of material, her/his talent for concision along with her/his attitude for critical thinking.

Timing

• A BA thesis requires at least 2-3 months.

• Even if the student's goal is a very modest piece of work, not less than 2-3 months will be the time required.

• A first draft of the thesis must be ready at least one month before its defense.

Plagiarism

• Plagiarism is an intolerable academic crime. Any act of academic dishonesty will prevent the student from defending her/his thesis.

Editing rules

• For references, see: https://www.aeaweb.org/journals/policies/sample-references

• Equations must be displayed equations and identified by consecutive Arabic numbers.

• Figures must be numbered consecutively. All illustrations must have titles.

• Tables must be numbered consecutively. All tables must have titles.

• Source lines for tables and figures should be written below.Examples: Source: Authors' calculations; Source: All data was obtained from Authors' calculations on OECD data; Source: Authors' calculations on IMF data; Source: Smith (2008); Source: OECD (2001) etc...

• How to make quotations: see https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_quoting.html

• Footnotes must numbered consecutively

How to write

Of course, you are neither Proust nor Joyce.....You must respect some basic rules. Here some tips