This is an unusually long post. But, I wanted to write something comprehensive enough to cover the specific strategies I use without skipping over the basics (for those that are unfamiliar with ChatGPT). Note: Consider this a working draft as I'm intending to update and refine it over time Feel free to reach out if you have any comments or suggestions. How I used AI: ChatGPT hasn't been used to write this post: please see the remaining grammatical and spelling errors as evidence of this fact. ChatGPT was used for producing examples presented in this post. To make the examples…
Enrollments open: An Introduction to R for Policy Analysis
A long-time ago, in the midst of a global pandemic, I launched the first online version of 'R Programming for Policy Analysis'. Although I'd run several workshops on applied policy analysis in the past, these sessions were usually for teams that worked exclusively on data analysis and modelling. But, the unexpected chord struck by a short listicle I wrote on R, indicated there was wider interest in an accessible introduction to the R programming for policy generalists, consultants and researchers. I therefore launched the first version of the course at the Microsoft Reactor Hub in Sydney, before delivering it as…
The Replication Crisis: Thinking Fast and Slow
A couple of years ago when completing a condensed MBA course, I noted to one of the course advisors that the section on policy would benefit from having more emphasis on mainstream economic theory, rather than focusing exclusively on behavioral economics. In response, the course advisor suggested: "You should read 'Thinking Fast and Slow' by Daniel Kahneman." I decided to hold my tongue: both because I couldn't think of a nice way to respond to someone brushing away centuries of economic theory so casually and as I was a little embarrassed to admit that I still hadn't read the book,…
R Programming for Policy Analysis – 2021 Course Resources
Note: Registrations for 'An Introduction to R Programming for Policy Analysis' are now open at PolicyAnalysisLab.com. A long-time ago, in the midst of a global pandemic, I launched the first online version of my 'R Programming for Policy Analysis' course with a motley crew of consultants, policy analysts and researchers. Despite being cobbled together using a combination of teleconferencing and duct-tape, the course was rated highly by participants. So much so, that I still receive requests from people interested in accessing session recordings and course resources. And while having people reaching out to me directly has its advantages - such…
Gender Diversity in the International Development Sector
Just how diverse is the senior leadership of international aid organizations? Colleague Astrid Haas and I recently launched a research project to attempt to answer exactly this for a key dimension of diversity: gender. Data and R code used in the analysis are provided at the bottom of the post Although I label myself 'an economist' at cocktail parties (or would, if I were invited to any), much of my career has been spent in the 'international development'. For those unfamiliar with what this means, in essence much of my work focuses on the challenges faced by nations, communities and…
Teaching men to fish
Having worked on a variety of projects designed to improve the lives of poor, I’ve frequently heard the idea floated that we should always focus on ‘teaching people to fish’. In short, we should aim for sustainable solutions that are designed to reduce the dependency of target beneficiaries, after all: “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” Completely reasonable advice: after all, why shouldn't beneficiaries be empowered to provide for themself rather than relying on the generosity of others? The answer…
Everything is Correlated(?): How Common are Significant Cross-Country Correlations?
An (unscientific) approach for determining the 'typical' frequency of significant cross-country correlations using World Bank data and R. What attracted me to the field of economics when introduced to it in high-school was the apparent abundance of solutions it offered for everyday problems. Does your country have low life expectancy? No problems: research has found that countries that invest more in public health perform better on this measure. Low GDP per-capita? Just improve your governance; as better governed countries tend to be richer. Suffering from internal conflict? Rough-terrain is statistically linked to conflict, perhaps you could invest in earth-moving equipment?…
Economic Policy is a Wicked Problem: It Needs Generalists
I remember being told by a mentor that the problem with my skill set was that I was a 'generalist'. Being early in my career, I didn't think too much about the feedback; as I really hadn't worked long enough to build a specialty even if I knew what I wanted that to be. But, I did find it confusing. After all, didn't the field of economics actively poke its nose into nearly every area of human existence - whether it be the links between abortion and crime or how to start a city? And weren't the intellectual giants of…
R Programming for Public Policy Analysis
Early in 2019 I posted a short 'listicle' with some of the key reasons I think Python and/or R should become essential tools in a modern policy analyst’s toolkit. The full article is here, but the headline points in the article were; R programming’s use across disciplines fitting in well with multidisciplinary policy analysis teams; the greater reproducibility/transparency written code provides; and the practical advantages that can come from automating repetitive bits of policy analysis (such as reporting results of policy analysis across multiple scenarios). While the article didn’t end in me getting a book deal, it did result in…
7 Reasons for policy professionals to get into R programming in 2019
In response to how popular this post was, I've run several crash courses on using R for policy analysis. However, the demand to participate in these sessions has exceeded what's practical, which is why I'll be launching the first fully online version of the course in 2023. To learn more and sign up go to PolicyAnalysisLab.com Note: A version of this article was also published via LinkedIn here and on Medium here. With the rise of ‘Big Data’, ‘Machine Learning’ and the ‘Data Scientist’ has come an explosion in the popularity of using open-source programming tools for data analysis. This…