One day I will write something longer about the value of qualitative research methods for quantitative (esp. applied micro) researchers. But 👇 is a short thread

TLDR: Qual methods super useful even if you never present/analyze qual data in published work

#ResearchMethods Qualitative research often gets a bad rap in quant-heavy fields. There's a perception that it's less rigorous or less 'scientific.' But, this critique misses the point - your goal is not to do qual research yourself but leverage those methods to make your quant paper better.

Quick thread about a mapping trick the @nytimes has adopted in the last few weeks that have dramatically improved their coronavirus maps.

The maps are about different topics, but note one other key diff. between maps on left (April 3), middle (wikipedia) & right (NYT today) 1/ all three are county level maps of the US -- made with county level data.

what makes the last map on the right different?

one key design choice highlighted in the footnote:

"parts of a county with a population density lower than 10 people per square mile are not shaded" 2/

🚨New paper thread🚨 How to reopen the economy safely & yet not hurt the economy?

Our empirical model leverages cellphone location data to map city-based social networks & finds one size does not fit all! Answer depends on local context.

full paper: abhishekn.com/files/network-…
👇🏾 1/ Decisions about how to reopen the economy depend on extremely local factors such as how and where people from different age groups intermingle⁠—

and yet our models of disease spread and economic loss don't take this spatial heterogeneity into account. 🤷🏾‍♂️

Can we do better?

1/ Excited about new paper on Economics of Maps w/ @sstern_mit in the JEP Winter 2020 issue!
pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10…

Inspired by "the map is not the terrain", we argue that maps matter & examine the economic antecedents & consequences of mapping distortions

tweetstorm below 👇🏾

https://twitter.com/AEAjournals/status/1227239566760972288

@sstern_mit 2/ Our starting point is the observation that distortions in mapping info have shaped the course of history. We highlight the example of the Martellus Map that was used by Columbus to argue for a westward route to India

1/ Excited to release a new paper with @ReimersImke looking at the effects of book digitization on the demand for physical copies. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf… The basic motivation for our work is summarized well by this article from @jsumers theatlantic.com/technology/arc… -- Even though we know have the technology, why isnt there a digital library of Alexandria? One place for all knowledge?