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A recent Twitter conversation I had with other social scientists made me reflect upon the state of my own discipline when it comes to standards of evidence. That is, about when we can say that we are fairly certain about a specific conclusion drawn from analyzing data.

The conversation began when Raul Pacheco-Vega said “I love experimental methods, but being obsessed with it is unhealthy.”

I responded that what is unhealthy is the attitude according to which “the only good research questions are the ones that can be randomized.” That is, the mode of thinking – dominant among certain empirical economists – according to which if a research question does not lend itself to randomization, it is not worth one’s time to try answering that research question.

1. Amy Harmon had a great article on golden rice — and the paranoia surrounding GMOs — in last Sunday’s New York Times.
2. If you’ve missed Harmon’s excellent piece on orange rust and the use of GMOs to combat crop diseases, you can find it here.
3. In this New Yorker, James Surowiecki’s column was dedicated to the collapsing price of lobster… and to how restaurants have failed to adjust.
4. Again on the topic of GMOs, Grist magazine had a good three-part series on the topic: parts 1, 2, and 3 (ht: Jayson Lusk).
5. Tom Friedman discovers the food price–conflict nexus… two years too late (ht: Hal Brands).
6. Economic Logic discusses my most recent working paper, the one with Nick Carnes on agricultural protection in the US (ht: Economic Logician).

It’s that time of the year again, when graduate students who are about to enter their final year in economics and related disciplines are getting ready to go on the job market.

Going on the job market is a harrowing experience for most people, however, so I thought I should help job-market candidates by sharing my advice.

This post is the first in a series of three. Today, I’d like to discuss what you should be doing the summer and fall before you go on the job market. The next installment will be posted tomorrow and will cover ASSA interviews.