Sai Zhang

Econ PhD student @USC

[Sai Zhang @SaiEconING]

Let me share some data I compiled:
https://t.co/4nZEV9ioKm

[Cesar Chavez @CesarChavezP29]

What a pre-doc is for? The PhD is supposed to be the place where you learn to do research. That’s why you apply. Yet now you need a pre-doc to get in. We’ve added a two-year stage whose stated purpose is teaching what the next stage exists to teach.

The funny thing is that in practice the tasks are mechanical: cleaning data, coding, lit reviews, and all of these things AI can do way better than an RA doing them manually.

For instance, in biology or other fields, the person who runs the experiments gets co-authorship. In economics, the person who builds, cleans and runs the dataset gets a footnote acknowledgment.

If the purpose of doing a pre-doc is to learn how to do research, the surprise is that there is no guarantee you will learn how to do it.

Whether you actually learn depends on whether the PI chooses to invest in you. Nothing in the system requires them to. That’s the lottery: you need to be lucky, not just talented, to cross paths with someone who wants to teach you.

This is also related to the fact of how strong the effect of having connections in academia is in order to be successful. If you come from nowhere, it will be hard to get a good placement, either for a PhD application or in the job market.

[Eric Verhoogen @EricVerhoogen]

Call for papers! 4th New Thinking in Industrial Policy Conference @Columbia, Nov. 6, 2026.
Conference page: https://t.co/daptrYhvd2.
Submit here (deadline Sept. 14): https://t.co/W6lwmB2zOB.
Hosts: @Columbia_CDEP,
@Policy_Dialogue, Columbia Center for Pol Econ.

[Nishith Prakash @Prof_Nishith_P]

Dear Colleagues - AMIE mentoring has received 66 applicants. We need around 10-15 additional mentors who are committed to this cause. Do help: https://t.co/EYQBz0yb1c

@ideadevecon @AEAInformation @nberpubs @AEACSWEP @JPAL @YaleRISE

[Furong Huang @furongh]

While FIFA has captured everyone’s attention, something consequential happened in academia this week, especially for international students in PhD programs.

DHS issued a final rule changing how long F-1 students may remain in the United States.

A thread on what it means and what students and universities can do. 🧵

[Dean Yang @deanyang]

Development economics finally has a global professional home. Today we launch @ideadevecon ... Open to every development economist, everywhere.

Join the community: https://t.co/d32NJVmjEj

Please share 🌍

[Kirill Borusyak @borusyak]

🚨 Diff-in-diff imputation in Python 🚨
Excited to report that a package for estimation and and event study plots is now available. Similar syntax to the did_imputation and event_plot Stata commands

Available here: https://t.co/EtE0WGzM4e
Huge thanks to the author @gmarinichev

[Elliott Ash @ellliottt]

see below -- PhD opportunity in Vienna promising an engaging intellectual experience with social impact!

advised by my @ETH_AI_Center colleague @miserlis_

[Ricardo Perez-Truglia @pereztruglia]

🚨 Due to high demand, I created a new (and much improved) version of the Econ Journal Matchmaker.

New tool here:
https://t.co/kvrQQmo5SG

#EconTwitter Please help spread the word by reposting. 🙏

More details below 👇

[Tommaso Porzio @PorzioTommaso]

🧵on new paper “Startups in Africa”.

Draft here: https://t.co/ag9ni1IMoa!

In this project, we collect new data to study a small, but fast-growing, reality: the startup scene in Africa.

With Emanuele Colonnelli, Marcio Cruz, Mariana Pereira-Lopez, and Chun Zhao. 1/

[Economics Graduate Student Conference @egsc_wustl]

Looking back at last year’s WashU Economics Graduate Student Conference.

The call for papers for EGSC 2026 is coming soon!

[USC Economics @USC_Econ]

On Friday, we held the USC Econ Birnkrant Conference on "Effective States in Economic Development". It was a super event with terrific turnout and talks. Thanks to @davidfromterra for organizing it!

[USC Economics @USC_Econ]

Massive congratulations to Assistant Professor
Simon Quach
for his appointment as a Faculty Research Fellow in the Labor Studies Program of the NBER!

[Monica Morlacco @mmorl89]

Thanks @Ale_M_Peter and @Federomei1 for the chance to share my story as a mum in early tenure track years. I hope it resonates with many, maybe shifts a few perspectives. Follow @OneExtraYear for more!

[AMIE @econmentoring]

📢 We are excited to open registrations for the 5th Workshop in Applied Microeconomics!

🗓️ Dates: May 4–5, 2026 (Zoom)
🔗 To register and explore the full schedule: https://t.co/WkaOqyMIC9

@ana_p_melo @CMichaudLeclerc @AjinkyaKeskar @Prof_Nishith_P @p_mukherj

[Emily Oster @ProfEmilyOster]

Advice for PhD students in economics about using AI, from the brilliant Isaiah Andrews. This should probably be circulated to all PhD cohorts

https://t.co/07xEbmx5n5

[Keith Marzilli Ericson (he/him/his) @ProfKMEricson]

Proud to have "Nonbinary Gender Economics"  out in JPE Micro.  We document the economic experiences and preferences of nonbinary individuals—a population of 1M+ in the US that is often overlooked.

[Monica Morlacco @mmorl89]

That time of the year again 🥳🥳

We’re now accepting submissions for WIE 📑 This year hosted by @DukeEcon, on Nov 5-6.

Please submit a paper by May 15!

[Sai Zhang @SaiEconING]

@e_gurkova @PSEinfo @itskhoki @arielburst Huge congrats!

[David Schönholzer @davidfromterra]

Hi everyone,

Paulina Oliva and I are hiring Pre-doctoral Research Fellows to work with us here at USC Economics in Los Angeles. If you know of suitable candidates, please encourage them to apply!

https://t.co/jhmmrFpYEV

[Augustin Bergeron @ABergeron_econ]

🚨 I’m hiring a Harvard-based Predoctoral Fellow.

If you’re excited about development, political economy, and public finance, apply!

✅ Full-time (July 1 start)
🗓️ Rolling deadline
🎓 Great fit for candidates considering a PhD

Apply ➡️ https://t.co/BYVj9x8A0v