Co-organizer: CUHK Economics
Rules: You write a referee report to critically argue why the key result of your selected CUHK Economics poster (1 only) isn’t correct.
Submission deadline: Apr 30, 2025 (Wed)
Eligibility: You must be a student of one of the secondary schools invited by CUHK Economics to 2025 poster session
Prize: Amazon coupon
Winner: USD$300; 1st runner-up: USD$100; 2nd runner-up: USD$50
Submission link: https://forms.office.com/r/ZLbpypHYzD
Announcement to winners: Before May 10, 2025 (Thur)
The Task
You’ve heard a poster presentation, but the presenter failed to convince you. The problem lies in the key takeaway, the main result, and not in the presentation’s style, a minor typo, or the presenter’s articulation. It is the main message—the gist of it.
Think carefully about exactly what the main result is that the poster tries to convey to you and others. Then, using your own words, state the main result and argue why it is incorrect.
Common Types of Economic Studies
Many economic studies attempt to demonstrate a causal relationship, showing that either x increases or decreases y, or that x does not causally affect y.
For instance, economist Kathryn Graddy argued that raising the price of whiting fish (x) decreases the quantity demanded of whiting in the Fulton Fish Market (y). Economist David Card found that raising the minimum wage does not decrease employment.
Other economic studies present a data pattern, usually visually. For instance, a research project might plot the differences in GDP and GNI across different countries over time. Sometimes, trends become apparent. The research usually provides an interpretation of the pattern, and you may disagree with that interpretation.
Some Reasons for Disagreement
Why would you disagree with the result? This is exactly what the competition asks you to think of. You can’t just say, ‘I don’t like it,’ or ‘I feel it isn’t right.’ You must give your argument.
Though not an exhaustive list, some reasons are:
a) The conclusion drawn is broader than the data suggests. The downward-sloping demand curve might only hold true in the Fulton Fish Market for a specific period of time, or only for that particular fish. Thus, it can’t be conclusive in other settings. The minimum wage may still decrease employment outside of the particular States in the U.S. where David Card conducted his research.
b) The data doesn’t seem sufficiently random or representative. Randomly interviewing people online is likely to result in a sample biased towards the younger generation.
c) Confounding factors aren’t carefully taken into consideration. One can’t simply compare employment before and after a minimum wage hike and draw conclusions about the minimum wage’s causal impact on employment because relevant labor market factors change over time.
d) The measures are noisy. It’s hard to determine precisely how much a firm bribes. Some economists use a firm’s ratio of entertainment and travel costs to total sales to gauge bribery expenditure. Accountants might disagree and argue that the reported amount merely reflects a ‘sweet spot’ just under the level that would attract scrutiny from tax authorities. Even if the firm bribes significantly more or less than this threshold, they are still incentivized to report just under it, making the measure unreliable. (Can you figure out why?)
e) The interpretation of the result is wrong. For example, one could present the ratio of the average price of a 400 square-foot apartment to the median household income across many cities. If Hong Kong’s ratio is the highest, the interpretation might be that Hong Kong is the least affordable in terms of housing. The key question is whether such a housing affordability ratio is truly comparable between Hong Kong and other cities. Are there unique factors in Hong Kong that would render such a comparison meaningless? Ultimately, we want to compare apples to apples, not apples to oranges.
A useful tip is to discuss your ideas with your instructors and classmates. Clearly articulate your argument and actively solicit their feedback. The more you engage in this process, the stronger your report will become. Remember to keep your arguments concise and focused.
The poster for this competition can be seen here.