The Beautiful Dataset

[Ignacio Palacios-Huerta]

Dear colleagues,

Earlier this month, the major survey “The Beautiful Dataset” was published in the Journal of Economic Literature:

https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jel.20241616

I am aware that this is an eminently theoretical group, so this paper might not appear to be of broad interest. However, I believe this would be a mistake. I share the view that the model economic scientist is one who develops “parsimonious, yet content-laden models that evolve to fit the facts,” that data "suggest theories and theories are best tested with new data," and that a reluctance to view sports settings from this perspective “has discouraged the study of these settings and slowed the production of knowledge in economics,” even among theoreticians.

More broadly, sports settings may also be valuable for uncovering new phenomena, which will in turn require new or better theories. 

In short, there are several routes through which this survey could be of interest. 

So, just in case, I thought it might be useful to flag it here.

Best regards,
Ignacio