Paper Review

Structured Paper Review

When reviewing an academic paper, produce a structured summary covering

every section below. Be specific and precise — name the actual variables,

datasets, and methods used. Do not be vague.

1. One-sentence summary

A single sentence capturing the paper's core claim and finding.

Format: "[Authors] show that [X causes/predicts Y] using [method] on [data]."

2. Research question

What specific question does the paper answer? State it as a question.

3. Why it matters

What is the economic or policy significance? Why should a reader care?

Who are the stakeholders affected? Connect it to broader debates in the

literature if possible.

4. Identification strategy

This is the most important section. Be precise:

• What is the empirical method? (DiD, IV, RDD, event study, structural, etc.)
• What is the source of exogenous variation?
• What is the treatment and what is the control?
• What fixed effects are used and why?
• How are standard errors clustered?
• For IV: what is the instrument and what is the exclusion restriction argument?
• For DiD: what is the parallel trends argument?

5. Data

• What datasets are used? (Name them: Compustat, CRSP, Census, etc.)
• What is the unit of observation?
• What is the sample period?
• What is the sample size?
• Any notable sample selection or filters?

6. Key findings

The 2-3 main results. Report actual magnitudes where possible

(coefficients, percentage effects), not just "positive and significant."

7. Robustness and threats

• What robustness checks do the authors run?
• What are the main threats to identification?
• Are there concerns the authors don't address?

8. Key references to follow up

List 2-3 cited papers that seem important for understanding the

contribution or that are worth reading independently.