BEYOND THE STARS

Olivier Sterck

Journal of Economic Surveys, 2019, vol. 33, issue 5, 1409-1436

Abstract: It is frequent to hear in economic seminars or read in academic papers that an effect is economically significant or economically important. Yet, the economic literature is vague on what economic importance means and how it should be measured. In this paper, I show that existing measures of economic importance are flawed and misused. I derive a new metric that measures, in percentage terms, the contribution of each explanatory variable to deviations in the dependent variable, ceteris paribus. As an illustration, the method is applied to study the determinants of migration and the determinants of fertility.

Date: 2019
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https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12330

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Working Paper: Beyond the Stars (2017)
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