lit-review-assistant skill

---
name: lit-review-assistant
description: Search, summarize, and synthesize economics literature
workflow_stage: literature
compatibility:
  - claude-code
  - cursor
  - codex
  - gemini-cli
author: Awesome Econ AI Community
version: 1.0.0
tags:
  - literature-review
  - papers
  - citations
  - synthesis
---

# Literature Review Assistant

## Purpose

This skill helps economists conduct literature reviews by structuring searches, summarizing papers, and synthesizing findings. It provides templates for organizing literature and identifying research gaps.

## When to Use

- Starting a literature review for a new project
- Finding related work for a paper's introduction
- Synthesizing existing evidence on a topic
- Identifying gaps in the literature

## Instructions

### Step 1: Define the Research Domain

Ask the user:
1. What is your specific research question?
2. What's the scope? (Narrow field survey vs. cross-disciplinary review)
3. What databases do you have access to? (JSTOR, EconLit, Google Scholar, NBER)
4. What time period is relevant?
5. Are there seminal papers to start from?

### Step 2: Structure the Search

Help define search terms:
1. **Primary terms**: Core concepts (e.g., "minimum wage", "employment")
2. **Methodological filters**: (RCT, IV, difference-in-differences)
3. **Outcome terms**: What effects are measured
4. **Geographic/temporal scope**: If relevant

### Step 3: Organize and Synthesize

Create a structured summary for each paper:
- Citation
- Research question
- Data and methods
- Key findings
- Limitations
- How it relates to user's project

### Step 4: Identify Patterns and Gaps

- What do papers agree on?
- Where are disagreements?
- What questions remain unanswered?
- What methods haven't been applied?

## Example Output: Literature Summary Template

```markdown
# Literature Review: [TOPIC]

## Search Strategy

**Databases:** EconLit, NBER, Google Scholar, SSRN
**Date range:** 2010-2024
**Search terms:** 
- ("minimum wage" OR "wage floor") AND (employment OR jobs)
- ("minimum wage") AND ("difference-in-differences" OR "DiD")

**Inclusion criteria:**
- Peer-reviewed or NBER working papers
- Focused on [specific outcome]
- Uses causal identification strategy

---

## Seminal Papers

### Card and Krueger (1994)
**Citation:** Card, D., & Krueger, A. B. (1994). Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. *American Economic Review*, 84(4), 772-793.

**Research Question:** What is the effect of minimum wage increases on employment?

**Data & Method:** 
- DiD comparing NJ (treatment) to PA (control)
- Survey of fast-food restaurants before/after NJ minimum wage increase

**Key Findings:**
- No negative employment effect found
- Employment slightly increased in NJ relative to PA

**Contribution:** Challenged conventional view; pioneered quasi-experimental methods in labor economics

**Limitations:**
- Single state, short time horizon
- Potential survey response bias

---

### Cengiz et al. (2019)
**Citation:** Cengiz, D., Dube, A., Lindner, A., & Zipperer, B. (2019). The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low-Wage Jobs. *Quarterly Journal of Economics*, 134(3), 1405-1454.

**Research Question:** Do minimum wage increases destroy jobs or compress the wage distribution?

**Data & Method:**
- Bunching estimator using 138 minimum wage events
- Examine employment distribution around minimum wage

**Key Findings:**
- Jobs below the new minimum wage disappear
- But replaced by jobs just above the minimum
- No significant overall employment loss

**Contribution:** Novel bunching methodology; large-scale evidence

---

## Synthesis: What We Know

| Finding | Evidence Quality | Consensus Level |
|---------|-----------------|-----------------|
| Small minimum wage increases have minimal employment effects | Strong (multiple RCTs/quasi-experiments) | High |
| Effects may be heterogeneous by region | Medium | Growing |
| Large increases (e.g., $15) less studied | Limited | Low |

## Research Gaps

1. **Mechanism:** How do firms absorb higher labor costs? (Prices, profits, productivity?)
2. **Long-run effects:** Most studies focus on 1-2 years
3. **Geographic heterogeneity:** Do effects differ in low vs. high cost-of-living areas?
4. **Spillovers:** Effects on workers earning above minimum wage

## Connection to Your Project

Your study of [SPECIFIC QUESTION] can contribute by:
- [How your work fills a gap]
- [What new data/method you bring]
```

## Paper Summary Template

```markdown
## [Author(s)] ([Year])

**Title:** [Full title]

**Published in:** [Journal/Working Paper Series]

**Research Question:** [One sentence]

**Data:**
- Source: [Dataset name]
- Period: [Years]
- Sample: [N observations, unit of analysis]

**Identification Strategy:** [Method in one sentence]

**Main Findings:**
1. [Key result 1 with magnitude]
2. [Key result 2]
3. [Robustness/heterogeneity]

**Limitations:**
- [Main concern 1]
- [Main concern 2]

**Relevance to your project:** [One sentence on how it connects]

**Key quote:** "[Most important direct quote]" (p. XX)
```

## Search Strategy Tips

### Google Scholar Operators
- `"exact phrase"` - Exact matching
- `author:surname` - Papers by specific author
- `source:journal` - Papers in specific journal
- `-exclude` - Exclude terms
- `[year]..[year]` - Date range

### Finding Seminal Papers
1. Check citations in recent survey papers
2. Look for papers with 1000+ citations
3. Check JEL codes in EconLit
4. Review "related articles" in Google Scholar

### Building Citation Networks
1. Start with 2-3 seminal papers
2. Check what recent papers cite them (forward citations)
3. Check their references (backward citations)
4. Identify clusters of related work

## Best Practices

1. **Use reference managers** (Zotero, Mendeley, BibDesk)
2. **Create annotated bibliographies** as you read
3. **Track search queries** for reproducibility
4. **Update regularly** before submission
5. **Balance breadth and depth** - cover field but focus on closest work

## Common Pitfalls

- ❌ Only citing papers that support your argument
- ❌ Not engaging with contradictory findings
- ❌ Confusing correlation with causation when summarizing
- ❌ Citing papers you haven't actually read
- ❌ Missing important recent papers

## References

- [EconLit](https://www.aeaweb.org/econlit/) - Authoritative economics database
- [NBER Working Papers](https://www.nber.org/papers) - Latest research
- [IDEAS/RePEc](https://ideas.repec.org/) - Free economics papers
- [Connected Papers](https://www.connectedpapers.com/) - Visual citation networks

## Changelog

### v1.0.0
- Initial release with templates and search strategies