Bad Economics Research Ideas

Here is a list of bad economics research ideas I have from brain-fuzz and drawing from daily inspirations from random encounters of papers: they are often challenging, undesirable, and difficult to research but nonetheless interesting. If you are an economics or economic history researcher: you would be more than welcome to take look! 

If you spot potential in any of these ideas - perhaps you know of relevant datasets, can suggest improved empirical strategies, or see ways to make them more feasible - I'd love to hear from you. I'm also open to potential collaboration. Feel free to reach out at sihao.feng@stcatz.ox.ac.uk

Supply Shocks, Working Capital, and Endogenous Money Creation: A Micro-Evidence Approach

This research proposal aims to investigate the causal relationship between supply shocks, firms' working capital demands, and endogenous money creation through the banking system. While existing literature has extensively documented the inflationary consequences of supply shocks, the precise mechanisms through which these shocks translate into monetary expansion remain understudied. Our research seeks to bridge this gap by leveraging granular firm-bank matched data and exogenous supply shock variations.

St. Catherine’s College, University of Oxford