econ-workshop.md

Notes on Macro-econ models & Heterogeneity

Marginal Propensity to Consume. Transitory vs. Permanent Shocks. The Paradox of Thrift and Toil.

Platforms for collaboration? Issues with Uptake? The CFPB experience. [Moved to lunch] [Bill Shelton]

• What tools to foster collaboration here? What infrastracture?
• Open-source issues with uptake and collaboration
• General topics and experiences at CFPB
• Licensing issues?
  • We don't want to discourage usage.

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How Open Source approaches can help

Ref: Pin Theory

• Leveraging collaboration, specialization, and generalization
• Tower of Babel: Fragmentation!
  • Adaptability is key

Open Source Concepts

• Stallman's "free vs. free beer"
  • '...you should think of “free” as in “free speech,” not as in “free beer”.'
  • Freedom to make changes
• Notion of participation
• Meritocracy based
• The currency is the level of adoption and participation
  • E.g., the Linux kernel.
    • Having your code accepted into the Kernel is considered a badge of honor
• Licensing
  • Need to articulate how you expect or want the software to be used?
    • Do you feel it should not be used for any "for profit" proprietary products?
  • Choosing the least restrictive may be a good choice.
    • MIT, BSD
    • Creative Commons is gaining traction with certain kinds of properties; e.g., content.
    • Public domain ?
      • Public Domain may be interpreted differently outside of the US.

Tools

• Many tools and collaboration platforms exist:
• Code collaboration (git has gained tremendous traction in it's short live. vs. CVS and Subversion)
  • GitHub
  • BitBucket
  • GitLab
• Issue Tracking
  • It's common to have this coupled with code tools, like GitHub, and there're great integration points and innovative code review tools
• Documentation
  • Web hosting of HTML is readily available
  • publication workflow becomes an issue
  • LaTeX can be used
  • GitHub allows for hosting and publishing via a typical git workflow
• Q&A:
  • econ stack overflow site
  • Google Groups
  • Probably don't need both--creates fragmentation ...?

Engagement and Adoption

• Don't assume that "Build it and they will come" holds true!
• Assume that passive communication won't work
• Contribution models
  • Ownership; Benevolent Dictator
  • Meritocracy
• Good scientific computing know-how
• Motivations
  • ...
• Competition?
  • Does openness threaten or undermine the currency of intellectual property or "publication currency"?