how to write an economics article review

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What's on this Page

This page is meant to help you create a literature review for academic projects and publications. Each tab outlines a different aspect of what a literature review is and how to build one. If you need help finding sources for your literature reviews, check out How To pages.

How to Build a Literature Review

• What is a Lit Review?
• Why Write a Lit Review?
• Building a Lit Review
• Prepping for a Lit Review
• Basic Example
• Other Resources/Examples

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is a comprehensive summary and analysis of previously published research on a particular topic. Literature reviews should give the reader an overview of the important theories and themes that have previously been discussed on the topic, as well as any important researchers who have contributed to the discourse. This review should connect the established conclusions to the hypothesis being presented in the rest of the paper.

What a Literature Review Is Not:

• Annotated Bibliography: An annotated bibliography summarizes and assesses each resource individually and separately. A literature review explores the connections between different articles to illustrate important themes/theories/research trends within a larger research area. 
• Timeline: While a literature review can be organized chronologically, they are not simple timelines of previous events. They should not be a list of any kind. Individual examples or events should be combined to illustrate larger ideas or concepts.
• Argumentative Paper: Literature reviews are not meant to be making an argument. They are explorations of a concept to give the audience an understanding of what has already been written and researched about an idea. As many perspectives as possible should be included in a literature review in order to give the reader as comprehensive understanding of a topic as possible.

Why Write a Literature Review?

After reading the literature review, the reader should have a basic understanding of the topic. A reader should be able to come into your paper without really knowing anything about an idea, and after reading the literature, feel more confident about the important points.

A literature review should also help the reader understand the focus the rest of the paper will take within the larger topic. If the reader knows what has already been studied, they will be better prepared for the novel argument that is about to be made.

A literature review should help the reader understand the important history, themes, events, and ideas about a particular topic. Connections between ideas/themes should also explored. Part of the importance of a literature review is to prove to experts who do read your paper that you are knowledgeable enough to contribute to the academic discussion. You have to have done your homework.

A literature review should also identify the gaps in research to show the reader what hasn't yet been explored. Your thesis should ideally address one of the gaps identified in the research. Scholarly articles are meant to push academic conversations forward with new ideas and arguments. Before knowing where the gaps are in a topic, you need to have read what others have written.

What does a literature review look like?

As mentioned in other tabs, literature reviews should discuss the big ideas that make up a topic. Each literature review should be broken up into different subtopics. Each subtopic should use groups of articles as evidence to support the ideas. There are several different ways of organizing a literature review. It will depend on the patterns one sees in the groups of articles as to which strategy should be used. Here are a few examples of how to organize your review:

Chronological

If there are clear trends that change over time, a chronological approach could be used to organize a literature review. For example, one might argue that in the 1970s, the predominant theories and themes argued something. However, in the 1980s, the theories evolved to something else. Then, in the 1990s, theories evolved further. Each decade is a subtopic, and articles should be used as examples. 

Themes/Theories

There may also be clear distinctions between schools of thought within a topic, a theoretical breakdown may be most appropriate. Each theory could be a subtopic, and articles supporting the theme should be included as evidence for each one. 

If researchers mainly differ in the way they went about conducting research, literature reviews can be organized by methodology. Each type of method could be a subtopic,  and articles using the method should be included as evidence for each one.

Preliminary Steps for Literature Review

• Define your research question
• Compile a list of initial keywords to use for searching based on question
• Search for literature that discusses the topics surrounding your research question
• Assess and organize your literature into logical groups
• Identify gaps in research and conduct secondary searches (if necessary)
• Reassess and reorganize literature again (if necessary)
• Write review

Here is an example of a literature review, taken from the beginning of a research article. You can find other examples within most scholarly research articles. The majority of published scholarship includes a literature review section, and you can use those to become more familiar with these reviews.

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• ISU Writing Assistance The Julia N. Visor Academic Center provides one-on-one writing assistance for any course or need. By focusing on the writing process instead of merely on grammar and editing, we are committed to making you a better writer.
• University of Toronto: The Literature Review Written by Dena Taylor, Health Sciences Writing Centre
• Purdue OWL - Writing a Lit Review Goes over the basic steps
• UW Madison Writing Center - Review of Literature A description of what each piece of a literature review should entail.
• USC Libraries - Literature Reviews Offers detailed guidance on how to develop, organize, and write a college-level research paper in the social and behavioral sciences.
• Creating the literature review: integrating research questions and arguments Blog post with very helpful overview for how to organize and build/integrate arguments in a literature review
• Understanding, Selecting, and Integrating a Theoretical Framework in Dissertation Research: Creating the Blueprint for Your “House” Article focusing on constructing a literature review for a dissertation. Still very relevant for literature reviews in other types of content.

A note that many of these examples will be far longer and in-depth than what's required for your assignment. However, they will give you an idea of the general structure and components of a literature review. Additionally, most scholarly articles will include a literature review section. Looking over the articles you have been assigned in classes will also help you.

• Sample Literature Review (Univ. of Florida) This guide will provide research and writing tips to help students complete a literature review assignment.
• Sociology Literature Review (Univ. of Hawaii) Written in ASA citation style - don't follow this format.
• Sample Lit Review - Univ. of Vermont Includes an example with tips in the footnotes.
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I.  What is a Literature Review? The purpose of a review is to analyze critically a segment of a published body of knowledge through summary, classification, and comparison of prior research studies. It can be a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an organizational pattern, combining both summary and synthesis.

• Review of the Literature (Wisconsin)
• Systematic Literature Review vs Narrative Reviews
• Get Lit: the Literature Review Candace Schaefer in the Texas A&M University Writing Center.

III.  What Major Steps and Basic Elements Literature Reviews Require?

• Overview of the subject, issue or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of literature review
• Perform a literature review, finding materials relevant to the subject being explored
• Division of works under review into categories (e.g. those in support of a particular position, those against, etc)
• Explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others
• Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research
• Write a Lit Review (UCSC)

IV.    Which Citation Tool Are You Going to Use to Manage the Literature Sources? Choose your citation tool before conducing your literature reviews.  There are a number of choices, including following software supported by the Libraries and the University:

• RefWorks Available at no cost to Texas A&M affiliates.
• EndNote Available for free through a campus-wide site license.

Cited Reference Searching

Cited references are the sources consulted in writing an article or a book, often referred to within the text of the work. A list of cited references may appear as Bibliographic Notes, Footnotes or Endnotes, References, List of Sources Cited or Consulted. In order for an article to be cited, it needs to have been published for a long enough period of time for another published article, citing it to appear.

These listings can be helpful in a number of ways:

• Finding an article on a relevant topic and accumulating similar helpful resources
• Following a specific idea or theory back to its first appearance in the literature
• Finding articles that build on a specific theory or the most recent article on a topic
• Identifying experts or leaders on a specific topic
• Documenting scholarly reputation and impact for tenure and promotion

The cited reference databases are efficient in pulling together many articles on a topic with their references and in identifying which articles on a topic have been cited most frequently.  They can also help identify the “top” journals in a field by impact factor, which may be useful for assessing them.

• Web of Science This link opens in a new window covers the world’s leading scholarly literature in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities and examines proceedings of international conferences, symposia, seminars, colloquia, workshops, and conventions. It also includes cited references and citation mapping functions.

Searches can be done by:

• Title or Topic
•  Author or Editor – The Author Finder tool includes variations on an author’s name
• Journal or Publication Name
• Grant Name or Funding Agency
• Limited by year, Language, Document Type 

The citation of the article  will be retrieved with its references as well as the number of times cited and by whom.

You can refine your search results by subject area, useful when there is more than one author with the same name, or by document type.  You can see the number of articles in your set contributed by particular authors and institutions and can create a citation report to identify which articles in your results have been cited the most.

You can easily export your results to bibliographic software like EndNote or RefWorks.

Articles can be searched by:

• Abstract word or keyword
• Source or journal
• Author (by name or by affiliation)
• Limit by date or document type

The database allows accounts to be set up and can save search alerts and journals lists.  Scopus also provides journal analytics including data and graphs to illustrate the total citations, articles published, trend line and % not cited over time.  It has the ability to exclude self-citations.

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Introduction: Write your research with literature review and citation

What is a literature review, help with writing papers.

At the Library, we offer a collection of guides and resources to help you conduct your literature review, cite your sources (including data), and develop your academic writing skills.

Research, and the literature review in particular, is a cyclical process. There is an art to the sometimes messy, thrilling, and frustrating process of conducting a lit review.

• Read widely but selectively.
• Follow the citation trail -- building on previous research by reviewing bibliographies of articles and books that are close to your interest.
• Synthesize previous research on the topic.
• Focus on ways to have the body of literature tell its own story. Do not add your own interpretations at this point.
• Look for patterns and find ways of tying the pieces together.

Conducting a literature review

• Throw out a wide net and read, read, read. 
• How many sources do you need? What types of sources? Which citation style should you use? What time period should it cover? Is currency important? What do you need to be aware of related to scholarly versus popular materials?
• Explored synonyms and alternative phrases in your searches. You will eventually begin to find the same articles and materials in your searches.

Writing a literature review

• The initial work Identify the organizational structure you want to use: chronologically, thematically, or methodologically
• Start writing: let the literature tell the story, find the best examples, summarize instead of quote, synthesize by rephrasing (but cite!) in the context of your work

Below are a few key resources to get you started:

• Citation by Academic Engagement Last Updated Oct 24, 2023 17501 views this year
• Citing datasets
• Developing a Thesis for a Research Paper This very helpful guide from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center discusses the art of crafting a thesis.
• Improve Your Research Skills This guide discusses some of the basics of doing college level research, including tips for evaluating sources and a glossary of terms with examples.
• Brown University Writing Center "The Writing Center is a satellite office of the Dean of the College. The Center is staffed by graduate students from a variety of academic disciplines. Staff members are experienced writers and teachers who participate in ongoing training in composition and Writing Center theory and practice...Writing Center conferences generally last an hour. Experienced as well as inexperienced writers are encouraged to come to the Center with their writing concerns. Writing Center Associates are prepared to discuss all stages of the writing process, from finding a topic up through revision and editing strategies. Associates can help writers deal with writer's block, audience awareness, argumentation, organization, grammar, research skills, the conventions of academic writing, English as a Second Language, and issues of clarity and style."
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The Young Economist’s Short Guide to Writing Economic Research

Attributes of writing economics.

• The discourse is often mathematical, with lots of formulas, lemmas, and proofs.
• Writing styles vary widely. Some authors are very dry and technical while a few are quite eloquent.

Economics writing is different from many other types of writing. It is essentially technical, and the primary goal is to achieve clarity. A clear presentation will allow the strength of your underlying analysis and the quality of your research to shine through.

Unlike prose writing in other disciplines, economics research takes time. Successful papers are not cranked out the night before a due date.

General Guidelines for Quality Research

Getting started.

The hardest part of any writing assignment is starting. Economics research usually begins with a strong understanding of literature, and papers require a section that summarizes and applies previous literature to what the paper at hand. This is the best way to start.

Your writing will demonstrate that you understand the findings that relate to the topic.

Economists use the first few paragraphs to set up research questions and the model and data they use to think about it. Sure, it can be dry, but this format ensures the write and reader have strong grasp on the subject and structure of the work that follows.

Clear and Concise Work

Clarity is hard to achieve, but revising and reworking a paper ensures it is easy to read

• Organize your ideas into an argument with the help of an outline.
• Define the important terms you will use
• State your hypothesis and proceed deductively to reach your conclusions
• Avoid excess verbiage
• Edit yourself, remove what is not needed, and keep revising until you get down to a simple, efficient way of communicating
• Use the active voice
• Put statements in positive form
• Omit needless words (concise writing is clear writing)
• In summaries, generally stick to one tense

Time Management

Poor time management can wreck the best-planned papers. Deadlines are key to successful research papers.

• Start the project by finding your topic
• Begin your research
• Start and outline
• Write a draft
• Revise and polish

The Language of Economic Analysis

Economic theory has become very mathematical. Most PhD students are mathematicians, not simply economics majors. This means most quality economic research requires a strong use of mathematical language. Economic analysis is characterized by the use of models, simplified representations of how economic phenomena work. A model’s predictions about the future or the past are essentially empirical hypotheses. Since economics is not easily tested in controlled experiments, research requires data from the real world (census reports, balance sheets), and statistical methods (regressions and econometrics) to test the predictive power of models and hypotheses based on those models.

The Writing Process

Finding a topic.

There are a million ways to find a topic. It may be that you are writing for a specific subfield of economics, so topics are limited and thus easier to pick. However, must research starts organically, from passive reading or striking news articles. Make sure to find something that interests you. Be sure to find a niche and make a contribution to the subfield.

You will also need a project that can be done within the parameters of the assignment (length, due date, access to research materials). A profoundly interesting topic may not be manageable given the time and other constraints you face. The key is to just be practical.

Be sure to start your research as soon as possible. Your topic will evolve along the way, and the question you begin with may become less interesting as new information draws you in other directions. It is perfectly fine to shape your topic based on available data, but don’t get caught up in endlessly revising topics.

Finding and Using Sources

There are two types of economic sources: empirical data (information that is or can be easily translated into numerical form), and academic literature (books and articles that help you organize your ideas).

Economic data is compiled into a number of useful secondary sources:

• Economic Report of the President
• Statistical Abstract of the United States
• National Longitudinal Survey
• Census data
• Academic journals

The Outline

A good outline acts as an agenda for the things you want to accomplish:

• Introduction: Pose an interesting question or problem
• Literature Review: Survey the literature on your topic
• Methods/Data: Formulate your hypothesis and describe your data
• Results: Present your results with the help of graphs and charts
• Discussion: Critique your method and/or discuss any policy implications
• Conclusions: Summarize what you have done; pose questions for further research

Writing a Literature Review

The literature review demonstrates your familiarity with scholarly work on your topic and lays the foundations for your paper. The particular issues you intent to raise, the terms you will employ, and the approach you will take should be defined with reference to previous scholarly works.

Presenting a Hypothesis

Formulate a question, problem or conjecture, and describe the approach you will take to answer, solve, or test it. In presenting your hypothesis, you need to discuss the data set you are using and the type of regression you will run. You should say where you found the data, and use a table, graph, or simple statistics to summarize them. In term papers, it may not be possible to reach conclusive results. Don’t be afraid to state this clearly and accurately. It is okay to have an inconclusive paper, but it is not okay to make overly broad and unsupported statements.

Presenting Results

There are essentially two decisions to make: (1) How many empirical results should be presented, and (2) How should these results be described in the text?

• Focus only on what is important and be as clear as possible. Both smart and dumb readers will appreciate you pointing things out directly and clearly.
• Less is usually more: Reporting a small group of relevant results is better than covering every possible statistical analysis that could be made on the data.
• Clearly and precisely describe your tables, graphs, and figures in the text of your results section. The first and last sentence in a paragraph describing a result should be “big picture” statements, describing how the results in the table, graph or figure fit into the overall theme of the paper.

Discussing Results

The key to discussing results is to stay clear of making value judgments, and rely instead on economic facts and analyses. It is not the job of an economist to draw policy conclusions, even if the research supports strong evidence in a particular direction.

Referencing Sources

As with any research paper, source referencing depends on the will of a professor a discourse community. However, economists generally use soft references in the literature review section and then cite sources in conventional formats at the end of papers.

This guide was made possible by the excellent work of Robert Neugeboren and Mireille Jacobson of Harvard University and Paul Dudenhefer of Duke University.

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Writing tips for an economics paper.

• The most important part of an economics paper is showing understanding of the issues. Demonstrate that you understand basic economic principles (inflation, deflation, etc.).
• Plain writing, no flowery language
• Use accurate terminology, units, etc.
• No typos—edit your writing

Introduction

Literature review, application of economic theory, sources/references.

• Use quotations sparingly. Try to say things in your own words.
• If you do quote, make quotations short and identify and cite them properly.

Charts and Tables

• Economic trends can be better showed than explained.
• The message you’re trying to show must be obvious; the reader should not have to figure out the relevance.
• Use correct variables and units (ex: level vs. % change)

The Structure of an Economics Paper

This is not the place to reach word count—be as clear and concise as possible. A strong introduction will succinctly do the following:

• Introduce your topic in a way that shows its relevance. Suggest why we should care about this question from an economic perspective—i.e., does it raise an important policy question?
• Indicate the research that has been done on the subject (be brief): Explain if there has been a debate in the literature about the subject or, if there is uncertainty, describe it.
• Identify a gap, problem, controversy, etc., in the existing research: Here, you may want to point out the range of previous results on the subject.*
• Explain how the present paper will fill that gap, solve that problem, etc.*
• State the thesis of the paper—the answer to the research question that the paper attempts to answer. State in this section what your contribution is (i.e., how are you answering the question?). State whether you are testing a model, evaluating a change in policy, and what data you are using.
• Mention the limits of your study (be brief): State your main results, and explain briefly how your findings differ from previous work and what the implications of these findings are. If your analysis is inconclusive (which is okay) be upfront about this and briefly state why they are.
• Outline the organization of the paper (best written in last paragraph of introduction).

*  Parts 3. and 4. may not be necessary depending on the assignment; check with your professor.

This section should consist of two brief parts.

Tip: Your work will be graded based on its relation to previous economics papers and how it improves the reader’s understanding of economic behavior in relation to previous economics work. As such, your literature review should only consist of papers from economics journals, because your main contribution will be to the economics discipline.

• The first section should discuss previous research that is directly relevant to your paper. The review can also include research that employs the same methods you are using, analyzes a similar model, uses the same dataset, etc.
• The second section should explain your contribution in more detail . You should discuss how your approach is different from what has been done before—i.e., do you use new data or a new model? 
• You should present the economic model/theory on which your paper is based.
• You must display mastery of the material covered in class as well as appropriate usage of economic theory. It is easy to get confused about basic economics principles when writing about them; go slowly and stop to make sure they make sense.
• This can be a good place to include graphs and charts.

The Data section (which you’ll write only in empirical papers) identifies the source of the data and any problems or special features of that data. Your data section should:

• Identify and describe the source of your data
• Explain why you use that source
• Identify any caveats: features of the data that may affect your results or that a reader should keep in mind in evaluating them (e.g., the data over-represent a certain demographic population, the data is plagued by self-selection bias, etc.)

While concluding the paper, restate the objective of the paper. Then you should provide your conclusions, being careful to distinguish your contribution from the existing literature on the topic.

  Elissa Jacobs and Paige Eggebrecht

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Contact your Commerce Librarian

What is a literature review.

A literature review is a narrative compilation of selected academic sources related to your topic. Lit reviews describe the research you have studied and develop in your reason for the study, as well as provide criticism of past research. The end result should be a narrative showing the inherent need for your research in the field. Grounding your intended research in the current movements of the field will provide you with evidence of trends on where the field is headed. It also offers you the snapshot of the methodologies used in those studies. You can see what questions are being asked and find answers based on differing approaches to the topic.

An ideal literature review serves two purposes in your study. It strengthens your thesis and justifies your research question. By providing a critical summary of foundational and contemporary research on the topic, a literature review can show readers how your research fills important knowledge gaps. Pinpointing the other work in the field can show the unique perspective your study will provide. It can also offer a thoughtful critique of existing work that shows your full understanding of the opportunities and obstacles in your discipline.

Do not confuse it with:

• an  Annotated Bibliography , which lists citations to books, articles and documents, followed by a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph,
• a Book Review , or short critical discussion about the merits and weaknesses or a specific works,
• or a Business Report , which provides analysis of a situation, either a real one or from a case study, applyng business principles and theories to identify a range of possible solutions to a problem. 

Why a Literature Review?

To demonstrate that you can:

• effectively use research methods to collect and curate information that is useful in answering significant questions;
• foster the ability to make decisions based on rigorous evidence;
• effectively communicate research results in a written form;
• develop the discipline to work with autonomy;
• understand the value, purpose, and methodologies of insightful research.

Purpose of a literature review from Academic Research Foundations: Quantitative by Rolin Moe

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• How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

Published on January 2, 2023 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 11, 2023.

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

• Search for relevant literature
• Evaluate sources
• Identify themes, debates, and gaps
• Outline the structure
• Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes , and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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Table of contents

What is the purpose of a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1 – search for relevant literature, step 2 – evaluate and select sources, step 3 – identify themes, debates, and gaps, step 4 – outline your literature review’s structure, step 5 – write your literature review, free lecture slides, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a thesis , dissertation , or research paper , you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
• Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

Writing literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a career in research. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

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Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

• Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
• Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
• Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
• Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions .

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:

• Your university’s library catalogue
• Google Scholar
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search.

Make sure to read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.

For each publication, ask yourself:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models, and methods?
• Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible , and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

You can use our template to summarize and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using. Click on either button below to download.

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography , where you compile full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

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To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, be sure you understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

• Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
• Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

• Most research has focused on young women.
• There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
• But there is still a lack of robust research on highly visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat—this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

• Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
• Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text , your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, you can follow these tips:

• Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers — add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance.

When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbr’s professional proofreading services !

This article has been adapted into lecture slides that you can use to teach your students about writing a literature review.

Scribbr slides are free to use, customize, and distribute for educational purposes.

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If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

• To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your thesis or dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other  academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An  annotated bibliography is a list of  source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a  paper .  

Cite this Scribbr article

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McCombes, S. (2023, September 11). How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/

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What is a literature review

The term "literature review" can mean different things in different contexts.  All share in common the idea of examining the scholarly literature on a topic.  It is the end result that differs:

An Annotated Bibliography is " a bibliography that includes brief explanations or notes for each reference" (from Dictionary.com )  The notes may be evaluative or simply a summary.

A literature review can be free-standing article. "A review article or review of the literature article considers the state and progress of current literature on a given topic or problem by organizing, integrating, and evaluating previously published books and articles. In short, a review article is a critical evaluation of material that has already been published." ( Writing Literature Reviews )  "The purpose is to offer an overview of significant literature published on a topic." (Write a Literature Review )

A literature review is a vital part of research papers including theses and dissertations.  "Surveying the literature is necessary because scholarship is cumulative -- no matter what you write, you are standing on someone else's shoulders. Scholars must say something new while connecting what they say to what has already been said." ( Writing Literature Reviews );

Below are some useful links for writing a literature review.

Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting It - University of Toronto

Online Articles & Chapters on Lit Reviews

• Conducting a Literature Review — The Example of Sustainability in Supply Chains Dr. Stefan Seuring et al. Research Methodologies in Supply Chain Management 2005, pp 91-106. [Chapter]
• Writing a Literature Review by Roy F. Baumeister. The Portable Mentor, 2013, pp 119-132. [Chapter]
• Literature Reviews: Analysis, Planning, and Query Techniques. by Wilhelm, William J. and Kaunelis, Davis. Delta Pi Epsilon Journal; Spring / Summer 2005, Vol. 47 Issue 2, p91-106, 16p more... less... This article presents proper techniques for planning, organizing and conducting a reliable literature search using electronic databases that index business education scholarly publications.
• A Critical Realist Guide to Developing Theory with Systematic Literature Reviews. Okoli, Chitu. Rochester: Social Science Research Network, 2012. [Working Paper]
• Doing a Literature Review Knopf, Jeffrey W. PS, Political Science & Politics 39.1 (2006): 127-32. [Article]
• Literature Review / Richard Race Source: The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods / Lisa M. Given (2008). Database: Sage Research Methods

Related interest

• Research Writing Teams as a Form of Mentoring for Graduate Students by Fanni L. Coward, Stacy A. Jacob . Dimensions in Mentoring, 2012, pp 167-179 [Chapter]
• Practical recommendations to help students bridge the research-implementation gap and promote conservation. Pietri, D. M., et al. (2013). Conservation Biology, 27(5), 958-967.

Video Summarizing the Literature Review Process

Click here to open

Courtesy of the University of North Carolina State University Libraries

Ebooks on lit reviews

Print resouces on lit reviews

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How to Write a Good Economics Essay

Last Updated: March 7, 2023 References

This article was co-authored by Emily Listmann, MA . Emily Listmann is a private tutor in San Carlos, California. She has worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, and an SAT Prep Teacher. She received her MA in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2014. This article has been viewed 127,183 times.

A good economics essay requires a clear argument that is well-supported by appropriately referenced evidence. Research your topic thoroughly and then carefully plan out your essay. A good structure is essential, as is sticking closely to the main essay question. Be sure to proofread your essay and try to write in formal and precise prose.

Preparing to Write Your Essay

• For example a question such as “Discuss the macroeconomic consequences of rising house prices, alongside falling interest rates” could be divided into 2 parts: 1 part could be on the effects of rising prices, and 1 on the effects of falling interest rates.
• In this example you could begin by discussing each separately and then bringing the 2 together and analysing how they influence each other.
• Be sure to keep the question at the forefront of your mind and don’t veer off topic. [1] X Research source

• Be sure that you understand all the key terms that you are being asked about.
• Try to keep your reading focussed closely to the essay question.
• Don’t forget to look at any lecture or class notes you have made.
• 3 Come up with a thesis statement . A thesis statement is the main argument you will make in your essay. It should be 1-2 sentences long and respond to the essential question that’s being asked. The thesis will help you structure the body of your essay, and each point you make should relate back to the thesis.

• Once you have put together a list of key points, then try to add in some more detail that brings in elements from your research.
• When you come to write out your essay, you can develop a paragraph based on each point.

• All of the evidence and explanation will be in the main body of the essay.
• Order the key points in the body of your essay in such a way that they flow logically.
• If you are writing a longer essay, you can break the main body into different sections. [2] X Research source
• If you have a word limit, be sure to take this into account when you are planning.
• Allocate yourself a rough number of words per section.
• The introduction and conclusion can be just a paragraph each.

Writing the Essay

• What your essay is about.
• What material you will cover in the essay.
• What your argument is. [3] X Research source

• Having this stated clearly at the start can help you to stay focussed on the question as you work your way through the essay.
• Try writing out this one or two sentence statement and sticking it up in front of you as you write, so it’s stays at the forefront of your mind.

• Try to begin each paragraph with a sentence that outlines what the paragraph will cover.
• Look at the opening sentence of each paragraph and ask yourself if it is addressing the essay question. [5] X Research source

• Try to engage with arguments that run counter to yours, and use the evidence you have found to show the flaws.
• It might help to imagine someone reading the essay, and anticipating the objections that he might raise.
• Showing that you have thought about potential problems, and you can make an argument that overcomes them, is a hallmark of an excellent essay. [6] X Research source
• If there is conflicting evidence, discuss it openly and try to show where the weight of the evidence lies. [7] X Research source
• Don’t just ignore the evidence that runs counter to your argument.

• In the conclusion you can add a few sentences that show how your essay could be developed and taken further.
• Here you can assert why the question is important and make some tentative suggestions for further analysis.

Proofreading and Making Revisions

• As you read through it, think about how closely you stick to main overarching question.
• If you notice paragraphs that drift off into other areas, you need to be tough and cut them out.
• You have a limited number of words so it’s essential to make every one count by keeping tightly focussed on the main question.

• Think about how you use the evidence too. Do you critically engage with it, or do you merely quote it to support your point?
• A good analytical essay such discuss evidence critically at all times.
• Even if the evidence supports your argument, you need to show that you have thought about the value of this particular piece of data.
• Try to avoid making any assumptions, or writing as if something were beyond dispute. [10] X Research source

• Remember an academic essay should be written in a formal style, so avoid colloquialisms.
• Avoid contractions, such as “don’t”, or “won’t”.
• Try to avoid paragraphs that are more than ten or fifteen lines long.
• Think about how it looks on the page. [12] X Research source

• Always include a bibliography, but don’t include references to things you haven’t read or didn’t inform your argument. [13] X Research source
• Your teacher will know if you just add a load of titles into your bibliography that are not evidenced in the body of your essay.
• Always follow the bibliography format used by your department or class.

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://www.economicshelp.org/help/tips-economic-essays/
• ↑ http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/planning-and-organizing/organizing
• ↑ http://carleton.ca/economics/courses/writing-preliminaries/academic-essay-writing/
• ↑ https://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/archive/lse_writing/page_11.htm
• ↑ http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~mcmillan/writing.pdf
• ↑ https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/economics/documents/pdf/essaywriting-departmentofeconomics.pdf

About This Article

Before you begin writing your economics essay, make sure to carefully read the prompt so that you have a clear sense of the paper's purpose and scope. Once you have read the prompt, conduct research using your textbook and relevant articles. If you cannot find research materials, ask your instructor for recommendations. After your research is done, construct a 1-2 sentence thesis statement and begin outlining your main ideas so that your essay will have a clear structure. Make sure to leave time to write a draft and revise your work before it is due. If you want to learn more, like how to cite the sources you used for your essay, keep reading the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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The 2024 Economic Report of the   President

Today, the Council of Economic Advisers under the leadership of Chair Jared Bernstein released the 2024 Economic Report of the President , the 78 th report since the establishment of CEA in 1946. The 2024 Report brings economic evidence and data to bear on many of today’s most significant issues and questions in domestic and international economic policy:

Chapter 1, The Benefits of Full Employment , which is dedicated to the late Dr. William Spriggs, examines the labor market, distributional, and macroeconomic impacts of full employment, with a particular focus on the benefits for economically vulnerable groups of workers who are much more likely to be left behind in periods of weak labor markets.

Chapter 2, The Year in Review and the Years Ahead , describes macroeconomic and financial market trends in 2023 and presents the Federal government’s FY 2024 macroeconomic forecast.

Chapter 3, Population, Aging, and the Economy , explains how long-run trends in fertility and mortality are shaping the U.S. population and labor force.

Chapter 4, Increasing the Supply of Affordable Housing, explores the causes and consequences of the nation’s longstanding housing shortage and how the Biden-Harris administration’s policy agenda can significantly increase the production of more affordable housing.

Chapter 5, International Trade and Investment Flows, presents key facts about long-term trends in U.S. international trade and investment flows, including the role of global supply chains, and highlights the benefits and costs of global integration for American workers.

Chapter 6, Accelerating the Clean Energy Transition , applies a structural change framework to explain the factors that can accelerate the transition towards a clean energy economy.

Chapter 7, An Economic Framework for Understanding Artificial Intelligence , uses an economic framework to explore when, how, and why AI may be adopted, adapting standard economic models to explore AI’s potential effects on labor markets, while examining policy decisions that will affect social and macroeconomic outcomes.

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How to Write a Thank You Email After an Interview

Article written by Christopher Littlefield for  Harvard Business Review 

You’ve just finished  an interview  for a job opportunity you’re really excited about. You know you should send a thank you note to your interviewers, but you’re not sure what to write. How much detail should you include? Should you send an email to every person you interviewed with? And what’s really  the best way to follow up ?

Here’s some advice on what to say — and not to say — in your message, along with sample email templates. I’ll also cover why writing a thank you note is something you should do, even if it feels like a formality. Let’s start with what to write in your note.

How to Write a Thank You Email

Your email should be short, sincere, and sent within 24 hours of your interview.

1. Address the email to the person who interviewed you and make sure you spell their name correctly. If their name is Christopher and they asked you to call them Chris in the interview, address them as such in your follow-up. If you interviewed with multiple people, it’s a good practice to send each person a brief message as well.

2. Thank the person for their time and consideration.

3. Briefly highlight your draw to the organization. David Lancefield, a former partner at PwC and now CEO coach, suggests that candidates “call out an aspect of the conversation that was particularly interesting or share a helpful hook to help them remember what you spoke about.”

4. Express your continued interest in the job opportunity.

5. Offer to answer any questions.

Lourdes Olvera-Marshall, who teaches networking and career management courses at NYU, recommends jotting down quick notes when you’re interviewing. Write down your interviewer’s name, what you discuss, and a few key words to trigger your memory, so you can make your follow-up message more meaningful. As she told me, “The thank you note starts during the interview.”

What to Avoid in Your Thank You Email 

If you don’t want to leave the interviewers with a bad impression, avoid these three common mistakes.

Adding too much detail

Remember that the intention of the message is to say thank you, not to pick up where your interview left off. “Your follow-up is not the place to add all the things you wish you had highlighted in your interview,” Olvera-Marshall warns. When you do, you run the risk of appearing desperate or like you weren’t prepared for the interview.

Making requests

People are busy. Avoid requesting anything that creates additional work. You want to show your interviewer that you’re easy to work with.

And of course, don’t forget to review your email for grammar and spelling before sending. This is an example of your communication.

Sample Thank You Email Templates

Use the samples below to get started, but make sure you customize them to fit your needs.

Subject: Thank you

It was great speaking with you yesterday about being a possible fit for your team. I appreciate the transparency into the project you are working on and what it is like working at [company name]. It seems like an amazing team and an exciting project with huge potential. I am excited about the possibility of working with you. If you have any questions or want to continue our conversation, please reach out at any time.

I look forward to being in touch.

All the best,

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today and sharing some of the innovative work you and your team are doing to support your clients.

From our conversation, I understand that the pace is fast, the work is top-notch, and as hard as you work, you all have a great time doing it together. People’s passion for their work was tangible and the sense of community was amazing.

I also understand you are looking for a person who can hit the ground running, does not need hand-holding, and is fun to work with. I am confident I am that person.

If you have any questions or want to continue our conversation, please feel free to reach out at any time.

Dear Mr. Cassidy,

I want to thank you for taking the time to meet with me today to discuss the financial planner position at Cascade Associates. I appreciate you sharing the history behind your family business and that you care for every customer as if they were your own family.

From our conversation, I understand that maintaining the legacy of top-notch service is your priority, and you are looking for planners who want to continue that legacy for years to come. As I shared, I have a young family of my own, and I am looking to put down roots with an organization that I can be proud to work for. I am excited about the possibility of joining your team.

Why Is It Important to Send a Thank You Note?

Beyond it being a nice gesture, there are multiple benefits to sending a follow-up message after an interview.

It creates a positive connection with the interviewer(s).

No matter how well your interview went, many hiring managers squeeze multiple interviews into their busy schedules. A thoughtful message helps you leave a lasting positive impression after the interview is over.

It helps you stand out from the crowd.

Investing the time to send a thank you increases your chances of standing out from other applicants. One  study  found that only one out of four candidates sent thank you messages after their interviews, yet 80% of HR managers said those messages were helpful when reviewing candidates.

It’s an opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism and people skills.

It’s one thing to tell an interviewer you’re detail-oriented and work well with others — it’s another to show them. A well-crafted and timed thank you message illustrates your follow-up, your ability to capture the meeting’s essence in writing, and that you understand the importance of expressing your appreciation for others.

It confirms your interest in the job. 

Hiring managers understand that candidates may be interviewing for multiple jobs at the same time. Busy themselves, leaders don’t want to invest time in a candidate who is not invested in the role they’re hiring for. A thank you message confirms that you’re both interested and  excited about the role  and worth following with.

You may send your message and get a response in minutes, or you may never hear back at all. Either way, investing 15 minutes to express your appreciation may be the difference between getting the job or getting lost in the crowd.

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How Chinese Companies are Dominating Electric Vehicle Market Worldwide

Image Credit | Michael Fousert

Introduction

An EV car is a vehicle powered by an electric motor, using energy stored in rechargeable batteries. It offers a cleaner alternative to gasoline or diesel engines, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and dependency on fossil fuels. EVs are known for their efficiency, low operating costs, and quiet operation. October 2011, in a live interview with Bloomberg, Elon Musk chuckled when questioned about his rival BYD, remarking, “ Have you seen their car? … I don’t believe they offer a superior product .” Musk expressed his lack of worry regarding BYD posing a significant challenge in the electric vehicle (EV) sector. When January 2023, he was asked to name the toughest competitor, his reply was “ some company out of China ,” In a decade of time span, Chinese EV car companies specially BYD have started threatening and dethroning western EV companies. BYD has surpassed Tesla in the last Quarter 2024 as top-selling electric car seller. This article how Chinese companies are dominating electric vehicle market worldwide

Related CMR Articles

“Electric Vehicles Are a Platform Business: What Firms Need to Know” by Edward G. Anderson, Hemant K. Bhargava, Jonas Boehm, & Geoffrey Parker

“Overcoming Barriers to Entry in an Established Industry: Tesla Motors” by Edward Peter Stringham, Jennifer Kelly Miller, & J.R. Clark

Current state of the EV industry

The EV industry is experiencing a period of significant growth and transformation as of 2024. Despite a slowdown in consumer sentiment towards EVs, the push for emissions reductions remains strong, with regulations and milestones for electric vehicles firmly in place. The industry is at a crucial juncture, with many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) heavily invested in the shift to EVs, focusing on delivering affordable, mass-market EVs with extended real-world range and reliable charging ecosystems​​.

Global sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are projected to reach 13.3 million units in 2024, accounting for an estimated 16.2% of global passenger vehicle sales. This represents a significant increase from 9.6 million BEVs in 2023, marking a 12% market share. Major markets are expected to drive most of this volume, with smaller markets also experiencing growth​​. The supply chain for EVs is evolving, with OEMs moving towards in-house development of electrified propulsion components and forming partnerships to mitigate the dominance of specific regions, such as mainland China, in the electric motor market. This shift is partly due to efforts to diversify away from permanent magnet usage in electric motors​​.

Innovation in thermal efficiency, particularly by Tesla and Chinese OEMs, is leading to more efficient BEVs. Efforts to integrate thermal components and consolidate cooling circuits are becoming a focus for suppliers, potentially leading to shifts in system voltages and the components used​​. Furthermore, the electric car market is booming, with sales expected to grow by 35% in 2024 after a record-breaking year in 2022. Electric cars’ share of the overall car market has risen dramatically, from around 4% in 2020 to 14% in 2022, with projections indicating a further increase to 18% in 2024. This growth is concentrated mainly in China, Europe, and the United States, with China leading the way with 60% of global electric car sales. Ambitious policy programs in these regions are expected to further boost the electric vehicle market share in the coming years​​. The industry’s expansion is also having positive effects on battery production and supply chains, with announced battery manufacturing projects expected to meet the demand for electric vehicles up to 2030. However, the manufacturing landscape remains highly concentrated, with China playing a dominant role in the battery and component trade. Other economies are enacting policies to foster domestic industries and improve competitiveness in the EV market​​.

Competition in EV market

Key players: The electric vehicle (EV) industry features several key players that are shaping its landscape. Tesla, Inc. stands out for its pioneering role and continued leadership in electric car innovation and production. BYD Company, a Chinese firm, has made significant strides in both passenger and commercial electric vehicles, becoming a global leader in EV sales. Volkswagen AG, with its ambitious electrification strategy, aims to become a major player in the electric market through its ID series. General Motors and Ford Motor Company are accelerating their EV production, with notable models like the Chevrolet Bolt and Ford Mustang Mach-E. These companies are complemented by startups like Rivian and Lucid Motors, which are introducing innovative EVs and pushing the boundaries of EV technology. Additionally, NIO and XPeng, other Chinese manufacturers, are rapidly expanding their presence in the electric luxury vehicle market. Each of these companies contributes to the competitive and dynamic nature of the EV industry, driving advancements in technology, infrastructure, and consumer adoption.

Market share: The EV market is diverse and competitive, with several companies vying for leadership. As of recent data, Tesla holds a significant portion of the EV market share in the United States, with approximately 50.9% of the EV market as of the last quarter of 2023. Ford and General Motors (GM) are also key players, with Ford having a market share of around 8.2% and GM around 6.1%. Hyundai-Kia-Genesis, Volkswagen Group, and Nissan-Infiniti are other notable competitors with varying shares. Hyundai-Kia-Genesis, for instance, has seen a substantial increase in their market share, indicating strong performance in the market​​. Globally, companies like NIO, Hyundai, BMW, and Stellantis are making significant strides. NIO Inc. has a global market share of 1.6%, while Hyundai Motor Company holds 2.54%, BMW has 2.8%, and Stellantis N.V. boasts a 3.76% market share. These figures highlight the competitive and fragmented nature of the global EV market, with Chinese manufacturers like Hozon Auto and Chery Automobile also making notable contributions​​. The EV market is rapidly evolving, with sales and market shares fluctuating as new models are introduced and consumer preferences shift. Tesla’s dominance, particularly in the U.S., is challenged by traditional automakers and newcomers alike, all aiming to increase their footprint in the burgeoning EV market. The industry’s dynamics are influenced by factors such as technological advancements, government policies, and consumer attitudes toward electric mobility​​.

Access to raw materials : The access to raw materials is a critical factor in the EV industry, as these materials are essential for the production of batteries and other components. The main raw materials include lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and graphite, which are used in lithium-ion batteries, the most common type of battery used in EVs. Many of these raw materials are concentrated in specific parts of the world. For example, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the largest producer of cobalt, a key component for battery energy density and longevity. Lithium reserves are mainly found in Australia, Chile, Argentina, and China. This geographical concentration can lead to supply chain vulnerabilities and political risks. The rapid growth of the EV market has led to increased demand for these critical raw materials, potentially leading to supply shortages and price volatility. As EV adoption accelerates, ensuring a stable supply of these materials is a significant concern for manufacturers. To mitigate supply risks and reduce environmental impact, the EV industry is investing in recycling technologies to recover materials from used batteries. Additionally, research is ongoing to find alternative materials that could reduce or eliminate the need for scarce resources. For example, efforts are underway to develop batteries with higher nickel content to decrease cobalt reliance or to use sodium-ion batteries as a more abundant alternative to lithium-ion. Automakers and battery manufacturers are forming strategic partnerships with mining companies and investing in mining projects to secure their supply chains. Some are also exploring direct investment in mining operations or long-term supply agreements to ensure access to critical materials.

Regulatory issues

Regulatory issues related to EVs vary across the world, reflecting differences in environmental policies, market readiness, infrastructure development, and technological advancement. These regulations are crucial for shaping the adoption rate and development trajectory of EVs globally. Here’s an overview of some key regulatory issues and considerations:

Emissions Standards and Targets: Many countries have set stringent emissions standards and targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which directly impact the automotive industry. The European Union, for example, has implemented strict CO2 emissions targets for new vehicles, pushing automakers to increase their EV offerings. Similarly, China has introduced New Energy Vehicle (NEV) mandates, requiring manufacturers to produce a certain percentage of low-emission vehicles.

Incentives and Subsidies : To encourage the adoption of EVs, governments worldwide have introduced various incentives, including tax rebates, grants, and subsidies for EV purchases, reduced registration fees, and exemptions from congestion charges. However, the availability and scale of these incentives can vary significantly, influencing market dynamics. For instance, the U.S. offers federal tax credits for EV buyers, while Norway exempts electric cars from most taxes, leading to one of the highest EV adoption rates in the world.

Charging Infrastructure Regulations : Adequate charging infrastructure is essential for EV adoption. Regulations concerning the deployment, standardization, and interoperability of charging stations are critical. The European Union has directives in place to ensure the build-out of a comprehensive charging network, while countries like China have invested heavily in charging infrastructure to support their rapidly growing EV market.

Battery Recycling and Disposal : With the increase in EVs, battery waste management becomes a significant concern. Regulations regarding the recycling and disposal of EV batteries are still developing. The European Union, for example, is working on regulations to improve the sustainability of batteries, including measures for recycling and the use of recycled materials.

Safety Standards : EVs must meet specific safety standards, which can vary by region. These standards cover aspects such as crashworthiness, battery safety (including thermal runaway prevention), and electrical safety. As EV technology evolves, regulatory bodies continue to update safety standards to address new challenges.

Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Integration : V2G technology allows EVs to return electricity to the grid, offering potential benefits for grid stability and renewable energy integration. However, regulatory frameworks for V2G are in the early stages, with issues around grid connectivity, electricity pricing, and consumer participation yet to be fully addressed.

International Harmonization: The lack of harmonization in EV regulations across different markets can pose challenges for global automakers. Efforts by international bodies like the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) aim to standardize regulations, facilitating vehicle design and compliance for multiple markets

Key Competitive edge for the Chinese EV company BYD

The competitive edge of Chinese EV companies is the result of a multifaceted strategy that combines governmental support, market scale, rapid innovation, and strategic global positioning. As the global EV market continues to evolve, these strengths position Chinese companies well for continued growth and international competition. Chinese EV companies have been making significant strides in the global automotive market, carving out a competitive edge through a combination of strategic initiatives, government support, and innovation. BYD is at forefront as Chinese EV company. Here are several key factors contributing to their competitive advantage:

Government Support and Policies : The Chinese government has implemented a comprehensive range of supportive policies and subsidies to promote the development and adoption of EVs. These include financial incentives for both manufacturers and consumers, stringent emissions regulations that favor electric over internal combustion engine vehicles, and ambitious targets for EV production and sales. Such strong government backing has created a favorable environment for the growth of EV companies.

Large Domestic Market : China is the world’s largest automotive market, providing a vast consumer base for EV companies. The high demand for vehicles, combined with growing environmental awareness and the government’s push for greener transportation, has offered Chinese EV manufacturers a significant initial market to scale up their operations and reduce costs through economies of scale.

Rapid Innovation and Product Development : Chinese EV companies are known for their agility and speed in product development and innovation. They have been quick to adopt new technologies, such as advanced battery technologies, autonomous driving features, and connected car services, often bringing new models and features to market faster than their international competitors.

Vertical Integration and Supply Chain Control : Many Chinese EV manufacturers have pursued a strategy of vertical integration, controlling key components of the supply chain, such as battery production and supply. Companies like BYD not only manufacture EVs but also produce their batteries, which helps in reducing costs and ensuring supply chain security. This control over the supply chain gives them a competitive edge in terms of cost, quality, and supply reliability. 

Advanced Battery Technology : China is a global leader in battery technology and production, home to some of the world’s largest battery manufacturers like CATL and BYD. BYD is the only companies with in house batteries. The focus on advancing battery technology has led to improvements in energy density, charging speed, and battery life, enhancing the performance and appeal of Chinese-made EVs.

Strategic Global Partnerships and Expansions : Chinese EV companies are actively seeking to expand their global footprint through strategic partnerships, mergers, acquisitions, and the establishment of overseas production facilities. These efforts are aimed at accessing new markets, acquiring advanced technologies, and building global brands.

Cost Competitiveness : Leveraging large-scale production, domestic supply chains, and governmental support, Chinese EV manufacturers can often offer competitive pricing without significantly compromising on quality or features. This cost advantage makes Chinese EVs attractive in both domestic and international markets.

Focused on Innovation in EV-specific Technologies: Unlike traditional automakers transitioning from internal combustion engines, many Chinese companies have been EV-focused from the start, allowing them to innovate and optimize their vehicles specifically for electric propulsion without legacy constraints.

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Guest Essay

A.I.-Generated Garbage Is Polluting Our Culture

By Erik Hoel

Mr. Hoel is a neuroscientist and novelist and the author of The Intrinsic Perspective newsletter.

Increasingly, mounds of synthetic A.I.-generated outputs drift across our feeds and our searches. The stakes go far beyond what’s on our screens. The entire culture is becoming affected by A.I.’s runoff, an insidious creep into our most important institutions.

Consider science. Right after the blockbuster release of GPT-4, the latest artificial intelligence model from OpenAI and one of the most advanced in existence, the language of scientific research began to mutate. Especially within the field of A.I. itself.

Adjectives associated with A.I.-generated text have increased in peer reviews of scientific papers about A.I.

Frequency of adjectives per one million words

Commendable

A study published this month examined scientists’ peer reviews — researchers’ official pronouncements on others’ work that form the bedrock of scientific progress — across a number of high-profile and prestigious scientific conferences studying A.I. At one such conference, those peer reviews used the word “meticulous” more than 34 times as often as reviews did the previous year. Use of “commendable” was around 10 times as frequent, and “intricate,” 11 times. Other major conferences showed similar patterns.

Such phrasings are, of course, some of the favorite buzzwords of modern large language models like ChatGPT. In other words, significant numbers of researchers at A.I. conferences were caught handing their peer review of others’ work over to A.I. — or, at minimum, writing them with lots of A.I. assistance. And the closer to the deadline the submitted reviews were received, the more A.I. usage was found in them.

If this makes you uncomfortable — especially given A.I.’s current unreliability — or if you think that maybe it shouldn’t be A.I.s reviewing science but the scientists themselves, those feelings highlight the paradox at the core of this technology: It’s unclear what the ethical line is between scam and regular usage. Some A.I.-generated scams are easy to identify, like the medical journal paper featuring a cartoon rat sporting enormous genitalia. Many others are more insidious, like the mislabeled and hallucinated regulatory pathway described in that same paper — a paper that was peer reviewed as well (perhaps, one might speculate, by another A.I.?).

What about when A.I. is used in one of its intended ways — to assist with writing? Recently, there was an uproar when it became obvious that simple searches of scientific databases returned phrases like “As an A.I. language model” in places where authors relying on A.I. had forgotten to cover their tracks. If the same authors had simply deleted those accidental watermarks, would their use of A.I. to write their papers have been fine?

What’s going on in science is a microcosm of a much bigger problem. Post on social media? Any viral post on X now almost certainly includes A.I.-generated replies, from summaries of the original post to reactions written in ChatGPT’s bland Wikipedia-voice, all to farm for follows. Instagram is filling up with A.I.-generated models, Spotify with A.I.-generated songs. Publish a book? Soon after, on Amazon there will often appear A.I.-generated “workbooks” for sale that supposedly accompany your book (which are incorrect in their content; I know because this happened to me). Top Google search results are now often A.I.-generated images or articles. Major media outlets like Sports Illustrated have been creating A.I.-generated articles attributed to equally fake author profiles. Marketers who sell search engine optimization methods openly brag about using A.I. to create thousands of spammed articles to steal traffic from competitors.

Then there is the growing use of generative A.I. to scale the creation of cheap synthetic videos for children on YouTube. Some example outputs are Lovecraftian horrors, like music videos about parrots in which the birds have eyes within eyes, beaks within beaks, morphing unfathomably while singing in an artificial voice, “The parrot in the tree says hello, hello!” The narratives make no sense, characters appear and disappear randomly, and basic facts like the names of shapes are wrong. After I identified a number of such suspicious channels on my newsletter, The Intrinsic Perspective, Wired found evidence of generative A.I. use in the production pipelines of some accounts with hundreds of thousands or even millions of subscribers.

As a neuroscientist, this worries me. Isn’t it possible that human culture contains within it cognitive micronutrients — things like cohesive sentences, narrations and character continuity — that developing brains need? Einstein supposedly said : “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be very intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” But what happens when a toddler is consuming mostly A.I.-generated dream-slop? We find ourselves in the midst of a vast developmental experiment.

There’s so much synthetic garbage on the internet now that A.I. companies and researchers are themselves worried, not about the health of the culture, but about what’s going to happen with their models. As A.I. capabilities ramped up in 2022, I wrote on the risk of culture’s becoming so inundated with A.I. creations that when future A.I.s are trained, the previous A.I. output will leak into the training set, leading to a future of copies of copies of copies, as content became ever more stereotyped and predictable. In 2023 researchers introduced a technical term for how this risk affected A.I. training: model collapse . In a way, we and these companies are in the same boat, paddling through the same sludge streaming into our cultural ocean.

With that unpleasant analogy in mind, it’s worth looking to what is arguably the clearest historical analogy for our current situation: the environmental movement and climate change. For just as companies and individuals were driven to pollute by the inexorable economics of it, so, too, is A.I.’s cultural pollution driven by a rational decision to fill the internet’s voracious appetite for content as cheaply as possible. While environmental problems are nowhere near solved, there has been undeniable progress that has kept our cities mostly free of smog and our lakes mostly free of sewage. How?

Before any specific policy solution was the acknowledgment that environmental pollution was a problem in need of outside legislation. Influential to this view was a perspective developed in 1968 by Garrett Hardin, a biologist and ecologist. Dr. Hardin emphasized that the problem of pollution was driven by people acting in their own interest, and that therefore “we are locked into a system of ‘fouling our own nest,’ so long as we behave only as independent, rational, free-enterprisers.” He summed up the problem as a “tragedy of the commons.” This framing was instrumental for the environmental movement, which would come to rely on government regulation to do what companies alone could or would not.

Once again we find ourselves enacting a tragedy of the commons: short-term economic self-interest encourages using cheap A.I. content to maximize clicks and views, which in turn pollutes our culture and even weakens our grasp on reality. And so far, major A.I. companies are refusing to pursue advanced ways to identify A.I.’s handiwork — which they could do by adding subtle statistical patterns hidden in word use or in the pixels of images.

A common justification for inaction is that human editors can always fiddle around with whatever patterns are used if they know enough. Yet many of the issues we’re experiencing are not caused by motivated and technically skilled malicious actors; they’re caused mostly by regular users’ not adhering to a line of ethical use so fine as to be nigh nonexistent. Most would be uninterested in advanced countermeasures to statistical patterns enforced into outputs that should, ideally, mark them as A.I.-generated.

That’s why the independent researchers were able to detect A.I. outputs in the peer review system with surprisingly high accuracy: They actually tried. Similarly, right now teachers across the nation have created home-brewed output-side detection methods , like adding hidden requests for patterns of word use to essay prompts that appear only when copied and pasted.

In particular, A.I. companies appear opposed to any patterns baked into their output that can improve A.I.-detection efforts to reasonable levels, perhaps because they fear that enforcing such patterns might interfere with the model’s performance by constraining its outputs too much — although there is no current evidence this is a risk. Despite public pledges to develop more advanced watermarking, it’s increasingly clear that the companies are dragging their feet because it goes against the A.I. industry’s bottom line to have detectable products.

To deal with this corporate refusal to act we need the equivalent of a Clean Air Act: a Clean Internet Act. Perhaps the simplest solution would be to legislatively force advanced watermarking intrinsic to generated outputs, like patterns not easily removable. Just as the 20th century required extensive interventions to protect the shared environment, the 21st century is going to require extensive interventions to protect a different, but equally critical, common resource, one we haven’t noticed up until now since it was never under threat: our shared human culture.

Erik Hoel is a neuroscientist, a novelist and the author of The Intrinsic Perspective newsletter.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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Many Americans say immigrants contribute to economy but there’s worry over risks, AP-NORC poll finds

Americans are more worried about legal immigrants committing crimes in the U.S. than they were a few years ago, a change driven largely by increased concern among Republicans, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center.

FILE - Cars and trucks line up to enter the U.S. from Mexico at a border crossing in El Paso, Texas, March 29, 2019. Most Americans think the U.S. has been significantly changed by immigrants over the past five years and while many agree immigrants contribute to the economy, there are broad concerns that even legal immigration brings risks as well, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, conducted March 21-25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are more worried about legal immigrants committing crimes in the U.S. than they were a few years ago, a change driven largely by increased concern among Republicans, while Democrats continue to see a broad range of benefits from immigration, a new poll shows.

The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that substantial shares of U.S. adults believe that immigrants contribute to the country’s economic growth, and offer important contributions to American culture. But when it comes to legal immigrants, U.S. adults see fewer major benefits than they did in the past, and more major risks.

About 4 in 10 Americans say that when immigrants come to the U.S. legally, it’s a major benefit for American companies to get the expertise of skilled workers in fields like science and technology. A similar share (38%) also say that legal immigrants contribute a major benefit by enriching American culture and values.

Both those figures were down compared with 2017, when 59% of Americans said skilled immigrant workers who enter the country legally were a major benefit, and half said legal immigrants contribute a major benefit by enriching American culture.

Meanwhile, the share of Americans who say that there’s a major risk that legal immigrants will commit crimes in the U.S. has increased, going from 19% in 2017 to 32% in the new poll.

Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say that immigration is an important issue for them personally, and 41% now say it’s a major risk that legal immigrants will commit crimes in the U.S., up from 20% in 2017. Overall, Republicans are more likely to see major risks — and fewer benefits — from immigrants who enter the country legally and illegally, although they tend to be most concerned about people who come to the country illegally.

Bob Saunders is a 64-year-old independent from Voorhees, New Jersey. He disapproves of President Joe Biden’s performance when it comes to immigration and border security and is particularly worried about the number of immigrants coming to the southern border who are eventually released into the country. He stressed that there’s a difference between legal and illegal immigration. Saunders said it’s important to know the background of the immigrants coming to the U.S. and said legal immigration contributes to the economy. He also noted the immigrants in his own family.

“It’s not anti-immigration,” Saunders said. “It’s anti-illegal immigration.”

Many Republicans, 71%, say there’s a risk of people in the country illegally coming to the U.S. and committing crimes , although many studies have found immigrants are less drawn to violent crime than native-born citizens. Even more, 80%, think there’s a major risk that people in the country without permission will burden public service programs, while about 6 in 10 Republicans are concerned that there’s a major risk of them taking American jobs, that their population growth will weaken American identity or that they will vote illegally — although only a small number of noncitizen voters have been uncovered.

Amber Pierce, a 43-year-old Republican from Milam, Texas, says she understands that a lot of migrants are seeking a better life for their children, but she’s also concerned migrants will become a drain on government services.

“I believe that a lot of them come over here and get free health care and take away from the people who have worked here and are citizens,” Pierce said. “They get a free ride. I don’t think that’s fair.”

Democrats, on the other hand, are more likely to see benefits from immigration, although the poll did find that only half of Democrats now think that legal immigrants are making important contributions to American companies, a decrease of more than 20 percentage points from 2017. But they’re more likely than Republicans to say that the ability of people to come from other places in the world to escape violence or find economic opportunities is extremely or very important to the U.S’s identity as a nation.

“People who are coming, are coming for good reason. It’s how many of us got here,” said Amy Wozniak, a Democrat from Greenwood, Indiana. Wozniak said previous waves of immigrants came from European countries. Now immigrants are coming from different countries but that doesn’t meant they’re not fleeing for justifiable reasons, she said: “They’re not all drugs and thugs.”

There’s also a divide among partisans about the value of diversity, with 83% of Democrats saying that the country’s diverse population makes it at least moderately stronger, compared with 43% of Republicans and Independents. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say that a shared American culture and set of values is extremely or very important to the United States’ identity as a nation, although about half of Democrats also see this as important.

U.S. adults — and especially Republicans — are more likely to say that the country has been significantly changed by immigrants in the past five years than they are to say that immigrants have changed their own community or their state. About 3 in 10 U.S. adults say immigrants have had a major impact on their local community while about 6 in 10 say they’ve had a major impact on the country as a whole. The gap between perceptions of community impact and effects on the country as a whole is particularly wide among Republicans.

There is some bipartisan agreement about how immigration at the border between the U.S. and Mexico should be addressed. The most popular option asked about is hiring more Border Patrol agents, which is supported by about 8 in 10 Republicans and about half of Democrats. Hiring more immigration judges and court personnel is also favored among majorities of both parties.

About half of Americans support reducing the number of immigrants who are allowed to seek asylum in the U.S. when they arrive at the border, but there’s a much bigger partisan divide there, with more Republicans than Democrats favoring this strategy. Building a wall — former President Donald Trump’s signature policy goal — is the least popular and most polarizing option of the four asked about. About 4 in 10 favor building a wall, including 77% of Republicans but just 12% of Democrats.

Donna Lyon is a Democratic-leaning independent from Cortland, New York. She believes a border wall would do little to stop migrants. But she supports hiring more Border Patrol agents and more immigration court judges to deal with the growing backlog of immigration court cases : “That would stop all the backup that we have.”

Congress just recently approved money to hire about 2,000 more Border Patrol agents but so far this year, there’s been no significant boost for funding for more immigration judges. Many on both sides of the aisle have said it takes much too long to decide asylum cases, meaning migrants stay in the country for years waiting for a decision, but the parties have failed to find consensus on how to address the issue.

The poll of 1,282 adults was conducted March 21-25, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.