And with that, the third annual CodeChella Madrid is finished! What a implausible week. Me, Kyle Butts, Mark Anderson, Dan Rees and Agustin Casas, with the benevolence of CUNEF college, have made one thing I’m actually pleased with. We now have a fairly priced workshop convention aimed toward opening as many doorways as we are able to to serving to folks study extra about difference-in-differences. Right here was a overview I noticed this morning on LinkedIn from one of many friends that got here, Luke Arundel.
What an awesome overview! It’s nice when a lovely plan comes collectively, and specializing in the 2×2 and constructing difference-in-differences out of that framework was the attractive plan, and it got here collectively! In order that’s nice information.
We had our largest crowd but. Final 12 months we had 80 folks, the 12 months earlier than that 90 folks, and this 12 months it was nearer to 150. Once I get information from the survey, I’ll publish it, however I feel it labored rather well. And I actually felt good in regards to the covariate lecture and the continual lecture. Individuals appeared to get quite a bit out of these, in addition to the hyper concentrate on positioning diff-in-diff into the extra basic cloth of “doing credible analysis” versus simply an encyclopedia record of estimators, which may nowadays really feel a bit like consuming from the diff-in-diff firehose. However listed here are some figures from the survey we did.
So not excellent. However I feel we’re transferring in a superb course. And hopefully we are able to get higher and higher. I feel this can be a particular factor we’ve made, and I’m actually pleased with it. I really feel that these persevering with training issues are actually vital to shut gaps in coaching globally as even in 2026, it simply takes a very long time for the strategies to achieve the remainder of the world. And I’m single, my children are in faculty, I’ve tenure, and I really feel the necessity to do that as a part of my public service to the occupation, and others around the globe who, as I wish to say, have a bunch of papers of their hearts they should get out and hopefully get into good journals.
So far as the longer term, we’re doing a brand new CodeChella in January in Mexico Metropolis. Kyle Butts is the individual to achieve out to you probably have any concepts for us doing a CodeChella in your home. He’s the brains and the braun of the operation so attain out to him at information@mixtape.consulting. Don’t e mail him instantly; simply use that e mail and in case you’re attention-grabbing in serving to us deliver CodeChella to you, and if we are able to make it occur, simply ask him about it. We now have a gazillion constraints, so we are able to’t promise it, however we’ll definitely attempt.
And folks appear to reply nicely to my model of educating which is to indicate as many video interviews as I can with Orley Ashenfelter, Guido Imbens and Dave Card. I make an enormous deal out of the Princeton Industrial Relations Part once I educate causal inference as a result of, as very long time readers know, I see the font of credibility revolution in economics as the person himself, Orley Ashenfelter. That’s the economics story although; that’s not the statistics story, nor the epidemiology or political science story. However as all these teams swim collectively now in the identical river, I feel it’s vital to study the story of the originating tributaries of every one in every of them, even when in the present day they’ve merged right into a single river. I take advantage of river metaphors a ton within the new guide, Causal Inference: the Remix, in addition to go into a variety of element to the biographical historical past of the credibility revolution inside utilized microeconomics. I do it as a result of I actually suppose it helps folks study this materials. Individuals profit from tales and faces telling private experiences. I feel it even helps them learn a technical econometrics paper to be sincere. Not everybody wants that, however the people who I’m making an attempt to achieve I feel typically do profit from it. Plus it’s enjoyable.
However you possibly can see above that The Remix is popping out August twenty fifth. And it’s inexperienced! And it’s 800 pages (!).
Anyway, we intend to make a free model. I simply haven’t but had an opportunity to begin on it. Kyle has agreed to assist me do it, like final time, and so it’ll clearly be leading edge “on-line guide webpage” since Kyle’s the Michelangelo of programming and making lovely and helpful issues that different social scientists need. However hopefully, we’ll get to it quickly.
However now I spend my final day in Madrid. I’ve been doing work in the present day from my lodge. I debated going out to work, however let’s be severe — if you’re an American going out into lovely to Madrid to “get work performed” at a coffeeshop, that’s the id making an attempt to get previous the censors of the superego to steer the ego into simply consuming tapas, having sangria and strolling round. So I pressured myself to remain within the foyer of my lodge the place the doorways to the balcony are open, as a compromise. What a lovely metropolis!
In order that’s it. Subsequent cease is Ispra, Italy the place I’ll be doing one other workshop for the European Fee. My lodge is on Lake Maggiore. Right here’s an article that compares Lake Maggiore to Lake Como. I’ll take some photos and publish them however notice, I’m completely horrific at taking photos, so I can’t promise something trying midway fairly. However I’ll present photos simply in case you’re desirous to discover a new place to go to over right here. I booked a number of days to relaxation and calm down after a nonstop 4 weeks of workshops on the tail finish of that journey, so perhaps I can get this R&R performed. Revise and resubmit throughout relaxation and rest is about as shut as I ever appear to get to true R&R. However I gotta get this factor performed.
I’ll publish a brand new substack quickly about diff-in-diff stuff I’ve been occupied with, in addition to as soon as I’ve a greater closing product, a “analysis harness” I’ve been engaged on, and a few directions on methods to perhaps modify it to higher swimsuit you and your wants. Won’t be for everybody, however I actually have benefited from it.
