Question

Will Econspark eliminate EJMR?

Answer 1

Let’s be realistic.  It will not.  Many will continue to go to EJMR for gossip and rumors, as swampy as they sometimes are.   But, for those who want to avoid the swamp, Econspark will provide a non swampy, admittedly less fun perhaps, alternative.   The New Yorker and the New York Post coexist…

Comments

Why not complete elimination? Why should rational and productive economists need swampy gossip and rumors? Their time can clearly be better spent than wasting it on EJMR. As long as reliable job market info is provided by alternative set-ups for young people, there is no use of EJMR and no rationale for its existence.

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I agree.  But maybe that's not the goal.  The goal might be to add a forum that has more useful signals/discussion, and what is left over there is perhaps just more noise.  

Given that's what I think the goal of this forum is, I thought it best to use my real name, and I'll stand by everything I say publicly (acknowledging of course its just my opinion, so I could be and likely will be wrong at times).   

Although for news outlets maybe the comparison is more like Newsweek and the Weekly World News?

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Economists aren't as rational and productive as we might like to consider ourselves. Swampy gossip and rumors will always have an appeal to people from all walks of life. Plus, there's the appeal of anonymity and lack of consequences, especially for those on the job market facing high scrutiny for their public postings.

Answer 2

I would also add that the job market info service provided by EJMR seems to be valued by young people in the field.  To compete with this, Abigail Wozniak set up the #EJMinfo hashtag on Twitter, and econjobmarket.org is now set up to display the status of postings.

Answer 3

I expect a separating equilibrium to form, with people valuing truth and respect gravitating toward Econspark.

Answer 4

A lot of that depends on the moderation policies at the two places.  The temptation will be to kill anything that creates strong disagreement. I hope both places avoid that.

Comments

I strongly disagree. (Are jokes allowed? If so, I can link to my dissertation.)

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+1 for jokes (not sure why we can't upvote comments)

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+1 more for jokes

Answer 5

We can only hope.

Answer 6

Increase the chances by participating here early!  Link to great content elsewhere.  Start discussions and recruit colleagues to join.

Answer 7

After checking back on this question a week later.... maybe a more important question is will EconSpark even last? There seems to be barely any chatter on here.

Comments

One hopeful sign: I emailed the AEA and told them that it wasn't a good idea to require five clicks to get to the site (or was it four or six? It seemed interminable) and within a few days that was reduced to two clicks, the site and a login screen. So suggestions for how to run the site  are listened to.

Answer 8

Is the pope catholic?

Answer 9

Seems like they serve different purposes, so why not?

IMHO the environment has been cleaned up a lot and is a lot less hostile at EJMR than it used to be (I visit only occasionally so this is definitely only anecdotal).

Answer 10

Probably no, but time will tell. So far, the scope of discussions and questions is fairly limited, and the format limits replies.
Also, the use of ejmr for normal economists is to provide not-too noisy data on how the job market actually progresses. The current attempt of the AEA (forgot it's name!) is way too limited to compensate.

Comments

EconTrack?  That's the AEA equivalent of the EJMR wiki, I think.

Answer 11

I'm trying to support Econspark and it seems like others who were disappointed by the EJMR's negative stereotyping of under-represented groups in economics would want to join in supporting Econspark.  Vote with your feet, um, hands, people.