Applied Microeconomics
Applied Microeconomics
The Applied Microeconomics research group unites researchers working on a broad array of topics within such areas as labour economics, economics of education, health economics, family economics, urban economics, environmental economics, and the economics of science and innovation. The group operates in close collaboration with the CAGE Research Centre.
The group participates in the CAGE seminar on Applied Economics, which runs weekly on Tuesdays at 2:15pm. Students and faculty members of the group present their ongoing work in two brown bag seminars, held weekly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 1pm. Students, in collaboration with faculty members, also organise a bi-weekly reading group in applied econometrics on Thursdays at 1pm. The group organises numerous events throughout the year, including the Research Away Day and several thematic workshops.
Our activities
Work in Progress seminars
Tuesdays and Wednesdays 1-2pm
Students and faculty members of the group present their work in progress in two brown bag seminars. See below for a detailed scheduled of speakers.
Applied Econometrics reading group
Thursdays (bi-weekly) 1-2pm
Organised by students in collaboration with faculty members. See the Events calendar below for further details
People
Academics
Academics associated with the Applied Microeconomics Group are:
Research Students
Events
CWIP (CAGE Work in Progress) - Adam Di Lizia (PGR)
Title: Brainrot? The Effect of Short-Form Content on Long-Form Attention
Abstract: Has the rise of short-form content worsened our attention spans? I assess this question by studying slice-by-slice attention to news videos on YouTube, the leading global source of video content. Leveraging the staggered rollout of YouTube Shorts across markets and channels, I find that the introduction of short-form content significantly worsens user attention to their usual videos. Skipping to any given section of a video increases by approximately 30%, with across video comparisons showing that longer videos are worst affected. The effect is fast-acting and permanent. On the supply side I find no evidence that channels modify the content of their videos, but instead increasingly produce their own short-form content. Disaggregating this skipping within videos, I find a uniform increase to all slices except for the final 5% of a video. I rationalise these results with a model in which videos are not discrete units but a collection of interdependent slices. Skipping allows users to trade off context for additional video content, with shorts exposure lowering the value of context and leading to content-seeking behaviour. Structural estimation reveals that viewers value context 15% less relative to content in response. Mechanism tests suggest these results are driven by a worsening attention span, rather than substitution or user composition. Overall, short-form content has large impacts on user behaviour.