王天一教授谈JMP创作心得 Tianyi Wang on Their Job Market Paper
本文最初于 2022 年 2 月 17 日 发布于微信公众号 Impactful Research；2026 年 4 月 28 日 同步至本网站。
Originally published on the WeChat official account Impactful Research on 2022-02-17; mirrored to this website on 2026-04-28.
来源：Google图文
又是找工作的季节，我们决定开辟一个新的专题，采访那些过去几年中市场上冉冉升起的新星，听他们分享一篇有影响力的“就业市场论文“背后的故事。
这个系列的第四篇文章，我们邀请到王天一教授分享他的job market paper的创作历程和对青年学者及博士生的建议。王天一教授目前在普林斯顿大学经济系产业关系组（Industrial Relation Section）从事博士后研究，同时在波恩大学劳动经济学研究所（IZA）担任助理研究员，即将于2022年夏天入职多伦多大学经济系担任助理教授。他的job market paper “Media, Pulpit, and Populist Persuasion: Evidence from Father Coughlin” 研究了考夫林神父（Charles Edward Coughlin，加拿大裔美国人的罗马天主教教士，是最早使用广播来吸引大众的政治领导人之一）对人们的政治行为及选举结果的影响，论证了个人魅力型政治家通过媒体对选民行为的影响，填补了文献中的重要空白，亦对我们理解当今政治事件有很多助益。
王教授主要从事政治经济学和经济史的交叉研究，尤其关注如何评估媒体和信息技术的政治影响，以及研究技术如何影响健康和劳动力市场的结果。他的其他论文研究了媒体对少数族裔民权运动的影响、电报系统的扩展与公民政治参与的关系、技术创新对劳动力市场及劳动者的冲击等问题。
以下是王天一教授分享的关于Media, Pulpit, and Populist Persuasion: Evidence from Father Coughlin 这篇文章的创作历程。
Q: 您是怎样发现这一研究问题的？
Q: How did you identify this research question?
A: At the University of Pittsburgh, I wrote my second-year paper on the impacts of the electric telegraph on newspapers and have since become interested in media and information technologies in history. I realized that there had not been much empirical work on the effects of the media in US history; this was especially the case for radio, a once revolutionary technology. So, I was hoping that I could write something on radio. As I read more about the history of radio, I gradually converged to Father Coughlin. I found this historical episode fascinating and was also very fortunate to have found the data on Coughlin’s radio stations after some search. That’s how this paper started.
A: 在匹兹堡大学读书时，我撰写了我的“第二年论文”（Second-year paper），主题是电报对于报纸的影响，从那以后，我便对历史上的媒体和信息技术产生了兴趣。我发现，有关美国历史上的媒体影响的实证研究并不多，尤其是对于曾为革命性技术的广播而言。因此，我希望我能在这方面做一些研究。随着我对广播历史的了解日益增进，我逐渐把目光投向考夫林神父（Charles Edward Coughlin，加拿大裔美国人的罗马天主教教士，是最早使用广播来吸引大众的政治领导人之一）。这段历史非常有趣，经过一番搜索，我非常幸运地找到了考夫林广播电台的数据。这篇论文就是这样开始的。
Q:从您的角度来看，是什么使这篇论文成为一份非常成功的就业市场论文?
Q: From your perspective, what are the main reasons that make this paper a very successful job market paper?
A: Although the setting is historical, I think people find it interesting because the research question and findings are still relevant to what we are experiencing today. With Trump, the national election, and other populist and charismatic leaders around the world in the backdrop, I think there are many parallels between the episode of Father Coughlin and today’s world. The episode of Father Coughlin is also considered by many as an important chapter of American history, which has not been studied empirically before.
A : 我认为人们觉得它有趣，是因为即使这是历史事件，这个研究及其发现仍然与我们今天所经历的事情息息相关。特朗普、美国大选，还有世界各地其他民粹主义和极具魅力的领导人，在这一背景下，我认为考夫林神父事件与当今世界的局势有不少相似之处。考夫林神父事件也被很多人认为是美国历史上的一个重要篇章，此前从未有人对其进行实证研究。
Q: 在这篇文章写作与修改过程中最大的挑战是什么？
Q: What was the greatest challenge during the writing and revision of the paper?
A : As someone who did not grow up in the US, I think one of the greatest challenges I faced while writing this paper was the large amount of institutional and historical background information that I was not familiar with. For example, the episode of Father Coughlin, though not long by historical standard, weaves together different elements from history, politics, religion, culture, and economics. For a long time, I struggled to understand these different facets of the episode and had to teach myself and make up for this lack of background knowledge through reading. Although challenging, it was also fun and I learned a lot from this process.
A : 因为我并非在美国长大，所以写文章时大量关于制度性和历史性的背景信息我都不是很熟悉，这对我而言是个很大的挑战。例如，尽管以历史的标准来看，考夫林神父事件并不算长，却将历史、政治、宗教、文化和经济的不同元素交融在了一起。在很长一段时间里，我不得不通过自学、大量阅读来弥补背景知识的不足，并努力去理解这个事件的各个方面。这个过程极具挑战性，但同时也很有趣，我从中学到了很多。
A: During the revision process, the greatest challenge I faced was the lack of experience drafting response letters. I am, however, very grateful to my advisors and other more experienced colleagues and mentors who have guided and helped me tremendously throughout this process.
A: 在修改过程中，我遇到的最大的挑战是缺乏写回信的经验。非常感谢我的指导教授和其他富有经验的同行和导师，他们在整个过程中给予了我莫大的帮助。
Q: 您对博士研究生和青年学者开展高质量的研究有什么建议
Q: Do you have any advice for PhD candidates as well as junior scholars on how to produce high-quality research?
A: I do not think I’m in a position to give such advice, because in many ways I also need such advice myself. I could, however, share a piece of advice from my advisor, Professor Werner Troesken. Werner once told me that if something has been written a lot qualitatively but not much quantitatively, then it is most likely important and could potentially become a great paper. Personally, I find his advice quite helpful when it comes to selecting research questions.
A: 我不认为我有足够的资格和经验给出这类建议，因为从某种程度上说我自己也仍处于需要别人的建议的阶段。但我可以分享一些来自我的导师——WernerTroesken教授的建议。Werner教授曾教导我如果现有的针对某个问题的定性研究或报道非常多，而定量的研究却很少或没有，则说明这一问题很有可能十分重要，并且对这个问题的进一步定量研究和撰写的论文有潜力成为一篇优秀的论文。我个人认为他的建议对我在选择研究问题时帮助很大。
A: Also, I think writing is very important, although it is not often taught formally in graduate school. I would recommend the book Economical Writing by Deirdre McCloskey, which has taught me a great deal about writing. It is an especially helpful book for non-native English speakers who want to improve writing skills.
A: 并且，虽然写作或许不是博士阶段的一门课，但我认为写作是非常重要的。我会向大家推荐Deirdre McCloskey的Economical Writing一书，这本书教了我许多关于写作的知识，对希望提升写作技巧的非英语母语者而言，它的确是一本好书。
Q: 您对攻读博士学位的学生有什么建议吗?
Q: Do you have any advice for PhD students on their PhD study?
A : For PhD students, I think a great way to learn how to do research is through co-authoring with your advisors and/or other more experienced researchers. One way to look for potential co-authoring opportunities is to first work as a research assistant for your advisor or another faculty member. It is much like an apprenticeship, and you’ll learn more quickly this way. This, however, is not to say that you should find a co-author in every single paper. At the end of the day, I think it would still be important to show what you could do yourself, potentially through a single-authored job market paper if possible. This would send a clearer and stronger signal about your ability.
A: 对于博士生来说，如果想学习如何做研究的话，我觉得去和你的指导教授还有其他更有经验的学者合作是一个很好的办法。你可以通过先去为你的指导教授或其他教员担任研究助理的方式来寻找潜在的合作机会，你会像一个学徒一样，通过这种方式快速学习。但我并不是说你博士期间的 每一篇论文都要找一个合作者，因为在求职时，你需要展示给别人你独立开展研究的能力。如果可以的话，我觉得一份独著的就业市场论文（job market paper）会让你的能力被展现得更清晰明朗。
A: Also, this might be a cliché, but I also believe it’s important to work on topics that you are genuinely interested in and, ideally, passionate about. The PhD experience would be much more enjoyable if you could work on the things that you love and find interesting.
A: 另外，这虽然很老生常谈，但我认为投身于你真正感兴趣的、充满热爱的领域是十分重要的。如果你能做自己喜欢的、感兴趣的事情，你的博士生涯将愉快得多。
A: Moreover, it’s a lot of hard work, and both physical and mental health are very important. Take good care of yourself and find ways to relax, whether it’s through physical exercises, good diet and sleep, or hobbies etc. Also, help each other and cheer for each other. There is no doubt that this journey has lots of challenges. When you are experiencing some difficulties or hardship, or when you just had a bad day, remember that you are not alone. We all have been through the same. So, do not lose hope. This journey would also be much easier when you and your peers could help and support each other along the way.
A: 此外，博士之路并不平坦，所以身体和心理健康都十分重要。不管是通过体育锻炼、良好的饮食和睡眠，还是培养一些爱好等方法，总之，找到自己的放松方式，照顾好自己。这一路有很多挑战，当你觉得你在历经不如意或困难时，记住你不是一个人，和同侪互帮互助、互相加油，这样这趟旅程也会轻松许多。我们都是这样过来的，所以，不要失去信心和希望。
Q: 您对求职者有什么建议吗?
Q: Do you have any advice for job market candidates in terms of job hunting?
A : I think most of us tend to become nervous during interviews. What I find most helpful is to just be yourself and treat the interview process as a natural conversation. The people you are talking to are most likely genuinely interested in you and your work, so why not just be yourself and enjoy the chat? That would make you come across more natural and confident, and both you and your interviewers would enjoy the conversation more. Moreover, after the interview, I think it would be nice to follow up with individual thank you letters to each person you spoke with and say thanks.
A: 我相信我们在面试时都会紧张，但我告诉自己，你就做你自己，把面试当成一次聊天。面试官是最可能对你和你的工作都真心感兴趣的人，既然如此，为何不做自己，享受这个聊天呢？这样会帮助你表现得更自然、更自信，并且你和面试官都会更享受这次聊天。此外，我觉得最好应该在面试结束后给今天每一个面试过你的人发一封感谢信，向他们说声谢谢。
A: In addition, the job market will be exhausting and intense, and I think it’s very important to take good care of yourself during this process, including getting a good amount of sleep and nutrition. I find that my interviews and talks usually went much better after a good night of sleep.
A: 另外，找工作的过程是使人疲惫和紧张的。我发现我晚上睡好觉后第二天的面试表现都会更好，所以我觉得照顾好自己是非常重要的，包括保持充足的睡眠和营养。
A: One last thought is that once you have an offer that clearly dominates the other offers that you may have received from elsewhere, you should reach out to the dominated places ASAP to let them know that you are grateful but are no longer pursuing those opportunities. This would allow these other places to reach out to the people on their waitlists before it’s too late. Small gestures like this could mean a lot to other people, who would be grateful to you in the end.
A: 最后我想说的是，一旦你得到了一份明显更好的工作（offer），你应该尽快联系其它那些可以为你提供工作但你知道自己最后不会选择的地方，向他们表示感谢，并说明你已经不再需要这个工作机会了，以便把这个位置及时让给后面还在等待的人。虽为小小善举，亦可温暖人心。
学者简介：
王天一教授目前在普林斯顿大学经济系产业关系组（Industrial Relation Section）从事博士后研究，同时在波恩大学劳动经济学研究所（IZA）担任助理研究员，即将于2022年夏天入职多伦多大学经济系担任助理教授。此前，他于2015年在科尔盖特大学获得本科学位，于2018和2020年在匹兹堡大学先后取得硕士和博士学位，并于2020-2021年期间在哥本哈根大学经济行为与不平等中心（CEBI）进行博士后研究。他主要从事政治经济学和经济史的交叉研究，尤其关注如何评估媒体和信息技术的政治影响，以及研究技术如何影响健康和劳动力市场的结果。
参考文献：
Wang, Tianyi. “Media Access and Consumption in the Civil Rights Era.” 2022. AEA Papers and Proceedings, forthcoming.
Wang, Tianyi. “Media, Pulpit, and Populist Persuasion: Evidence from Father Coughlin.” 2021. American Economic Review, 111 (9): 3064-92.
Wang, Tianyi. “The Electric Telegraph, News Coverage and Political Participation.”
Wang, Tianyi. “Waves of Empowerment: Black Radio and the Civil Rights Movement.”
Wang, Tianyi, Rania Gihleb, Osea Giuntella, and Luca Stella. “Industrial Robots, Workers’ Safety, and Health”. IZA Discussion Paper No. 13672.
Wang, Tianyi, Osea Giuntella and Yi Lu. “Is an Army of Robots Marching on Chinese Jobs?”. IZA Discussion Paper No. 12281.
| 责任编辑 | 秦雨、李明、庞乃琛、谢欣桐 |
| 校对 | 王天一 |