The following guidelines and student sample were provided by Professor Laura Randall of the Department of Economics.

The preparation of a Master's essay is required of students at Hunter College who wish to earn a Master's degree in Economics. The requirement was imposed so that students would have practice in demonstrating their ability to apply their knowledge of economic principles, policies, and techniques to the analysis of an economic problem. Many sorts of topics can be used in preparing a Master's essay: topics in economic theory, the history of economic thought, the analysis of specific policies in a given country for a specified time period, or an analysis of the determinants of the economic growth of a given unit, whether this be a firm, an industry, a nation, a common market, or several nations who trade with each other or form an economic unit.

Whatever the topic, your essay must comply with the following structure:

1. the topic is...
2. a hypothesis about the topic is...
3. the categories of evidence utilized in examining the hypothesis are...
4. related topics excluded from analysis and categories of evidence it is not possible to examine here include...
5. these exclusions might affect the results in ways broadly described by...
6. the evidence I present is...
7. this evidence can be interpreted according to the economic theories of...as supporting, rejecting, or modifying my hypothesis.
8. it is (is not) similar to the analysis of various authors who have written on this topic, and either sheds light on aspects of the theories used or circumstances to which the theories are applied.
9. I conclude that the hypothesis is (is not) a useful way of analyzing the problem; that the essay does (does not) support it; and that my essay contributes to the literature on the topic by...(please do not conclude your essay by saying that more work needs to be done on the topic.)

*** Please note that in the above discussion the analysis of a hypothesis may involve the use of quantitative techniques of testing; however, the analysis of a hypothesis does not require the use of quantitative techniques. It does require systematic evaluation of evidence.

Citation Style

The Master's essay must be written according to stylistic conventions used in the social sciences. These are presented in Kate Turabian's Manual for Dissertation Writers. They are also available in the more expensive University of Chicago Manual of Style.

Example

What follows is a memo written by a Master's candidate in the Economics Department. The memo outlines the student's proposed Master's essay and suggests a schedule of work.

This brief is provided to apprise you of my work on my Master's essay.

Overview
The title is to be "Smith and Nozick as Moral Philosophers of the Public Purse." The thesis will be an exercise in pure philosophy of public finance; I do not contemplate any empirical work.

My primary texts will be:

Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
Richard Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia

Secondary texts will include:

Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Joseph Cropsey, Polity and Economy
An Interpretation of the Principles of Adam Smith:
Selected essays from the special 1980 issue of The Public
Interest devoted to "The Crisis in Economic Theory"
The Economic Report of the President

...and perhaps some essays from the Journal of Philosophy and Public Affairs

My BA thesis, The Role of Morality in the Market Economy, will probably also be cited as it is partly devoted to Smith (see chapter one: The Foundations of the Market Economy: Reflections of Adam Smith, and the conclusion: The Relationship between the Market Economy and Morality).

Do not be concerned that this essay will be a simple reworking of my undergraduate work, for it will not. The topics are related yet distinct.

The skeletal outline is as follows:

Introduction: "The Nature of the Inquiry"

Here I will present the task: to explore the extent of the philosophically defensible state. Contained in this will be a brief discussion of public, private, and mixed goods, externalities, and what it means to have a "market economy" wherein 30-40 percent output is controlled by the government.

Part I: "The Role and Extent of the Philosophically Defensible State"

This part will draw upon the work of Nozick, presenting his arguments in favor of the minimal state as it arises from the state of nature.

Part II: "Smith's Conception of the State"

Following the Technique of my undergraduate essay, I shall consider Smith as paradigmatic of the laissez-faire school, and describe in detail the arguments which underlie his discussion of the role of the state, as articulated in Book V of The Wealth of Nations.

Part III: "The Philosophical Defense of Smith's State"

Using Nozick, whose reasoning is far more explicitly developed than Smith's, I shall offer a critique of Smith's state.

Part IV: "Digression: The Modern American State"

Although irrelevant to the more pure philosophy of the essay, I feel it would be useful to draw at least some broad distinctions between Smith and Nozick on the one hand and the Federal budget on the other. This will provide the bridge to the next part.

Part V: "Reversing the Trend: Are Non-Government Non-Market Options Available?"

Nozick's Argument is pure theory--it starts with the state of nature and then develops the State. Smith's argument has as its springboard not the state of nature but the mercantilist world, an economic arena far simpler than our own. In this section I shall suggest methods by which the philosophically defensible current functions of government may be transferred to philosophically defensible `non-government.' (By non-government I will mean the non-spending aspects of government. More clearly, I mean something which is not a budget item of government, such as a law.) It is here where I expect to draw upon The Theory of Moral Sentiments, and selected essays in the various journals (especially those essays in Arrow).

Conclusion: "Is the Philosophically Defensible State Acceptable?"

It is said of capitalism that `any fair game has winners and losers.' In the Conclusion, I will present an overview of the philosophic conclusions and then examine them in the context of the times to develop some general conclusions.

My biggest anticipated problem is my proclivity toward verbosity. In my opinion, my BA thesis suffers greatly from both verbosity and pomposity. I would like to keep this essay to about one-third the size of my undergraduate essay. To this end, I have asked several of my friends to serve as editors. I propose the following timetable for my draft:

Date February 23 March 2 March 9 March 16 March 30

Draft Submitted Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V, Conclusion, Introduction

The second complete draft will be submitted April 15 and the final draft May 1.