Hello, welcome to Better Know A Dataset (BKAD)!
What is BKAD about?
Better Know A Dataset (BKAD) is a newsletter that showcases interesting datasets, highlighting noteworthy patterns and analyses. Our goal is to explore new and interesting datasets as well as methods for exploring datasets (including statistical, visualization, etc).
Who Writes BKAD?
We are a team of two PhD students (Ben and Simon) from the Joint PhD Program in Financial Economics between the University of Chicago Department of Economics and the Booth School of Business.
Ben is currently a 5th year student in the program with interests in empirical asset pricing and behavioral finance. You can find his website here and his personal blog here.
Simon is currently a 6th year student in the program with interests in empirical asset pricing and insurance markets. Simon is also graduating this year and will join Columbia Business School this summer as an assistant professor in finance. You can learn about Simon’s research here and his other daily (less academic) newsletters here and here.
What You’ll Get from BKAD
Our hope is that BKAD will teach you about the world and inspire new research avenues for you. While our background is primarily in economics and finance, our interests and the datasets we explore span a broad spectrum, which you'll see reflected in our posts. Additionally, we aim to provide insights into the research process, offering perspectives on how to analyze a dataset effectively and uncover meaningful patterns.
Where Did the Name BKAD Come From?
The name alludes to the “Better Know A District” segment from The Colbert Report. Just as Stephen Colbert used that series to take a deep dive into various congressional districts, so we aim to provide in-depth analysis of various datasets.
How Can You Contribute?
By subscribing, of course! And if there are datasets you think are worth exploring, by all means send them our way. You can simply respond to our newsletter from your email inbox or leave comments on the post.