[ { "pair_key": "https://openalex.org/keywords/environmental-quality__jel:O11:GDP", "question_title": "Does environmental quality matter for GDP through energy use or renewable adoption?", "short_why": "The nearest support graph keeps returning renewable energy, energy use, and the environmental Kuznets channel as the main routes linking environmental quality to output.", "first_next_step": "Start with papers that jointly study environmental quality, GDP, and one of the candidate channels, then check which channel is treated as an intermediate outcome rather than a parallel correlate.", "who_its_for": "environmental, energy, and development economists", "display_order": 1, "field_shelves": [ "climate and energy" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "strong-nearby-evidence", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-environmental-quality-gdp-energy-use-renewables", "graph_query": "environmental quality", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Environmental quality", "target_label": "GDP", "channel_labels": [ "renewable energy", "energy use", "environmental Kuznets curve" ], "route_family": "mediator_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#https://openalex.org/keywords/environmental-quality__jel:O11:GDP" }, { "pair_key": "https://openalex.org/keywords/r-d-intensity__jel:F62:Economic Growth", "question_title": "Does R&D intensity raise growth through innovation effort, high-tech exports, or tax policy?", "short_why": "This card is strongest when the mechanism is treated as how research intensity becomes growth, not just whether the two move together.", "first_next_step": "Separate papers that use innovation effort, high-tech export exposure, or tax policy as the intermediate margin, then ask which one survives in a common empirical frame.", "who_its_for": "innovation, macro, and growth economists", "display_order": 2, "field_shelves": [ "innovation and productivity" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "strong-nearby-evidence", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-rd-intensity-growth-innovation-exports-tax", "graph_query": "R&D intensity", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "R&D intensity", "target_label": "Economic Growth", "channel_labels": [ "innovation effort", "high-tech exports", "tax policy" ], "route_family": "mediator_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#https://openalex.org/keywords/r-d-intensity__jel:F62:Economic Growth" }, { "pair_key": "https://openalex.org/keywords/digital-transformation__jel:D24:Productivity", "question_title": "Does digital transformation raise productivity through innovation, product quality, or absorptive capacity?", "short_why": "The local graph points to a tight mechanism story: digital adoption seems to matter when it changes firms' innovation margins, quality, or ability to absorb new technology.", "first_next_step": "Start with firm-level papers that measure digital adoption and at least one of the three channels, then compare whether the productivity effect attenuates once the channel is included.", "who_its_for": "productivity, industrial-organization, and firm-dynamics economists", "display_order": 3, "field_shelves": [ "innovation and productivity" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "strong-nearby-evidence", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-digital-transformation-productivity-innovation-quality-absorption", "graph_query": "digital transformation", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Digital transformation", "target_label": "Productivity", "channel_labels": [ "innovation", "product quality", "absorptive capacity" ], "route_family": "mediator_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#https://openalex.org/keywords/digital-transformation__jel:D24:Productivity" }, { "pair_key": "jel:E25:Wage__jel:D24:Productivity", "question_title": "Do wages raise productivity through employment margins, firm scale, or offshoring responses?", "short_why": "This is richer than a simple wage-productivity link because the nearby literature suggests distinct adjustment margins rather than one reduced-form effect.", "first_next_step": "Map the nearby papers by whether they treat employment, firm scale, or offshoring as the intermediate margin, then test which mechanism has the cleanest identification strategy.", "who_its_for": "labor, industrial-organization, and productivity economists", "display_order": 4, "field_shelves": [ "labor and household", "innovation and productivity" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "strong-nearby-evidence", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-wages-productivity-employment-scale-offshoring", "graph_query": "wage", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Wage", "target_label": "Productivity", "channel_labels": [ "employment", "firm scale", "offshoring" ], "route_family": "path_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#jel:E25:Wage__jel:D24:Productivity" }, { "pair_key": "wp:15532928__https://openalex.org/keywords/electricity-price", "question_title": "Does carbon trading move electricity prices through carbon costs, generation mix, or renewable standards?", "short_why": "This is one of the cleanest climate mechanism cards in the set because the nearby channels are specific and already tied to market design.", "first_next_step": "Start with power-market studies that jointly observe carbon pricing, wholesale prices, and the generation margin, then compare which intermediate channel carries the pass-through.", "who_its_for": "energy, environmental, and industrial economists", "display_order": 5, "field_shelves": [ "climate and energy" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "strong-nearby-evidence", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-carbon-trading-electricity-price-pass-through", "graph_query": "carbon emission trading", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Carbon emission trading", "target_label": "Electricity price", "channel_labels": [ "carbon costs", "generation mix", "renewable standards" ], "route_family": "mediator_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#wp:15532928__https://openalex.org/keywords/electricity-price" }, { "pair_key": "jel:O32:R&D__jel:E25:Wage", "question_title": "Does R&D raise wages through productivity gains, firm scale, or skill demand?", "short_why": "The local support graph suggests a classic but still usable wage mechanism question: research spending may matter only when it changes productivity, scale, or the demand for skilled labor.", "first_next_step": "Group the nearby papers by whether they emphasize productivity, firm growth, or skill composition, then test which channel best explains the wage response.", "who_its_for": "innovation, labor, and productivity economists", "display_order": 6, "field_shelves": [ "labor and household", "innovation and productivity" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "strong-nearby-evidence", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-rd-wages-productivity-scale-skills", "graph_query": "R&D", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "R&D", "target_label": "Wage", "channel_labels": [ "productivity", "firm scale", "skill demand" ], "route_family": "mediator_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#jel:O32:R&D__jel:E25:Wage" }, { "pair_key": "https://openalex.org/keywords/volatility__https://openalex.org/keywords/investor-behavior", "question_title": "Does volatility change investor behavior through trading volume, announcements, or herding?", "short_why": "This is a strong finance card because the nearby channels are concrete market behaviors rather than generic sentiment language.", "first_next_step": "Start with event-level or market-microstructure papers that jointly track volatility and one candidate channel, then compare which channel predicts the behavioral response.", "who_its_for": "finance, behavioral, and macro-finance economists", "display_order": 7, "field_shelves": [ "macro and finance" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-volatility-investor-behavior-volume-announcements-herding", "graph_query": "volatility", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Volatility (finance)", "target_label": "Investor behavior", "channel_labels": [ "trading volume", "announcements", "herding" ], "route_family": "mediator_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#https://openalex.org/keywords/volatility__https://openalex.org/keywords/investor-behavior" }, { "pair_key": "https://openalex.org/keywords/macroprudential-regulation__jel:G32:Leverage", "question_title": "Does macroprudential regulation curb leverage by reducing financial fragility?", "short_why": "The graph keeps this question narrow: the main nearby route is balance-sheet fragility, which makes it more credible than a generic policy-to-leverage card.", "first_next_step": "Start with papers that observe macroprudential tightening, leverage, and a fragility measure in the same setting, then test whether the leverage effect attenuates once fragility is accounted for.", "who_its_for": "macro-finance and banking economists", "display_order": 8, "field_shelves": [ "macro and finance" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-macroprudential-regulation-leverage-fragility", "graph_query": "macroprudential regulation", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Macroprudential regulation", "target_label": "Leverage", "channel_labels": [ "financial fragility" ], "route_family": "mediator_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#https://openalex.org/keywords/macroprudential-regulation__jel:G32:Leverage" }, { "pair_key": "jel:F20:Foreign Direct Investment__jel:Z33:Tourism Development", "question_title": "Does foreign direct investment support tourism development through infrastructure or sustainable tourism?", "short_why": "This card survives because the route is specific enough to inspect: capital inflows may matter for tourism only when they improve infrastructure or shift the tourism mix.", "first_next_step": "Start with papers that jointly cover FDI, tourism outcomes, and infrastructure or sustainability measures, then see which intermediate margin is actually observed.", "who_its_for": "development, urban, and international economists", "display_order": 9, "field_shelves": [ "development and urban" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "cross-area", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-fdi-tourism-infrastructure-sustainability", "graph_query": "foreign direct investment", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Foreign Direct Investment", "target_label": "Tourism Development", "channel_labels": [ "infrastructure", "sustainable tourism" ], "route_family": "mediator_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#jel:F20:Foreign Direct Investment__jel:Z33:Tourism Development" }, { "pair_key": "https://openalex.org/keywords/fee-for-service__https://openalex.org/keywords/health-care-quality", "question_title": "Does fee-for-service care change quality through payment design, managed-care substitution, or specialty mix?", "short_why": "The nearby support is concrete enough to make this a usable health-economics mechanism card rather than a generic payment-quality debate.", "first_next_step": "Separate papers by whether they study bundled-payment substitution, managed-care exposure, or specialty composition, then ask which channel changes measured quality.", "who_its_for": "health and public economists", "display_order": 10, "field_shelves": [ "labor and household" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "open-little-direct", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-fee-for-service-quality-payment-design-managed-care", "graph_query": "fee-for-service", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Fee-for-service", "target_label": "Health care quality", "channel_labels": [ "bundled payment", "managed care", "specialty mix" ], "route_family": "mediator_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#https://openalex.org/keywords/fee-for-service__https://openalex.org/keywords/health-care-quality" }, { "pair_key": "jel:O32:R&D__jel:L25:Firm Size", "question_title": "Does R&D increase firm size through product innovation, patents, or firm growth?", "short_why": "This is a good mechanism card because the nearby literature points to a clear chain from research activity into innovation outputs and then scale.", "first_next_step": "Start with papers that measure R&D and at least one of product innovation, patenting, or firm growth, then test which intermediate margin best explains later size differences.", "who_its_for": "innovation, industrial-organization, and firm-dynamics economists", "display_order": 11, "field_shelves": [ "innovation and productivity" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "phd-topic", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-rd-firm-size-innovation-patents-growth", "graph_query": "R&D", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "R&D", "target_label": "Firm Size", "channel_labels": [ "product innovation", "patents", "firm growth" ], "route_family": "path_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#jel:O32:R&D__jel:L25:Firm Size" }, { "pair_key": "https://openalex.org/keywords/feed-in-tariff__wp:216474", "question_title": "Do feed-in tariffs change investment timing through net present value, photovoltaic adoption, or real-option incentives?", "short_why": "This is one of the more focused climate-investment cards because the nearby channels are all about the investment margin rather than broad green-growth language.", "first_next_step": "Start with studies of feed-in tariffs and project timing, then compare whether NPV shifts, photovoltaic deployment, or explicit real-option reasoning does the explanatory work.", "who_its_for": "energy, environmental, and investment economists", "display_order": 12, "field_shelves": [ "climate and energy" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "phd-topic", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-feed-in-tariff-real-options-npv-photovoltaic", "graph_query": "feed-in tariff", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Feed-in tariff", "target_label": "Real options valuation", "channel_labels": [ "net present value", "photovoltaic adoption", "investment timing" ], "route_family": "path_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#https://openalex.org/keywords/feed-in-tariff__wp:216474" }, { "pair_key": "https://openalex.org/keywords/artificial-intelligence__jel:Q42:Renewable Energy", "question_title": "Can AI expand renewable energy through transition planning, labor adjustment, or deployment decisions?", "short_why": "The nearby support points to operational channels rather than a vague tech-to-green story: planning the transition, reallocating labor, and improving deployment decisions.", "first_next_step": "Start with papers that jointly study AI adoption and renewable deployment, then separate channels that operate through system planning, labor adjustment, or project siting and timing.", "who_its_for": "energy, innovation, and environmental economists", "display_order": 13, "field_shelves": [ "climate and energy", "innovation and productivity" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "cross-area-mechanism", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-ai-renewables-planning-labor-deployment", "graph_query": "artificial intelligence", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Artificial intelligence", "target_label": "Renewable Energy", "channel_labels": [ "energy transition", "employment", "deployment planning" ], "route_family": "path_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#https://openalex.org/keywords/artificial-intelligence__jel:Q42:Renewable Energy" }, { "pair_key": "https://openalex.org/keywords/carbon-tax__https://openalex.org/keywords/wind-power", "question_title": "Do carbon taxes expand wind power by shifting relative electricity prices?", "short_why": "This is a narrow climate mechanism card. The nearby support says the route runs through electricity-price pass-through, not a broad green-growth narrative.", "first_next_step": "Start with market-level studies that observe carbon taxes, power prices, and wind deployment in the same setting, then test whether price pass-through explains the investment response.", "who_its_for": "energy, environmental, and public-finance economists", "display_order": 14, "field_shelves": [ "climate and energy" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "cross-area-mechanism", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-carbon-tax-wind-power-electricity-price", "graph_query": "carbon tax", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Carbon tax", "target_label": "Wind power", "channel_labels": [ "electricity prices" ], "route_family": "mediator_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#https://openalex.org/keywords/carbon-tax__https://openalex.org/keywords/wind-power" }, { "pair_key": "https://openalex.org/keywords/green-innovation__jel:D24:Productivity", "question_title": "Does green innovation raise productivity through R&D, firm upgrading, or labor reallocation?", "short_why": "This card is useful because the local support points to concrete margins inside the firm rather than a generic claim that greener firms perform better.", "first_next_step": "Start with firm-level studies that observe green innovation and at least one candidate channel, then test whether productivity gains survive once R&D, upgrading, or labor reallocation is measured directly.", "who_its_for": "innovation, productivity, and industrial-organization economists", "display_order": 15, "field_shelves": [ "innovation and productivity" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "strong-nearby-evidence", "paper-ready" ], "question_family": "mechanism-green-innovation-productivity-rd-upgrading-labor", "graph_query": "green innovation", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Green innovation", "target_label": "Productivity", "channel_labels": [ "R&D", "firm upgrading", "employment" ], "route_family": "mediator_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#https://openalex.org/keywords/green-innovation__jel:D24:Productivity" }, { "pair_key": "jel:E43:Interest Rates__jel:E23:Output", "question_title": "Do interest rates move output through quantitative easing, monetary shocks, or fiscal imbalance?", "short_why": "The nearby graph suggests that the output response is not one mechanism. It passes through specific policy transmission channels that can be separated empirically.", "first_next_step": "Start with papers that jointly identify interest-rate changes and one candidate transmission channel, then compare whether the output effect attenuates once that channel is measured.", "who_its_for": "macro, monetary, and macro-finance economists", "display_order": 16, "field_shelves": [ "macro and finance" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "paper-ready", "cross-area-mechanism" ], "question_family": "mechanism-interest-rates-output-qe-shocks-fiscal", "graph_query": "interest rates", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Interest Rates", "target_label": "Output", "channel_labels": [ "quantitative easing", "monetary policy shocks", "fiscal imbalance" ], "route_family": "path_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#jel:E43:Interest Rates__jel:E23:Output" }, { "pair_key": "jel:G01:Global Financial Crisis__https://openalex.org/keywords/volatility", "question_title": "Did crisis exposure amplify volatility through contagion, emerging-market stress, or persistence?", "short_why": "The support graph points to a crisis-propagation question rather than a simple before-versus-after comparison of volatility.", "first_next_step": "Start with papers that track crisis exposure alongside volatility and one candidate channel, then compare whether contagion, emerging-market stress, or persistence best explains the response.", "who_its_for": "macro-finance, international-finance, and financial-economics researchers", "display_order": 17, "field_shelves": [ "macro and finance" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "paper-ready", "cross-area-mechanism" ], "question_family": "mechanism-global-financial-crisis-volatility-contagion-persistence", "graph_query": "global financial crisis", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Global Financial Crisis", "target_label": "Volatility (finance)", "channel_labels": [ "contagion", "emerging-market stress", "volatility persistence" ], "route_family": "path_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#jel:G01:Global Financial Crisis__https://openalex.org/keywords/volatility" }, { "pair_key": "jel:G21:Lending__https://openalex.org/keywords/systemic-risk", "question_title": "Does lending feed systemic risk through bank balance sheets and commercial-bank exposure?", "short_why": "This is a usable banking mechanism card because the nearby channels are balance-sheet objects, not abstract instability language.", "first_next_step": "Start with papers that jointly study lending growth, systemic-risk measures, and bank balance-sheet conditions, then test whether the risk effect survives once bank exposure is accounted for.", "who_its_for": "banking, macro-finance, and financial-stability economists", "display_order": 18, "field_shelves": [ "macro and finance" ], "collection_tags": [ "mechanism", "paper-ready", "cross-area-mechanism" ], "question_family": "mechanism-lending-systemic-risk-bank-balance-sheets", "graph_query": "lending", "graph_family": "mechanism", "source_label": "Lending", "target_label": "Systemic risk", "channel_labels": [ "banks", "commercial-bank exposure", "balance sheets" ], "route_family": "path_question", "app_link": "https://frontiergraph.com/questions/#jel:G21:Lending__https://openalex.org/keywords/systemic-risk" } ]