useR! 2024

In my journey through data roles in econ research at various universities and non-profits, convincing my teams to hop on the R train has been a bit of a tug-of-war and that’s because in econ there's been a historic preference for proprietary tools like STATA that has resulted in a slower uptake of open-source collaborative practices. But yes, things are starting to change, slowly but surely. R and Python are shaking things up in the econ world and it's exciting to see research groups jumping in and opening up. In my experience, effectively showcasing R’s versatility, open-source foundation, and vibrant community support has proved pivotal in winning teams over. The insights I've gathered are relevant for anyone dealing with similar challenges in convincing their teams and if given the opportunity I'm keen to share these with everyone. Imagine this: an econverse brimming with R packages, as user-friendly and structured as the tidyverse or the pharmaverse. It's a vision worth spreading, and I'm eager to rally others to join the cause.