Data and codes for meta-analysis

This platform is a digital repository for meta-analysis methods and applications co-authored by researchers at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague. Meta-analysis, the quantitative approach to research synthesis, was originally developed in the behavioral and medical sciences. In economics and other social sciences, it has become a valuable tool for synthesizing evidence, correcting publication bias, and linking differences in primary study results to their contextual backgrounds. The papers collected here have appeared in journals such as Nature Communications, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of the European Economic Association, Journal of Labor Economics, and Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics.

A new meta-analysis approach robust to both publication bias and p-hacking:
Meta-Analysis Instrumental Variable Estimator (MAIVE)

One-click meta-analysis in your browser:
EasyMeta.org: No install needed. Supports MAIVE, PET-PEESE, clustering.

Concise, nontechnical, step-by-step guidelines on how to do a meta-analysis:
The Practitioner’s Guide to Modern Meta-Analysis


Macroeconomics Micro and experimental economics Energy and environmental economics International economics Labor and education economics Financial economics
This site and the research presented here have been supported by the Czech Science Foundation (project 24-11583S) and the Institute for Research on the Socioeconomic Impact of Diseases and Systemic Risks (SYRI, project LX22NPO5101) funded by the European Union—Next Generation EU.

Headline results from these papers

One line per paper: the result the paper itself headlines. Definitions and samples differ across literatures, so check the source before reusing a number. Also as a spreadsheet: estimates.csv, which carries the sentence each figure came from.

Macroeconomics

  • Effect of monetary policy on house prices: corrected for publication bias and misspecification, a 1.2% fall in house prices per 1-percentage-point policy rate rise, peaking after two years (correcting for publication bias alone gives 0.23%, but conditioning on best practice offsets it), based on 1,555 estimates from 237 impulse responses in 37 studies (Ehrenbergerova et al. 2023, IMF Economic Review) doi.
  • Effect of structural reforms on economic growth: reforms in transition countries cost growth in the short run but raise it strongly in the long run, and that holds after correcting for publication bias, based on 60 studies with 537 estimates (Babecky and Havranek 2014, Economics of Transition) doi.
  • Elasticity of intertemporal substitution in consumption: corrected for publication bias, 0.3-0.4 (micro estimates for asset holders; macro mean zero), based on 2,735 estimates from 169 published studies (Havranek 2015, Journal of the European Economic Association) doi.
  • Elasticity of substitution between capital and labor: the meta-analytic estimate is 0.3 (best-practice specification; the mean reported estimate is 0.9), based on 3,186 estimates from 121 studies (Gechert et al. 2022, Review of Economic Dynamics) doi.
  • Excess sensitivity of consumption to anticipated income changes: the estimate corrected for aggregation and publication bias is 0.11, against a mean reported estimate of 0.37, based on about 3,000 estimates from 144 studies (Havranek and Sokolova 2020, Review of Economic Dynamics) doi.
  • Optimal long-run inflation rate: the meta-analytic estimate is about 0.6% per year (calibration-dominated model literature), based on 777 estimates from 116 primary studies (Opatrny et al. 2026) pdf.
  • The price puzzle (prices rising after monetary tightening): it disappears once publication and misspecification biases are corrected, and prices fall instead, bottoming out 0.33% below baseline six months after a 1-percentage-point rate rise, based on about 1,000 estimates from 70 studies (Rusnak et al. 2013, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking) doi.
  • Transmission lag of monetary policy to prices: the meta-analytic estimate is 29 months on average, but 25-50 months in developed economies against 10-20 in post-transition ones; the factor explaining that gap is financial development, with greater development meaning slower transmission (prices bottom out 0.9% below baseline after a 1-percentage-point hike), based on 67 published studies (Havranek and Rusnak 2013, International Journal of Central Banking) pdf.
  • Why intertemporal substitution varies across countries: the meta-analytic finding is income and asset market participation explain most of the cross-country heterogeneity, based on 2,735 estimates from 169 published studies covering 104 countries (Havranek et al. 2015, Journal of International Economics) doi.

Micro and experimental economics

  • Beauty premium in earnings: the meta-analytic estimate is 1.1% (95% CrI -0.8% to 3.0%; controlling for cognitive ability; large only for sex workers), based on 1,159 estimates in 67 studies (Irsova et al. 2025) pdf.
  • Coefficient of relative risk aversion: corrected for publication bias, 1 in economics, 2-7 in finance (from consumption Euler equation studies), based on 1,021 estimates from 92 studies (Elminejad et al. 2025, Journal of Economic Surveys) doi.
  • Effect of financial incentives on performance: corrected for publication bias, about 0 (field contexts; lab and loss framing modestly positive), based on 2,193 estimates from 88 economics experiments (Cala et al. 2026, Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics, forthcoming) pdf.
  • Effect of physical exercise on cognition: corrected for publication bias, SMD 0.227 for general cognition, 0.027 for memory and 0.012 for executive function (wide prediction intervals spanning negative and positive effects), based on 2,239 effect-size estimates from 215 meta-analyses (Bartoš et al. 2025) doi.
  • Habit formation in consumption: the meta-analytic estimate is 0.4 (macro 0.6, micro 0.1; mean reported estimate, with no correction for publication bias), based on 597 estimates from 81 published studies (Havranek et al. 2017, European Economic Review) doi.
  • Individual discount rate (impatience measured in experiments): corrected for publication bias, 33% per year, based on 927 estimates from 56 studies (Matousek et al. 2022, Experimental Economics) doi.

Energy and environmental economics

  • Climate sensitivity (warming from a doubling of CO2): corrected for publication bias, 1.4-2.3 degrees Celsius (historical-record estimate; the IPCC AR6 assessment is about 3 C), based on 48 estimates from 16 studies (Reckova and Irsova 2015, Energy and Environment) doi.
  • Electricity savings from daylight saving time: the best-practice estimate is essentially zero, 0.01% savings, against a 0.34% simple average of reported estimates (savings during the days DST applies; the paper finds no publication bias in this literature, so this is a methodological correction), based on 162 estimates from 44 studies (Havranek et al. 2018, Energy Journal) doi.
  • Income elasticity of gasoline demand: corrected for publication bias, 0.1 short run, 0.23 long run (Havranek and Kokes 2015, Energy Economics) doi.
  • Income elasticity of water demand: corrected for publication bias, about 0.15 or less, based on 307 estimates (Havranek et al. 2018, Land Economics) doi.
  • Natural resource curse (effect of resource richness on long-run growth): the meta-analytic finding is weak support for a curse, based on 605 estimates from 43 studies (Havranek et al. 2016, World Development) doi.
  • Price elasticity of electricity demand: corrected for publication bias, -0.16 short run, -0.38 long run (best-identified short-run estimates statistically indistinguishable from zero), based on 4,720 estimates from 462 studies (Kudela et al. 2026) pdf.
  • Price elasticity of gasoline demand: corrected for publication bias, -0.09 short run, -0.31 long run (Havranek et al. 2012, Energy Economics) doi.
  • Social cost of carbon: corrected for publication bias, 0-134 USD per metric ton of carbon (2010 prices, emission year 2015; per ton of carbon, not CO2), based on 809 estimates from 101 studies (Havranek et al. 2015, Energy Economics) doi.

International economics

  • Armington elasticity (substitution between domestic and foreign goods): the meta-analytic estimate is 2.5-5.1, median 3.8, based on 3,524 estimates (Bajzik et al. 2020, Journal of International Economics) doi.
  • Border effect on international trade: the meta-analytic finding is one-third reduction in trade, based on 1,271 estimates from 61 studies (Havranek and Irsova 2017, IMF Economic Review) doi.
  • Determinants of horizontal FDI spillovers: the main result is that spillovers are zero on average but depend systematically on the technology gap and ownership structure; encouraging joint ventures with investors holding a smaller technology edge raises the average spillover by about 0.3, based on 1,205 estimates screened against 43 candidate determinants (Irsova and Havranek 2013, World Development) doi.
  • Effect of the euro on trade: no detectable effect once publication bias is corrected, while other currency unions raise trade by more than 60% (Havranek 2010, Review of World Economics) doi.
  • FDI spillovers to domestic firm productivity (Czech Republic): the meta-analytic estimate is +11% productivity per 10-percentage-point rise in foreign presence (as of 2018; 19% for joint ventures), based on 332 estimates (Hampl et al. 2020, Applied Economics) doi.
  • Forward premium puzzle (slope from regressions of spot on forward rates): corrected for publication bias, 0.23-0.45 for developed and 0.95-1.16 for emerging currencies (unbiasedness hypothesis predicts slope of 1), based on 3,643 estimates from 91 studies (Zigraiova et al. 2021, European Economic Review) doi.
  • Vertical FDI spillovers to suppliers and buyers: the estimate corrected for publication and misspecification bias is about 9% higher productivity for suppliers per 10-percentage-point rise in foreign presence, small for buyers and none within the sector, based on 3,626 estimates (Havranek and Irsova 2011, Journal of International Economics) doi.

Labor and education economics

Financial economics

  • Effect of bank competition on financial stability: corrected for publication bias, about 0, based on 598 estimates from 31 studies (Zigraiova and Havranek 2016, Journal of Economic Surveys) doi.
  • Effect of board gender diversity on ESG performance: the meta-analytic estimate is about 0.12 ESG points per 1-pp diversity increase (higher in the Middle East, about zero in Southeast Asia), based on 533 estimates from 106 studies (Hozova et al. 2026) pdf.
  • Effect of financial development on economic growth: the meta-analytic estimate is positive but widely varying; studies ignoring endogeneity overstate it, and the effect weakens after the 1980s and in poorer countries, based on 1,334 estimates from 67 studies (Valickova et al. 2015, Journal of Economic Surveys) doi.
  • Effect of remittances on economic growth: the meta-analytic finding is positive but economically small (growth-enhancing in Asia but not Africa), based on 538 estimates from 95 studies (Cazachevici et al. 2020, World Development) doi.
  • Hedge fund alpha (monthly risk-adjusted return): corrected for publication bias, 30-40 basis points per month (gross of fees; the companion study finds about zero after fees and design), based on 1,019 alpha estimates from 74 studies (Yang et al. 2024, Journal of Economic Surveys) doi.
  • Size premium in stock returns: corrected for publication bias, 1.72% per year (smallest vs. largest capitalization quintile), based on 1,746 estimates from 102 published studies (Astakhov et al. 2019, Journal of Economic Surveys) doi.
  • Stock-price reaction to shareholder activism: corrected for publication bias, 0% to 1.5%, based on 1,973 estimates from 67 studies (Bajzik et al. 2025, Corporate Governance: An International Review) doi.
  • Trust, rule of law, and the size premium in stock returns: the meta-analytic finding is stronger rule of law, larger size premium (association in reported estimates, not causal), based on 1,613 estimates from 105 studies and 31 countries (Schwarz et al. 2026) pdf.
  • Variation in hedge fund alphas: the main result is that 9 of 34 study characteristics consistently explain it, above all whether alpha is measured gross or net of fees, a gap of 0.439 percentage points a month; expected alphas under best practice are close to zero for all common strategies, based on 1,019 estimates from 74 studies (Yang et al. 2026) pdf.

Meta-research methods