Introduction to Econometrics (ECON 113, Summer 2015)

• Instructor: Jae Hoon Choi

  • Office: Engineering 2 403C

  • Office hours: Friday 1:00PM - 3:00PM

  • Contact: jchoi24+econ113 at ucsc.edu

• Class info (Syllabus)

  • Summer session II (July 27th - August 28th)

  • Class time: Monday & Wednesday & Friday 9:00AM - 11:30PM

  • Class location: Physical Sciences Building 114 (Map)

  • Grade distribution

    • Assignment 15%

    • Midterm 1 5%

    • Midterm 2 30%

    • Final 50%

• This course is an introduction to the theory and application of statistics to economic problems. This course focuses on the techniques used in empirical research with a particular focus on intuitive understanding. Weekly problem sets will introduce real world applications and teach you the fundamentals of statistical programming. No prior knowledge of computer programming is required. Class meets three times a week for lectures which are mandatory, and once per week for section which are strongly suggested though not mandatory. You are expected to maintain the standards of academic integrity delineated here. Any violations of academic integrity standards will be dealt with in accordance with University policy.

• TA: Kyle Neering

• Section: Thursday 9:00AM - 10:10AM, Physical Sciences Building 114

• Office hours: Tuesday 3:00PM - 4:00PM, Engineering 2 403G

• Contact: kneering at ucsc.edu

• LSS Tutor: Lindsey Newman

  • To sign up for a Learning Support Services tutor, go to https://eop.sa.ucsc.edu/OTSS/tutorsignup

  • Contact: lrnewman at ucsc.edu

Lecture Notes

• Lecture 1: Introduction, Population & Sample, Mean and Variance, Biased/unbiased estimator

• Lecture 2: Probability

• Lecture 3: Statistical inference (Significance test, Confidence Interval, P-value)

• Lecture 4: Relationship between two variables (Covariance, Correlation), Simple regression

• Lecture 5: OLS estimator, Gauss-Markov assumptions

• Lecture 6: Guass-Markov assumptions, Goodness-of-fit measures, Interpretation of OLS estimates

• Lecture 7: Multiple regression, Omitted variable bias

• Lecture 8: Quadratic terms, Comparing parameters, Multiple restrictions,

• Lecture 9: Adjusted R-squared, Standardizing coefficients, Interaction term

• Lecture 10: Dummy variable, Instrumental variable

• Lecture 11: Difference-in-differences

• Lecture 12: Measurement error, Heteroskedasticity (Breusch-Pagan test, White test, WLS)

Assignments

• Problem set 1 (Due August 3rd) - Answer key

• Problem set 2 (Due August 10th) - Answer key

• Problem set 3 (Due August 17th) - Answer key

• Problem set 4 (Due August 24th) - Answer key

Exams

• Midterm 1 (Grade distribution) - Answer key

• Midterm 2 (Grade distribution) - Answer key

• Final (Grade distribution) - Answer key

Reading

• Jeffrey M. Wooldridge “Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach.” 5th edition (recommended)

Software and data

• Stata (Statistical software for data analysis)

  • Stata GradPlan™: $38 Small Stata will be sufficient for this class

  • The latest version is also available on Windows in computer labs - more

• Notes

  • Basic commands

  • Transferring to Word

• Data

  • Data set 1: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2007

  • Data set 2: 2010 Econ113 Attendance

  • Data set 3: National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY) extract

  • Data set 4: Wage data

Miscellaneous

• Practice exams

  • Midterm 2 practice

  • Final practice

• Statistical tables

• Classroom wireless set up (eduroam)

• 3D Grapher online