Introduction to Econometrics (ECON 113, Summer 2014)

• Instructor: Jae Hoon Choi

  • Office: Engineering 2 405G

  • Office hours: Wednesday 01:00PM - 03:00PM

  • Contact: jchoi24+econ113 at ucsc.edu

• Class info (Syllabus)

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

  • Class time: Monday & Wednesday 09:00AM - 12:30PM

  • Class location: Jack Baskin Auditorium 101 (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 twice a week for lectures and once per week for section which are strongly suggested though not mandatory. There will be two midterm exams followed by a comprehensive final. Though you may work in groups on problem sets you must turn in your own homework and write up the answers on your own. 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 10:00AM - 11:10AM, Jack Baskin 165

  • Office hours: Tuesday 10:00AM - 12:00PM, Engineering 2 403G

  • Contact: kneering at ucsc.edu

• MSI: Sarmad Moalem

  • Contact: smoalem at ucsc.edu

  • Sessions: Monday 01:30PM and Friday 10:00AM

  • Visit http://www2.ucsc.edu/lss/tutorial_services.shtml to sign up

Lecture Notes

• Lecture 1: (July 28th) Introduction, Population & Sample, Mean and Variance, Unbiased estimator

• Lecture 2: (July 30th) Probability, Statistical inference (Significance test, CI, P-value)

• Lecture 3: (August 4th) Relationship between two variables (Covariance, Correlation)

• Lecture 4: (August 6th) Simple regression, OLS estimator

• Lecture 5: (August 11th) Gauss-Markov assumptions, Multiple regression

• Lecture 6: (August 13th and 18th) Omitted variable bias, Quadratic terms, Comparing parameters, Multiple restrictions

• Lecture 7: (August 18th and 20th) Adjusted R-squared, Standardizing coefficients, Interaction term, Dummy variable, Instrumental variable

• Lecture 8: (August 25th) Measurement error, Heteroskedasticity (Breusch-Pagan test, White test, WLS)

Assignments

• Problem set 1 (Due August 04th) - Answer key

• Problem set 2 (Due August 11th) - Answer key

• Problem set 3 (Due August 18th) - Answer key

• Problem set 4 (Due August 25th) - Answer key

Exams

• Midterm 1 - Answer key (Grade distribution)

• Midterm 2 - Answer key (Grade distribution)

• Final - 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™: $35 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

• Statistical tables

• Classroom wireless set up (eduroam)

• 3D Grapher online