Survey of Econometric Methods
Fall 2017
Jeffrey Parker
Course Information
Course Content
Class Format
Prerequisites
Office Hours
Exams and Other Assignments
Grading
Texts and Readings
Course Content
This is a basic course in econometrics. It surveys basic methods of statistics and econometrics, but does not get into details about how or why the various estimators work. If you want to learn to be an intelligent reader of basic regression analyses that you find in economic journals, this course should suffice. However, if you want a deeper understanding of why particular estimators are used or if you plan to use econometric methods extensively in your thesis research, you would be better served by taking Econ 312 in the spring.
Class Format
This class meets for three 50-minute lecture/conference sessions per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 11:00am in Vollum 120. The format of class sessions will vary, including components of lecture, discussion, and sometimes other participatory activities.
Prerequisites
You should have completed Economics 201: Introduction to Economic Analysis prior to taking this course. Prior knowledge of statistics is useful, but not required.
Office Hours
The instructor will hold office hours in Vollum 229 on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:30 to 2:00.
Students for whom these hours are inconvenient may make appointments at other times by contacting the instructor at extension 7308 or by email to parker@reed.edu.Exams and Other Assignments
Exams: There will be two mid-term exams, which may include take-home components as well as the in-class exam. The final exam will be comprehensive, but will cover the last part of the course more intensively. The final exam is likely to be on the morning of Wednesday, December 13, but it may be as late as Thursday, December 14. Do not schedule a flight earlier than Thursday evening until the final-exam schedule is confirmed.
Assignments: There will be an assignment due most Wednesdays starting in the third week. Some assignments will involve work with data using Stata or Excel; others will be traditional "problem sets" or verbal/interpretive questions. These assignments will involve the materials we have already covered in class.
Daily problems: For most class days, there will be a "daily problem" that is to be submitted at the beginning of class (or before class if submitted by email). Each daily problem is focused on the topic to be covered in that class. They are designed to be brief; a student who has completed the day's assigned reading should be able to finish a typical daily problem in about 10–15 minutes. The daily problems will be graded on a very simple scale: you get 2 points if your answer shows that you have done the reading and engaged with the problem (even if the answer is incorrect), 1 point if your answer is inappropriately brief or really off-target, and no points if not submitted.
You are permitted—indeed, encouraged—to work with your classmates and to seek advice from the class tutor on all assignments. However, each student must write up the final assignment individually. Copying exact language from other students or submitting substantially identical papers is not permitted. (Of course, there is often only one obvious way to do a mathematical derivation, so some degree of homogeneity is to be expected for the parts of assignments that are pure math.)
Late work: You are expected to turn in assignments on time. You will lose 10% of the points on a late assignment for each 24 hours it is late. No assignments are accepted after the beginning of the class period following the one at which they are due (Friday, for Wednesday deadlines). If you have an illness or emergency, please submit documentation from the Health and Counseling Center to the instructor along with your request for an extension.
Grading
Grades will be based on all information the instructor has about your level of understanding of econometrics. This includes evidence from exams, daily problems, assignments, class participation, and individual discussions.
Texts and Readings
The principal text is A. H. Studenmund's Using Econometrics: A Practical Guide, 7th edition. Other required and recommended readings are listed on the reading list. Most readings other than the principal text are linked, online resources. Successful class conferences depend on all students being adequately familiar with the assigned readings. Students who come to class unprepared to discuss the assigned materials not only diminish their own involvement with the course but unfairly "free-ride" on the preparation of others. If it is beneficial to conference interaction, the instructor may call on individual students to answer questions during class. Evidence of preparation will count heavily in the class participation component of your grade.
You will be expected to use Stata for hands-on statistical analysis during the semester. Stata is available on all Reed campus computers. If you wish, you may order your own copy of Stata at a student price through the Stata Web site. The smaller version of Stata (IC or Intercooled) is sufficient for nearly all economics applications.