Econometrics

Econometrics
Economics 125
Spring 2021

Course Description	Syllabus	Paper
Problem Sets	Data Sources	Normal Distribution

Course Description

Econometrics is the application of statistical techniques to economic models in an effort to achieve numerical results and to verify economic theorems. The objective of this course is to provide a very thorough presentation of important econometric concepts. Although you will not become a theoretical econometrician, you should leave the course with an understanding of the main problems which applied economists face.

The course is taught at the advanced undergraduate level for economics majors (though students in other majors are welcome). It is recommended for all students interested in writing an empirical senior thesis. All students are required to have successfully studied a semester of statistics and ideally a year of introductory economics.

The course requirements include class attendance, five computer assignments, one midterm exam, an applied research paper and a final exam. There will be student presentations of the research papers at the end of the semester. The midterm exam will be on Thursday 18 March. The final exam will be on Wednesday 12 May from 2-5pm PST. The computer assignments, the paper, the midterm, and the final will all count for about a quarter of your course grade.

A written version of the lectures is available on Sakai. You are only responsible for the material covered in class. An optional textbook for the course is Christopher Dougherty, Introduction to Econometrics, 5th edition, Oxford University Press, 2016. It should be available at Huntley Bookstore. Other useful references include: Jeffrey Wooldridge, Introductory Econometrics, South Western, 2009, Stock and Watson, Introduction to Econometrics, Prentice Hall, 2007, and A. H. Studenmund, Using Econometrics, Addison-Wesley, 2005.

The computer is used extensively, but prior programming experience is not required or expected. The econometrics package we will be using is Stata16. Stata is a general purpose statistical software package used by researchers in fields like economics, sociology, political science, biomedicine, and epidemiology. This software will be made available to students as a downlaod, and is also available in the Bernard Computer Lab and the Broad Hall computer classroom. The Dean of Students Loan Program provides currently enrolled Pitzer students with helpful academic resources such as laptops and wifi hotspots. For more information, please visit the Dean of Students Loan Program.

If any material is ever unclear, or even if everything is perfectly clear, please come chat with me about econometrics or anything for that matter. If you have a short question, please feel free to call me at the office, leave voicemail or send me email at lyamane@pitzer.edu. For longer and better explanations, lets make an appointment to meet on Zoom. My office is in Fletcher 216 and my number is 607-3769. Office hours for the fall will be on Monday - Thursday 2:00-3:00pm, and by appointment. Normally I would ask you to join me for Economics Lunch on Fridays from 12:00 to 1:00pm. After this pandemic, we will generally be in the East Wing of McConnell Dining Hall.