econ 351 - lecture 1 - intro to econometrics - intro to course.pdf · teaching assistant: sergei...
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ECON 351 - Lecture 1 - Intro to
Econometrics
Maggie Jones
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Syllabus Overview
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Course Details
Location: Jeffrey, Room 126Times: Monday @ 4-5:20pm & Wednesday @ 2:30-3:50pmWebsite: http://www.econ.queensu.ca/econ351
Instructor: Maggie Jones (jonesm@econ.queensu.ca)Office: Dunning Hall, Rm 345Office Hours: Wednesday @ 4-5:30pm & Thursday @ 8:30-10am
Teaching Assistant: Sergei Shibaev (shibaevs@econ.queensu.ca)Office: Mac-Corry A425Office Hours: TBA
Teaching Assistant: Justin Quinton (quintonj@econ.queensu.ca)Office: Mac-Corry A425Office Hours: TBA
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A Note on Emails
I Feel free to email me with administrative questions
I Do not email me with a specific econometric question, but docome see me in office hours to discuss
I e.g. I am having difficulty with deriving part a of question 2,how do you set up the problem?
I e.g. Is this the right formula to use in question 3 of theassignment?
I e.g. I am having trouble understanding the concept we wentover today in class, could you clarify for me?
I If you do not have a laptop, you are welcome to send me Stataoutput, or screenshots of a problem you are encountering withStata that you wish to discuss in office hours
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Course Goals
1 Work through the mathematical derivations and theory behindthe econometric methods presented.
2 Use Stata to conduct econometric analysis to address a variety ofeconomic questions.
3 Interpret, analyze and critique economic journal articles andnews articles.
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Textbook
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Other helpful references
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Software
I This course will rely heavily on the use of Stata, a statisticalsoftware used frequently in economics.
I You may purchase a copy of Stata online (link in syllabus) anduse GradPlan ID: AWG15.
I Note that if you must purchase the Stata/IC— version orabove, as lower versions are not able to handle some of thedatasets we will be using.
I If you do not wish to purchase a copy of Stata, the computerroom in Dunning 350 (open Monday-Friday 8:30am-10:00pm)is equipped with several machines with Stata.
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Tutorials
I Sept 19th-23rd there will be tutorials each day in thecomputer lab from 10-11:30am
I You can choose to attend one that fits your schedule
I We will be going through an introduction to Stata
I You are not required to attend, but are strongly encouragedto attend
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Grading Scheme
All components of this course will receive numerical percentagemarks and will be converted to letter grades based on the QOGCS:
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Grading Scheme
1 Assignments 5 @ 6% each = 30% total (students can work onassignments in groups of up to 3)
2 Midterm @ 25%: October 19th and will cover everything fromSept 12th-Oct 17th
3 Final @ 45%: the final exam will be cumulative
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Outline
1 Intro and review of math and stats (Sept 12th-21st)I Wooldridge Ch 1, App A (on your own), B,C
2 Basics of Ordinary Least Squares (Sept 26th-Oct 12th)I Wooldridge Ch 2-4
3 Midterm Review (Oct 17th) and Exam (Oct 19th)
4 Issues in Ordinary Least Squares (Oct 24th-Nov 9th)I Wooldridge Ch 5-8
5 Advanced Topics in Econometrics (Nov 14th-23rd)I Wooldridge Ch 13-15
6 Introduction to Time Series (Nov 26th)I Wooldridge Ch 10
7 Final Exam Review (Nov 30th)
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Additional Info
I Academic Integrity: don’t cheat!
I Course Website: http://www.econ.queensu.ca/econ351
I Accessibility: course materials are available in an accessibleformat or with appropriate communication supports uponrequest
I Accommodation: if you need any type of accommodationsplease contact Queen’s Student Accessibility Services as soonas possible
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What is econometrics?
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Econometrics is based upon the development of statisticalmethods for estimating economic relationships, testing economictheories, and evaluating and implementing government andbusiness policy.
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Why study econometrics?
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Identify Causality
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Understand what we read in the news
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To Validate and Quantify Economic
Theory
Examples of empirical questions in economics:
I What is the impact of education on earnings?
I How important is discrimination for wage differences?
I Does immigration reduce wages of non-immigrants?
I How big is the multiplier from government spending?
I Does foreign aid to poor countries promote growth?
I What is the effect of advertising on firm revenue?
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The Empirical Analysis
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Empirical Analysis
I Formulation of a question of interest
I Often motivated by an economic modelI e.g., Becker (1968) model of criminal behaviour: involvement
in crime the result of utility maximizing behaviour
I Or, driven completely by economic intuition:I e.g., relationship between wages and schooling:
wage = f(education, experience, training)
I Economic model is then converted into an econometricmodel
I an equation relating the outcome variable to a set ofexplanatory variables and an unobserved component
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Ingredients of an Empirical Analysis
I Data: different types of data (cross-sectional, time series,pooled cross sections, panel data)
I Estimation: summarizes relationships between variables usingeconomic models and statistics
I Inference: assesses reliability
I Theory/Interpretation: related to economic model? causalinterpretation?
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Economic Data
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The Structure of Economic Data
Cross-sectional data: individuals, firms, households, etc,observed at one point in time
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The Structure of Economic Data
Time series data: observations on a variable or several variablesover time
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The Structure of Economic Data
Pooled cross sections: independent cross sections collected atdifferent points in time are combined in a single data set
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The Structure of Economic DataPanel data: a time series for each cross-sectional member in thedata set
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