Data Analysis in Econ

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Many important questions asked by economists are empirical in nature. By how much has U.S. income inequality increased over time? Where, geographically, is poverty in the U.S. most concentrated? Has U.S. labor force participation been falling over time? Do parental leave policies affect women's work after childbirth? Answering such questions requires being able to obtain and work with data. This course provides a mapping from the theory learned in econometrics to actual real-world data analysis in economics. Upon successful completion of the course you will be able to: program in STATA; identify, obtain, clean, and work with key datasets used by economists; construct an appropriate research design for descriptive empirical analysis; use cutting-edge approaches to answer causal questions; replicate and critically assess the data analysis conducted by previous researchers; and understand the basics of “big data” techniques such as machine learning for prediction.