Calendar

LEC # TOPICS LECTURES READINGS PROBLEM SETS
1-2 Review of Probability and Distribution
  • Probability and Distribution
  • Expectation and Moments
  • Wooldridge, J. M. Introductory Econometrics. Appendices A and B.
  • Goldberger, A. S. A Course in Econometrics. Chap. 1-7.
  • DeGroot, M. H., and M. J. Schervish. Probability and Statistics. Chap. 1-5.
Review Problem Set (PDF)
3-5 Review of Statistical Inference (Point and Interval Estimation; Hypothesis Testing)
  • Sampling Distributions and Inference
  • Approximate [Asymptotic] Distribution of the Sample Mean
  • Confidence Intervals
  • Wooldridge. Appendix C.
  • Goldberger. Chap. 8-10.
  • DeGroot. Chap. 6-8.
  • Woodbury, S. A., and R. Spiegelman. "Bonuses to Workers and Employers to Reduce Unemployment: Randomized Trials in Illinois."
Problem Set 1 (PDF)
6-11 Regression I -- Why and How?
  • Bivariate Regression
  • Sampling Distribution of Regression Estimates
  • Residuals, Fitted Values, and Goodness of Fit
  • Introduction to Multivariate Regression
  • Multivariate Regression (cont.)
  • Wooldridge. Chap. 1-5.
  • Goldberger. Chap. 13-16.

Problem Set 2 (PDF)

Problem Set 3 (PDF)

12a-12b Regression II -- Using Multiple Regression
  • Using Multivariate Regression
  • Regression analysis of "Natural Experiments" -- the minimum wage controversy
  • Wooldridge. Chap. 6-7 and 19.
  • Goldberger. Chap. 17-24.
  • Krueger, A. "How Computers Have Changed the Wage Structure: Evidence from Micro Data."
  • DiNardo, J., and J. S. Pischke. "The Returns to Computer Use Revisited: Have Pencils Changed the Wage Structure Too?"
  • Krueger, A. and S. B. Dale. "Estimating the Payoff to Attending a More Selective College: An Application of Selection on Observables and Unobservables." 
  • Card, D., and A. Krueger. Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage. Select chapters.

See also the article below.

  • Card, D. and A. Krueger. "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania."
Problem Set 4 (PDF)
13a-13b Inference Problems -- Autocorrelation and Heteroscedasticity
  • Heteroscedasticity, Linear Probability Models
  • Serial Correlation
  • Wooldridge. Chap. 8 and 12.
  • Goldberger. Chap. 27-28.
  • Freeman, R., and A. Castillo-Freeman. "When the Minimum Wage Really Bites: The Effect of the US-Level Minimum on Puerto Rico."   
  • Graddy, K. "Testing for Imperfect Competition at the Fulton Fish Market."
Problem Set 5 (PDF)
14a-14b Instrumental Variables
  • Instrumental Variables for Omitted-Variables Problems
  • IV and Measurement Error
  • Wooldridge. Chap. 15.
  • Goldberger. Chap. 31.
  • Angrist, J. "Lifetime Earnings and the Vietnam Era Draft Lottery: Evidence from Social Security Administrative Records." 
  • Angrist, J., and W. E. Evans. "Children and Their Parents' Labor Supply: Evidence from
    Exogenous Variation in Family Size." 
  • Angrist, J., and A. Krueger. "Does Compulsory School Attendance Affect Schooling and Earnings?" 
  • Ashenfelter, O., and A. Krueger. "Estimates of the Economic Returns to Schooling from a New Sample of Twins."
Problem Set 6 (PDF)
15-16 Simultaneous-Equation Models
  • Simultaneous Equations Models -- Motivation and Identification
  • Simultaneous Equations Models -- Estimation
  • Wooldridge. Chap. 16.
  • Goldberger. Chap. 32-34.
  • Angrist, J., G. Imbens, and K. Graddy. "The Interpretation of Instrumental Variables Estimators in Simultaneous Equations Models with an Application to the Demand for Fish."