class: center, middle, inverse, title-slide .title[ # Introduction to ECON 8070 ] .author[ ### Brantly Callaway ] .date[ ### University of Georgia ] --- # A Brief Introduction to ECON 8070 `$$\newcommand{\E}{\mathbb{E}}$$` <style type="text/css"> .alert { font-weight:bold; color: red; } .alert-blue { font-weight: bold; color: blue; } .remark-slide-content { font-size: 23px; padding: 1em 4em 1em 4em; } .highlight-red { background-color:red; padding:0.1em 0.2em; } </style> The econometrics sequence at UGA has dual goals: -- * Provide a foundation for doing <span class="alert">empirical work</span> in economics / business disciplines -- * Provide an introduction/foundation to <span class="alert-blue">econometrics research</span> itself -- In general, Ph.D. level course are different from undergraduate/M.A. level courses: * We will be interested not just in <span class="alert">what to do</span> but also <span class="alert-blue">how things work</span> --- # A Brief Introduction to ECON 8070 <center><img src="lawnmower1a.jpeg" width="800px"> </center> --- # A Brief Introduction to ECON 8070 <center><img src="lawnmower2a.jpg" width="600px"></center> --- # A Brief Introduction to ECON 8070 Some examples of learning about how things work: - For all the estimators that we talk about this semester, we will write the code to implement them ourselves rather than relying on "canned" implementations from `R`. - We'll also spend a lot of time on theory related to <span class="alert">conducting inference</span> — this can be mathematically intense --- # A Brief Introduction to ECON 8070 Throughout the semester, we'll also mostly be interested on learning tools/concepts that are useful for conducting empirical research in economics (and, more broadly, social sciences and business disciplines) -- * In practice, a whole lot of research questions are like: <span class="alert">how did some policy/intervention/etc. cause some outcomes of interest to change relative to what they would have been in the absence of the policy/intervention?</span> -- * We will have these sorts of questions in mind (or at least in the back of our minds) throughout the semester --- # Econometrics Course Sequence at UGA * ECON 8070, Probability and Statistics (Callaway) - err...Probability, Statistics, Linear Regression -- * ECON 8080, Introduction to Econometrics (Callaway) - Linear Regression (cont'd), Causal Inference, Panel Data -- * ECON 8110, Econometrics I (Caetano) - Instrumental Variables, Generalized Method of Moments, Regression Discontinuity, Nonparametric Regression -- * ECON 8120, Econometrics II (Kinsler) - Nonlinear Models, Structural Econometrics --- # Statistical Programming This semester, we'll do a lot of statistical programming, using the `R` language -- - Please see the syllabus for additional resources on `R` programming -- - Our TA, Brad, is a very good R programmer, and he is a very good resource this semester -- - I expect the difficulty level on this front to be relatively high --- # Other Resources On the syllabus, there are a number of additional resources. These are mostly at the Ph.D. or M.A. level. If you need more introductory material on any topics here are some suggestions: -- - I have [very detailed course notes](https://bcallaway11.github.io/econ_4750_notes/) for my undergraduate class (both on `R` and on Econometrics) -- - A relatively short introduction to `R` from Stephanie Spielman: <a href="https://sjspielman.github.io/datascience_for_biologists/tutorials/introduction_to_R.html">https://sjspielman.github.io/datascience_for_biologists/tutorials/introduction_to_R.html</a> -- - I also like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Probability-Statistical-Inference-10th-Robert/dp/013518939X/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=hogg+tanis+zimmerman&qid=1660677502&sprefix=hogg+tanis%2Caps%2C68&sr=8-3">Hogg, Tanis, and Zimmerman</a> as an undergraduate-level probability and statistics text <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Econometrics-4th-Pearson-Economics/dp/0134461991/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=stock+and+watson+introduction+to+econometrics&qid=1641821555&sprefix=stock+and+wat%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-1">Stock and Watson</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Introductory-Econometrics-Modern-Approach-MindTap/dp/1337558869/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=wooldridge+econometrics&qid=1641821581&sprefix=wooldridge+%2Caps%2C86&sr=8-1">Wooldridge</a> as undergraduate level econometrics texts. - They both cover a lot of the same material that we will cover in this course, though at an easier level. - [If you get any of these, you can get an older edition and save some money.] --- # Last comment before we get going... <span class="alert">My super-high-level advice about research:</span> -- * It may be easy to get lost in the math/programming this semester -- * It's true that there are big technical hurdles that you need to go over -- * But a lot of econometrics / empirical work in economics is fundamentally about having good ideas, intuition, and clear thinking...you just have to get over the technical hurdle