Course 2015-2016 a.y.

Go to class group/s: 31

CLEAM (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/01) - CLEF (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/01) - CLEACC (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/01) - BESS-CLES (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/01) - BIEMF (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/01)

Course Director:
PAOLO PINOTTI

Course Objectives

The course introduces students to the main tools used for data analysis and applied empirical research, focusing in particular on the estimation of causal relationships. The methods covered allow students to address questions that are relevant from a social, economic, and political perspective: Which are the economic returns of one additional year of schooling? Do longer prison sentences deter crimes? Do better paid politicians perform better? What’s the economic impact of immigration flows? These are just examples of the type of questions that motivate the use of empirical methods. At the end of the course, students should be able to go through the multiple stages of empirical research: searching for interesting questions, devising an appropriate research design, collecting the data, and implementing the analysis.

Course Content Summary

• The ideal experiment: Causal effects and the selection problem.
• Randomized controlled trials.
• From observational data to natural experiments: instrumental variables.
• Panel, difference-in-differences, and synthetic control models.
• Regression discontinuity designs.

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

Grading System:
the final grade will be made up of 2 components:

• 75% based on the grade in the written exam;
• 25% based on individual assignments

Textbooks

• J.D. Angrist , J.S. Pischke Mastering Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect, Paperback with French folds , 2014
• Exact syllabus, lecture slides, and reading materials will be available on the E-Learning space.

Exam textbooks & Online Articles (check availability at the Library)

Last change 27/03/2015 12:44