Econ 122 Introduction to Econometrics

Spring 2005

 

Course Description: This course will introduce statistical analysis of linear models, as applied to economic data. Though much of the course will be devoted to derivation of econometric theory, applications of this theory to particular problems in the analysis of economic data will also be discussed.

 

Prerequisites: Economics 121. The first few lectures will review the pertinent material from statistics; students should be comfortable with these basic concepts of probability theory and statistical inference, and, more generally, with mathematical derivations.

Course Requirements: The grade in this course will be based on a midterm exam (worth 25% of the grade), a research paper (25%), (approximately) bi-weekly problem sets (15%), and a final exam (35%). There will be no makeup exams - scheduling conflicts should be discussed with me at least a week prior to the exam. Regular attendance at the tutorial sections is important; in addition to reviewing the answers to the problem sets, the TAs will also cover the essentials of EVIEWS, the computer package needed for the problem sets and the research paper. Some introductory notes on how to use EVIEWS have been kindly written by (Prof Dan Westbrook).

Required Text:  R.S. Pindyck and D.L. Rubinfeld, Econometric Models and Economic Forecasts, Fourth Edition (McGraw-Hill, 1997).

 Final Exam (all classes): Friday May 6 12:30 - 2:30, WAL 394

 Office Hours: Monday 2:00 – 4:00 pm (x7-1570)

Email: evansm1@georgetown.edu

Class Times and Recitations:

  01  LEC MW 10:15-11:30 ICC 108   
  REC.    R  5:40 - 6:55 REI 282
  02  LEC MW 11:40-12:55 ICC 106 
  REC.    F  4.15 - 5:30 STM G40 
 

TA: Zaki Zahran

Email: zz4@georgetown.edu

Office Hours: Friday 11:40 – 12:55 pm  STM G40

Research Project

Instructions, Reading, Data,

 

Course Outline, Lecture Notes and Readings

1. Review of Probability and Statistical Inference  

·         Introduction

·         Review of simple probability - random variables, expectations (bus/bike example)

o        Lecture notes 1 and 2

·         Measurement error model (point estimation, expectation and variance)

o        Lecture notes 3 and 4

·         Sampling properties of the sample mean (interval estimation, univariate hypothesis tests)

Problem Set 1

(P&R Chapter 2, including appendices) 

2. Simple Linear Regression

·         Introduction (examples); curve fitting by least squares

o        Lecture notes 5 and 6

o        Auto sales example data (from P& R)

o        Auto sales example Eviews File

o        Problem Set 2 Data Answer Key

·          Probability model and Gauss-Markov theorem

(P&R Chapter 3.1-3.2, Appendix 3.1)

 Statistical properties

o        Lecture notes 7 and 8

o        Eviews Demo1

·         Hypothesis testing

(P&R Chapter 3.3-3.4, Appendix 3.2 )

·         Evaluating the fit of the least squares estimator

o        Lecture notes 9 and 10

o        Eviews Demo 2

o         

3. Multiple Regression  

·         Introduction to Multiple Regression (examples); probability model

o        Lecture notes 11 and 12

·         Matrix algebra version

o        Lecture notes on matrix algebra

o        Problem Set 3 Data Answer Key

(P&R Chapters 4.1-4.4, App. 4.1,4.2,4.3 )

·         Dummy variable estimation and F-tests: age-earnings

o        Lecture notes 13 and 14

·          More on F-tests; examples

(P&R Chapters 5.1-5.3, 5.5, App. 5.1)

 

4. Departures from Basic Assumptions

·         Heteroskedasticity

o        Lecture notes 15 and 16

o             Auto Example

o        Problem set 4, Data

o         FGLS notes

·          Serial Correlation

·          Serial Correlation and review

(P&R Chapter 6) 

·         Measurement error (errors in variables)

o        Lecture notes 17 and 18

·          Instrumental variable estimation

o        Lecture notes 19 and 20

·          IV and intro to simultaneous equations

 (P&R Chapter 7 (except 7.4.2), Appendix 7.1)

5. Advanced Topics (As time permits)

·         Simultaneous equations (P&R Chapter 12.1-12.4)

·         Lecture notes 21 and 22 CAPM Example

·         Binary Models

·         Panel Data

·         More on forecasting.

 

 

OLD EXAMS

2000 Mid-Term Exam

2000 Mid-Term Exam Outline Answers

2002 Mid-Term Exam

2002 Mid-Term Exam Outline Answers

2003 Mid-Term Exam

2003 Mid-Term Exam Outline Answers

2005 Mid-Term Exam Outline Answers

 

2000 Final Exam Data File

2002 Final Exam Data File Outline Answers

2003 Final Exam

2003 Final Exam Outline Answers

 

Data and Handouts for recitations

 
  Handout
  Data Excel
  Data ASCI
 
  EVIEWS Data Used in Class