CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH

Research Methods for Economics, Econ 587 Spring 2016

Tuesday 7:00 – 9:45 PM, LA2 200 Dr. Elaine F. Frey Office: SPA 349 Office Hours: Tuesday 1:30-2:30pm and by appointment E-mail: Elaine.Frey@csulb.edu Required Materials: Text: Baum, Christopher F. (2006). An Introduction to Modern Econometrics Using Stata, Stata Press. (ISBN: 1-59718-013-0) Software: Stata 14, IC version or higher (do not buy small Stata since it will not be adequate for working with the types of datasets we will be using in class). You can purchase and download Stata through Campus GradPlan: https://www.stata.com/order/new/edu/gradplans/campus-gradplan/. I recommend getting at least a one-year license, so you can use the software when taking your 600-level courses. I do not recommend using any unlicensed software copies. Course Description and Learning Outcomes: This course complements your coursework in economic theory, field electives, and econometrics by building your research skills. This is accomplished through lecture-based discussions, writing, and working with large data sets. Lecture based discussions include, but are not limited to, discussions of research topics, refining a research question, and critically evaluating existing literature. You will use this knowledge to write a literature review and understand how all of these elements lead to an effective research paper. While practicing working with large data sets, you will learn to clean, code, and analyze the data using Stata and learn techniques for effective display of quantitative information. You will demonstrate these skills through weekly lab exercises, regular writing assignments, quizzes, and two research projects. After completing this course, students will be prepared to do original research. Specifically, students will be able to develop a research question, perform a literature review, compile and analyze relevant data, perform statistical analysis, and effectively communicate economic ideas and statistical results. Grading: The grading scale is as follows: A (100-90), B (89-80), C (79-70), D (69-60), F (<60). Grades will be based on the following elements:

Attendance and Participation 5% Assignments/Lab Work 25% Quizzes 10% Poster Project 20% Final Paper 30% Final Presentations – May 10, 7:15-9:15PM 10%

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Attendance and Participation: Students are expected to attend every class. In the case of an absence, you are still responsible for any graded work from that class. I expect that you come to class on time and attend the entire class period. It is important that you actively participate in class. Participation includes asking and answering questions, providing peer feedback, working effectively with your group members, making brief presentations, and contributing to any online discussions or work. Assignments/Lab Work: You will have weekly assignments. Some assignments may be similar to lab work, and require you to write a Stata program that utilizes the concepts discussed in class. These “labs” may be individual or group assignments. Some assignments may include writing or research related tasks. Late assignments WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR ANY REASON. If assignments are not assigned as group work, you are expected to do your own work; copying a classmate’s assignment is considered cheating. If you are caught cheating on an assignment, all students involved will receive a zero on that particular assignment. Quizzes You will have two quizzes during the semester, each worth five percent of your course grade. The quizzes will be open book and note and assess your ability to use skills that we learn through lectures, readings, and weekly assignments. Poster Project: Students will work on a poster project in small groups. This project will be separate from your individual research projects. Posters will involve gathering data and using statistical analysis to answer a research question. All posters will be showcased at the end of the semester at a mandatory poster exhibit on May 4 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. (location to be determined). Part of your poster grade is for attendance of the poster session. Make-ups will not be allowed unless you have a university-approved, documented excuse. Final Paper: Students will be required to complete a final paper. The paper will include a literature review, econometric analysis, and an explanation of results. Papers need not be original research, but may mirror and extend published economics work. Detailed instructions on the final paper will be distributed on Beachboard. Final Presentations: Students will present their research project orally with the aid of Power Point slides. Presentations will take place during the official scheduled final exam time (May 10, 7:15-9:15). All students will have an equal amount of time to present and answer questions about their research. Plagiarism: Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will result in a grade of “F” for the assignment and additional actions may be taken. Refer to the CSULB Catalog for a definition of plagiarism and corresponding CSULB policy.

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Additional Information: Any issues or problems with regard to graded materials must be raised within a week of receiving your grade. Information, announcements, and assignments will be distributed through Beachboard. You are expected to check Beachboard on a regular basis. Withdrawal Policy: Department policy states that you may withdraw from a class during the add/drop period, which is typically during the first two weeks of class (check the official university calendar for the exact dates). After this time, you will need the signature of the instructor and chair, which will not be issued unless there are extreme circumstances (this typically will involve you withdrawing from all of your courses). Disability Policy: It is the student’s responsibility to notify the instructor in advance of the need for accommodation of a university verified disability. Tentative Course Topics:

Topics Reading Week Introduction to Stata and programing, loading data, overview of dataset that we will be using

Chapters 1 and 2, Appendix A

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Graphical Representation of data, coding and transforming data,

Chapters 2 and 3, Appendix A and Appendix B, Chapter 4

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Tentative Library resources presentation (2/2) n/a 3 Defining a research topic, linear regression 3 Moving from a research topic to a research question, presenting research

Supplemental material

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Writing effectively, literature reviews Supplemental material

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Brief presentations of research questions, specification error and endogeneity

Chapter 5 5-6

Research proposal, selected topics on regression analysis

Chapters 6 and 7 7-8

Models with discrete and limited dependent variables, project work

Chapter 10 9

Working with panel data Chapter 9 10 Project work 11 Instrumental variables, group projects Chapter 8 12 Publishing in economics, group project work Supplemental

material 13-15

Presentations (May 10, 7:15-9:15PM) 16 Note: Supplemental Materials for some topics will be posted on Beachboard

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Research Assignment Schedule:

Assignment Due Date Grade Information Quiz 1 February 23 5% of total grade Research Proposal and Research Proposal Presentation

Proposal – February 28 Presentation – March 1

6% of total grade (part of assignments/lab work grade)

Annotated Bibliography

March 6 5% of total grade (part of assignments/lab work grade)

Literature Review March 20 5% of total grade (part of final paper grade)

First Draft April 10 15% of total grade (part of final paper grade)

Final Draft April 24 10% of total grade (part of final paper grade)

Poster Draft May 1 10% of total grade (part of poster grade) Quiz 2 May 3 5% of total grade Poster Session May 4 5% of total grade (part of poster grade) Poster Final Draft May 4 5% of total grade (part of poster grade) Final Presentations May 10 (7:15-9:15pm) 10% of total grade Additional Resources: Acock, Alan C. (2012). A Gentle Introduction to Stata, Revised Third Edition, Stata Press. Angrist, Joshua D. and Jorn-Steffen Pischke (2015). Mastering ‘Metrics: The Path from Cause to

Effect, Princeton University Press. Cameron, A. Colin and Pravin K. Trivedi (2010). Microeconomics Using Stata, Revised Edition,

Stata Press. Greenlaw, Steven A. (2006). Doing Economics: A Guide to Understanding and Carrying Out

Economic Research, Houghton Mifflin. McCloskey, Deirdre N. (2000). Economical Writing, Waveland Press, Inc. Strunk, William and E.B. White (2000). The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition, Longman

Publishers. Thomson, William (2001). A Guide for the Young Economist, MIT Press.