# ECON 407: Syllabus

## Syllabus for Cross Section Econometrics¶

### ECON407/ PUBP615¶

Fall 2017

Instructor: Rob Hicks
Office: Tyler Hall 252
E-mail: rob.hicks.wm+econ407@gmail.com
Class Time: TR 3:30 - 4:50 pm
Classroom: Tyler Hall 219

### Course Summary¶

In this course we will explore econometric techniques for testing microeconomic theories at the individual or firm level. With the advent of computers and associated data on economic behavior, the past few decades has seen an explosion of applied economic research using a wide range of techniques for this type of data- termed cross section data and cross section econometrics. In this course, you will learn about these techniques, will learn to be an educated consumer of econometric research, and will apply these techniques to real data. We will also derive many of the properties of the statistical techniques used in this course, but primarily at the end of the course you will

• Understand the strengths and weaknesses of cross section techniques
• Know how to test the validity of modeling assumptions
• Know the proper econometric technique for a wide variety of Cross-Section settings

### Logistics¶

• Office Hours : T 4:00-6:00 pm or by appointment
• Email Policy : I will respond to emails but only if they contain the tag [ECON407] or [PUBP615] in the subject line or you use the email exactly as specified above. If not, the google will likely delete your email. Emails must contain concise questions no longer than what would be amenable to respond to email. If you use the email address listed at the top of this page, it will auto-tag the email.
• Grades: Your grade will be based on five exercises (1 @ 5% and 4 @ 10% each), one mid-term (25%), a final exam (30%).

• The problem sets will consist of a mix of theoretical and practical econometrics. In each (after the first one), you will be given a dataset and will need to conduct an econometric analysis thinking critically about which technique to employ as well as key tests that should be run. Your document should include clear interpretations of your results, tables with clear variable names, and be well-formatted with code, tables, and writeup combined in a convenient (for me) way. You will be responsible for posting to the blackboard assignment a markdoc (for stata) or Rmarkdown (for R) file that completely generates your analysis: a flowing narrative containing code, writeup, and results. For any part of the problem sets requiring hand-written math excercises, you can turn those in on paper. Early on in class, I will demo how this works for stata.
• The mid-term is scheduled for October 18 just after fall break. Unfortunately, I can't reschedule either the mid-term or the final the exam, so if this time doesn't work for you please drop the course.
• Important Dates

Date Item
Aug 30 First day of class
Oct 14 - 17 Fall Break
Oct 18 Mid-Term
Nov 22 - 26 Thanksgiving
Dec 6 Last day of this class
Dec 14 TH (9am - 12pm) Final Exam
• Policy on Late Assignments : University policy will not allow me to reschedule the final exam (see the Dean of Students for exceptions). Course assignments must be turned in on time. Late work will be accepted for up to two additional days (with Saturday and Sunday counting as 1 day in total) with a letter grade deduction for each late day. After two days, late assignments will not be accepted. See below for some examples:
Tuesday Thursday A C
Thursday Saturday or Sunday A C
Tuesday Friday A F (not accepted)
Thursday Monday A F (not accepted)
• Hardcopy Policy : For all problem sets, in addition to the file you post to blackboard, you will be responsible for turning in a hardcopy version of your work at the end of class. You may give it to me in person, put it in my box in Tyler Hall, or slide it under my door in Tyler Hall 252. Should you not give it to me in person and the work goes missing, you remain responsible for getting me your work on time to avoid late assignment penalties.
• Grade Discrepancies and Grade Questions : I am happy to discuss questions you have about your grade on class assignments. Any questions you have regarding a potential grade change on an assignment must be cleared up within 1 week of receiving your work back from me. The only exception to this policy is if I made an arithmetic or data entry error in adding your score up and entering it into blackboard.
• Course Materials All course materials are available on my website for this course at the links listed below. I will only be using blackboard for posting grades and problem set solutions.
Syllabus http://rlhick.people.wm.edu/stories/syllabus_econ407.html
Notes http://rlhick.people.wm.edu/stories/econ_407_notes.html
Data (for stata and R) Found at http://rlhick.people.wm.edu/econ407/data