Lahore University of Management Sciences

BSc (Honours) Programme

Econ 335: Empirical Economics (4 Credit Hours)

Instructor: Yumna Mukhtar

Room: 290

Email: yumna@lums.edu.pkSemester: Autumn 2009

Prerequisites:

Principles of Microeconomics and Econometrics I

Course Objective

This course deals with the analysis of empirical strategies most often used in microeconomics literature. The empirical strategies discussed include: regression, matching and propensity score matching, IV estimation, Difference-in-Difference estimation and Regression discontinuity and design. Students are expected to have a basic understanding of STATA.

Lectures:

There will be two 100 minute lectures each week.

Grading:

15% CP and Attendance

10% Quizzes (2)20% STATA Assignments (3)30% Review Papers (3)

25% Final

Cut offs for grades in case of a class size of less than 40:F < 40

D 40 - < 44

C- 44 - < 47

C 47 - < 50

C+ 50 - < 55

B- 55 - < 60

B 60 - < 65

B+ 65 - < 75

A- 75 - < 80

A 80 - < 90A+ > 90Principle Text:There is no single text for the course. Following is a tentative list from which we will select and discuss journal articles.

Session #

1-3Module 1: Introduction

- Cobb-Clark, D. and T.F. Crossley, (2003), Econometrics for Evaluations: An Introduction to Recent Developments, Economic Record. 79(247):493-513.

4-12Module 2: Estimation Strategies and The NSW Data Set - Becker, S. and Ichino, A, (2002). Estimation of Average Treatment Effects Based on Propensity Scores The Stata Journal, 2(4):358-377.

- Dehejia, Rajeev and Sadek Wahba, (1999). Causal Effects in Nonexperimental Studies: Reevaluating the Ealuation of Training Programs. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 94(448),1053-1062.

- LaLonde, Robert J. 1986. Evaluating the Econometric Evaluations of Training Programs with Experimental Data, American Economic Review, 76, pp. 604-620.

- Heckman, James J. and V. Joseph Hotz, 1989. Choosing Among Alternative Nonexperimental Methods for Estimating the Impact of Social Programs: The Case of Manpower Training. Journal of The American Statistical Association,

84(408):862-874.

- Smith, Jeffrey and Petra Todd. 2005. Is Matching the Answer to LaLondes Critique of Nonexperimental Methods? Journal of Econometrics,

13-16Module 3: Possible Applications

Anti-Poverty Programs

- Jalan, J and M. Ravallion, "Estimating the Benefit Incidence of an Antipoverty Program by Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, in (2003)- Berman, Jere and John Hoddinott, (2005), Programme Evaluation with Unobserved Heterogeneity and Selective Implementation: The Mexican PROGRESA Impact on Child Nutrition, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 67, 4:0305-9049

- Khandker, Shahidur R., (2005), `Microfiance and Poverty: Evidence Using Panel Data from Bangladesh. The World Bank Economic Review, 19(2):263-286.

- Coleman, B. (2006), Microfinance in Northeast Thailand: Who Benefits and How Much? World Development 34(9) 1612-1638

17-20

Fertility and Development

- Milligan, Kevin, Subsidizing the Stork: New Evidence on Tax Incentives and Fertility. Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 87, No. 3 (August, 2005), pp. 539-555.- Emily Oster, 'Hepatitis B and the Case of the Missing Women', Journal of Political Economy, December, 2005.

- Nancy Qian 'Missing Women and the Price of Tea in China' August 2008 Quarterly Journal of Economics.

- Conlin, Stacy D., and Amitabh Chandra. "Taxes and the Timing of Births." (1999) Journal of Political Economy - Gans, Joshua S., Leigh, and "Born on the first of July: An (un)natural experiment in birth timing." Journal of Public Economics 93(2008): 246-243.

21-24Unemployment Benfits

- Raj Chetty, (2008), Moral Hazard vs. Liquidity and Optimal Unemployment Insurance, available here: http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~chetty/- Blundell, R., M. Costa Dias, C. Meghir and J. Van Reenen Evaluating the Employment Impact of a Mandatory Job Search Assistance Program, Journal of European Economic Association June 2004.

- Rafael Lalive, (2007)Unemployment Benefits, Unemployment Duration, and Post-Unemployment Jobs: A Regression Discontinuity Approach. American Economic Review.

25-27Environment Regulation and Climate Change

- Deshenes, O, and Greenstone, M., `The Economic Impacts of Climate Change: Evidence fromAgricultural Output and Random Fluctuations in Weather, American Economic Review, 97(1): 354-385, March 2007

- Berman, Eli and Linda Bui, (2001), Environmental Regulation and Labor Demand, Evidence from the South Coast Air Basin, Journal of Public Economics, February 2001.

- Michael Greenstone, (2002), `The Impacts of Environmental Regulations on Industrial Activity: Evidence from the 1970 and 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments and the Census of Manufactures,Journal of Political Economy, volume 110 (2002), 117512