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Texts
Johnston, John. Econometric Methods. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1971. ISBN: 0070326797.
McCloskey, Donald N. The Writing of Economics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1986. ISBN: 0023795204.
Neugeboren, Robert H. Students Guide to Writing Economics. New York, NY: Routledge, 2005. ISBN: 0415701228.
Pindyck, Robert S., and Daniel L. Rubinfeld. Econometric Models and Economic Forecasts. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1997. ISBN: 0070502080.
Strunk, William Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. Boston, MA: Longman, 1999. ISBN: 020530902X.
Thomson, William. A Guide for the Young Economist. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001. ISBN: 0262700794.
Readings by Weekly Session
Note: * indicates that you should read the paper on your own prior to class.
Readings Table
| WEEK # |
TOPICS |
READINGS |
| 1 |
Course Introduction
Lecture
Causation and Randomized Experiments |
Ashenfelter, Orley. "The Case for Evaluating Training Programs with Randomized Trials." Economics of Education Review 6, no. 4 (1987): 333-8.
* Cook, R. Dennis. "Smoking and Lung Cancer." In R. A. Fisher: An Appreciation. Edited by S. Fienberg, and D. Hinkley. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag, 1980, pp. 182-191. ISBN: 354090476X.
Cook, Thomas D., and Donald T. Campbell. "Causal Inference and the Language of Experimentation." Chapter 1 in Quasi-Experimentation: Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1979, pp. 1-36. ISBN: 0395307902.
*Freedman, David A. "Statistical Models and Shoe Leather." Sociological Methodology 21 (1991): 291-313.
*Holland, Paul W. "Statistics and Causal Inference." Journal of the American Statistical Association 81 (December 1986): 945-960.
*Woodbury, Stephen A., and Robert G. Spiegelman. "Bonuses to Workers and Employers to Reduce Unemployment: Randomized Trials in Illinois." American Economic Review 77, no. 4 (1987): 513-530. |
| 2 |
STATA Review |
|
| 3 |
Lecture and Discussion
Elements of a Good Economics Paper
Assembly of Research Teams |
Handout of "Guidelines for Writing an Empirical Paper."
*Chay, Kenneth, and Michael Greenstone. "Air Quality, Infant Mortality and the Clean Air Act of 1970." NBER Working Paper #10053, 2003. |
| 4 |
Workshop
Oral Presentation of Paper Ideas by Research Teams
Class Discussion |
Student preliminary papers. |
| 5 |
Workshop
Oral Presentation of Paper Ideas by Research Teams
Class Discussion (cont.) |
Student preliminary papers. |
| 6 |
Workshop
Oral Presentation of Research Plans by Research Teams
Class Discussion (cont.) |
Student preliminary papers. |
| 7 |
Workshop
Oral Presentation of Research Plans by Research Teams
Class Discussion (cont.) |
Student preliminary papers. |
| 8 |
Workshop
Project Discussion and Questions |
Student preliminary papers. |
| 9 |
Workshop
Project Discussion and Questions (cont.) |
Student preliminary papers. |
| 10 |
Workshop
First Draft Paper Feedback |
Student preliminary papers. |
| 11 |
Workshop
First Draft Paper Feedback (cont.) |
Student preliminary papers. |
| 12 |
Workshop
Paper Rewrites |
Student preliminary papers. |
| 13 |
Last Class |
Student preliminary papers. |