3776 - Applied Econometrics - Online

Course Description

Prerequisite: Algebra II or equivalent 

Social media is filled with competing and opposing claims concerning whether a college degree pays off, whether immigration hurts or benefits domestic residents, whether government programs are helpful or harmful, and on myriad other divisive social issues. Applied Econometrics provides a set of statistical and econometric tools that can be used to evaluate these competing claims.

• Learn how to formulate hypotheses, construct and estimate econometric models, and test your hypotheses. You will work with peers to:
• Formulate and test hypotheses involving human behavior
• Estimate earnings equations using data from thousands of individuals to explore the effects of educational attainment, work experience, and demographic and ability variables on earnings
• Estimate models that examine the factors that influence the decision to attend college
• Work in a small group to conduct your own econometric analysis using appropriate data and estimation techniques.

You will also learn how to:

• Use the normal, t, F, and χ2 distributions to test hypotheses
• Construct confidence intervals for parameter estimates
• Estimate and interpret the results from multiple regression, logit, and probit models
• Use log and polynomial transformations to allow the use of linear models to represent nonlinear relationships
• Diagnose and correct for the presence of autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity, and measurement error.

During times of crisis, policies must be rapidly developed. Econometric analysis provides tools that can be used to forecast the effect of and evaluate the effectiveness of alternative policies. Learn how to apply the econometric tools that are widely used by economists, political scientists, historians, psychologists, epidemiologists, biologists, and business analysts to analyze data and help us understand economic measurement as well as the world around us.