Professor Taisuke Otsu 32L 4.25 and Dr. Marcia Schafgans 32L 4.12 (LT)

This course is available to General Course ‘Spring Semester’ students subject to approval from the lecturer.

Students must have completed Elementary Statistical Theory (ST102) or equivalent.

Those who have taken MA107/ST107 or equivalent should consider taking EC220 only if they have obtained marks of 65 or better on both courses.

We will look at students’ transcript and subject them to a brief online quiz to evaluate their suitability.

This course is an introduction to econometrics; it aims to present the theory and practice of empirical research in economics. Compared to EC221GC, this course relies on calculus instead of matrix algebra and follows Wooldridge closely.

The focus of the course is on the underlying econometric theory: estimation, properties of estimators (unbiasedness, standard error formula, sampling distribution, consistency) and hypothesis testing.

Topics include: Simple and multiple regression analysis; omitted variable bias; functional form; heteroskedasticity and weighted least squares; endogeneity (omitted variables and simultaneity); instrumental variables and two-stage least squares; binary choice models; and  time series analysis.

30 hours of lectures and 9 hours of classes in the LT.

Additional help lectures 3 x 1 hour in the LT.

There will be a reading week in Week 6 of LT only (no lectures or classes that week).

An one hour revision lecture will be held in week 11 of the LT.

This course is delivered through a combination of classes and lectures totalling a minimum of 40 hours in Lent Term. This year, some or all of this teaching will be delivered through a combination of virtual classes, live streamed (recorded) lectures, and some flipped content delivered as short online videos.

Exercises are provided each week and are discussed in the classes. While students are expected to attempt the weekly problem sets before each class, students will receive formal feedback on 4 occasions.

J. W. Wooldridge Introductory Econometrics. A Modern Approach, 6th Edition, South-Western.

J. D. Angrist and J. S. Pischke Mastering ‘Metrics. The Path from Cause to Effect, Princeton University Press. 

Further materials will be available on the EC220 Moodle page.

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours, reading time: 15 minutes) in the summer exam period.