AØKK08072U Seminar: Development Economics and Microeconometrics

Volume 2015/2016
Education

MSc of Economics
The seminar is primarily for students at the MSc of Economics

Content

The seminar will focus on the scope and difficulties of doing applied work with microdata from a developing country. It will give the participants hands-on experience with household panel data from Uganda. Within the limitations of the data, the student will be free to choose a topic. This could both be survey-related such as the construction of poverty measures or the role of measurement error, or it could be related to the content exploring agricultural choices, household composition, etc. with special attention to the challenges related to establishing causal effects.

Learning Outcome

At the end of the seminar, the student is expected to be able to:

  • phrase a research question which can be answered given the constraints of the available data
  • perform an econometric analysis using household data from a developing country
  • carefully interpret the results from the econometric analysis
  • structure a coherent paper.

Background literature for the econometric analysis:

  • Angrist and Pischke (2009) Mostly Harmless Econometrics
  • Deaton (1997) The analysis of household surveys: A microeconometrics approach to development policy
  • Wooldridge (2002) Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data

 

Further readings will be specific to the choice of research question.

B.Sc. of Economics, Econometrics C and Development Economics.
It is furthermore an advantage to follow or have taken: Advanced Development Economics (Micro Aspects) and Advanced Microeconometrics
Two lectures with a high degree of teacher-student interaction followed by student work on the term paper and supervision. Students will then present their work to the other students in the seminar where the paper will be discussed. At the student presentations, all students will be assigned another paper where they serve as a discussant and lead the discussion. Finally, the students will revise their papers before handing in.

Lecture 1: Monday February 8st, 10.15-12.00
Lecture 2: Monday February 15th, 10.15-12.00
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Project work
  • 186
  • Seminar
  • 20
  • Total
  • 206
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
A written seminar paper.

Included in the seminar is an oral presentation for the others participans at the seminar of 30 min presentation and 15 min discussion for individual presentations, 45 min presentation and 15 min discussion for groups of two.
Exam registration requirements

Attendance on the seminar. The mandatory commitment paper and seminar paper have been handed in at deadline.

Aid
All aids allowed

Al aids for the written seminarpaper.

 

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
up to 20 % censorship at the seminarpaper
Exam period

Deadline for handing in research question: Monday February 29th

Student presentations: In the period April 18th – April 29th (Exact dates will be ageed on in Lecture 1)

Deadline for handing in term paper: Wednesday May 18th at 12.00 (noon)

For enrolled students more information about examination, exam/re-sit, rules etc. is available at the student intranet for Examination (English) and student intranet for Examination (KA-Danish).

Re-exam

Submission of a written assignmetn and an oral exam in which you may be examined in the presentations of the other students participating in the seminar during the enrolment period in question.

Criteria for exam assesment

The student must in a satisfactory way demonstrate that he/she has mastered the learning outcome of the course.