Introductory Applied Econometrics

This course, jointly with the Introductory Econometrics course, provides the most comprehensive and serious overview of first-year Econometrics available, to date, on Udemy.

I don’t have to be here. But if I am going to be here, I am going to do it right and set the benchmark as to how Economics should be taught. Because I take students and their exams and their personal development seriously (on that note, feel absolutely free to reach out for any question or doubt that may arise as you delve into the material). Because, when I was taken seriously by my professors, everything became clearer and more engaging. Because the world is in dire need of engaged, curious people who act according to the brains instead of their stomach, people who let serious social science guide their gaze upon the surrounding world instead of random nonsense. A thoughtful world is a better world. I am strongly convinced that a serious study of proper economics helps moving toward that end.

In this course, I set out to complete the first-year sequence by introducing the main methods in Applied Econometrics – the methods for which the recent Nobel Prize in Economics to David Card, Josh Angrist and Guido Imbens has been awarded. Its purpose, shared by the Introductory Econometrics course too, is to lay the foundations for deeper and more comprehensive studies in Econometrics. Hence, I spend little time dwelling on the mathematical derivation and statistical nuances, covering only the bare minimum, and more time trying to convey the intuition, the concept and, essentially, why should you care. Namely, after having introduced the Potential Outcomes Framework, I set out to illustrate Randomised Experiments (RCTs), Linear Regression, Instrumental Variables (IVs), Difference-in-Differences (DiD), Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) and provide a brief overview of Panel Data, Matching and Synthetic Control. I cap it off by providing you with a list of Applications, real world examples of what kind of questions these models allow you to address, in the hope that they fire your curiosity up. Which is the only thing that matters.

Who this course is for:

• Economics Undergraduates who are about to take their second/third Econometrics course
• Social Sciences Undergraduates who have taken a course in Statistics and want to harness data at the next level
• Undergraduates who have to write any project, dissertation revolving around trying to establish the impact of X on Y
• Social Sciences Postgraduates who have taken a course in Statistics and want to/have to write any project, dissertation revolving around trying to establish the impact of X on Y
• Aspiring Policy Experts or Professionals, who need to be able to read and be critical of research and policy briefs they meet in day-to-day lives.