ECON 6306.

501 Applied Econometrics

Spring 2011, Tuesday 7:00-9:45 PM, GR 3.606, School of EPPS, UTDallas
Dr. Kruti Dholakia-Lehenbauer

CONTACT INFORMATION
Main Phone 972-883-2926
Office Location GR 3.232
Email Address kruti@utdallas.edu; Prof.Kruti@gmail.com
Office Hours M-T-W, 5:30-7:00 or after class or By appointment
Please email me in advance if you are arriving for office hours or for
Other Information
appointment

GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION

Officially, there are no prerequisites to this course. However, I will
Pre-requisites, Co- function under the assumption that you have taken either Advanced
requisites, & other Regression or Mathematical Economics at the Graduate level and/or
restrictions Econometrics at the undergraduate level. Please contact me immediately
if you have not taken any quantitative classes in the past 3 years.
This is an introduction to the primary methods used in economic
research. Topics include mathematics and statistics for economists, basic
regression analysis, information technology, computer software (STATA),
etc. This course is designed to provide a foundation for other upper level
economics courses. This is a graduate level introduction to econometrics
exploring commonly used econometric techniques. We will investigate
the consequences of relaxing the classical linear regression model
Course Description
assumptions and explore solutions when the assumptions do not hold.
Topics include a review of the OLS basics (including the assumptions,
hypothesis-testing, multicollinearity, dummy variables and
heteroskedasticity), model specification and selection, GLS, maximum
likelihood estimation, binary and discrete choice models, limited
dependent variable models, instrumental variables and fixed and
random effects models.
The course goals are:
 To enhance and clarify basic econometric concepts
 To provide a general introduction to econometric theory and
application
 To provide a deeper understanding in order to relate theory to
applications in a more cohesive manner
Learning Outcomes  To provide tools for identifying strengths and weaknesses of
specific econometric models and thereby choosing appropriate
models for a variety of research questions.
Calculus and matrix algebra are used in the class to analyze theoretical
properties and STATA is used to apply the methods to data. The focus of
the course is not on mathematical proofs but is on the application of
theoretical techniques to analyze economic research questions.
Gujarati & Porter. 2009. Basic Econometrics, McGraw-Hill Publishers, 5th
Required Texts & Materials edition. ISBN: 0071276254

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ECON 6306.501 Applied Econometrics
Spring 2011, Tuesday 7:00-9:45 PM, GR 3.606, School of EPPS, UTDallas
Dr. Kruti Dholakia-Lehenbauer


STATA (information at the end of the syllabus)

Office 2010 (or 2011 for Mac) to use for class.

You need to get a free Turnitin.com account. Here is the link that
Other Recommended
shows you the steps and the login information you need:
Materials
http://www.turnitin.com/static/helpCenter/enrolling_in_classes.php
class ID: 3724213
class enrollment password: ECON6306

COURSE POLICIES
Midterm (25%): Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Final (30%): Tuesday, April 26, 2011 (TBA in class)
Homeworks (15%): Various Due Dates
Grading (credit) Criteria Empirical Project (30%): (All submissions required on Turnitin.com)
(a) Project Proposal, February 15, 2011 (5%)
(b) Presentation of Final Project, April 19 or May 10, 2011 (5%)
(c) Complete write-up, April 19, 2011 (20%)
Not allowed. Period. No negotiations are possible on this except if you
Make-up Exams get permission from the EPPS Associate Dean of Graduate Education,
Dr. Thomas Brunell.
Regular attendance is highly desirable. You are also responsible for all
announcements made in class, whether or not you attend. Thus, the
Class Attendance best policy is to attend every class. If you have to miss a class, due to
illness or other unavoidable conflict, try to borrow a fellow student’s
notes and informing me in advance.

I recommend you take some time and read the ancillary syllabus material by visiting:
http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies

STATA Information:
STATA is available in all EPPS computer labs for use. However, I would encourage you to purchase STATA
version 11 for use in this class, and potentially in other classes that you are likely to register for at
UTDallas. The main options available for students are:
Small STATA (6-month license) = $ 29.00
Small STATA (1-year license) = $ 49.00
STATA/IC (6-month license) = $ 65.00
STATA/IC (1-year license) = $ 98.00
STATA/IC (perpetual license) = $ 179.00
STATA/SE (perpetual license) = $ 425.00
Visit http://www.stata.com/order/new/edu/gradplans/gp-campus.html to place your order.

You can also obtain “A Gentle Introduction to STATA”, 3rd Edition for an additional $ 48.00 if you like.

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ECON 6306.501 Applied Econometrics
Spring 2011, Tuesday 7:00-9:45 PM, GR 3.606, School of EPPS, UTDallas
Dr. Kruti Dholakia-Lehenbauer

CLASS SCHEDULE
Basic Econometrics, Gujarati &
Tuesdays Topics to be covered Porter, 5th Ed.
Review: Basics; CLRM assumptions; Gauss-Markov
Thm; Hypothesis testing; Confidence Intervals; F-
11-Jan test; Ch. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
18-Jan Multicollinearity & Heteroskedasticity Ch. 10, 11
Matrix Algebra; use of matrix algebra in
25-Jan econometrics; Var-Cov matrix; Ch. 6, 7
Model Mis-specifications: OVB, Including
irrelevant var, measurement errors in dep & indep
var; Model Selection Criteria: before & after
estimation; Nested & un-nested models; Dummy
1-Feb Variables Ch. 1-9
8-Feb Autocorrelation (Time series); Ch. 12, 21
Autocorrelation (continued): d-statistic; solutions;
15-Feb CORC Ch. 12, 21
22-Feb MIDTERM
1-Mar Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) Ch. 14, 15
Discrete choice/outcomes; Linear Probability
8-Mar Model; Logit; Probit Ch. 14, 15
15-Mar SPRING BREAK
Discrete Choices; Goodness of fit in LPM, Logit &
22-Mar Probit; significance testing; odds ratio Ch. 14, 15
29-Mar Simultaneous Equation Models Ch. 18, 19, 20
SEM continued; Indirect Least Squares; Hausman
5-Apr Specification test; Panel Data Econometrics; Ch. 16, 18, 19, 20
12-Apr Panel Data (continued) Ch. 16
19-Apr FINAL PAPERS DUE. Presentations 1-8 (or more)
26-Apr FINAL EXAM
3-May Reading Day – NO CLASS
10-May Presentations 9-15

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.

PROJECT: Please work in teams of two (no more than two people allowed in a team) and write a co-
authored empirical paper. Only one of you is required to upload the materials on Turnitin.com but you
of you are welcome to do it independently, especially if you are unsure about working on the same
project with your initially selected partner. More details will be announced in class.

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