Temple University

Department of Economics

Economics 615
 Econometrics I

Fall 2003

Curtis Hall 202 until we can get it changed.

Wednesday 4:40 PM - 7:25 PM

Texts and other materials:

Required:  The following two items are required.  There will be no exceptions!

a. Econometric Analysis, 4th or 5th Ed., William H. Greene, Prentice-Hall, 2000.
  This book is the most widely used text in U.S. grad programs.  It will challenge you every step of the way, but it is well worth the investment in time and money.  The fifth edition has some new material and is reorganized abit from other editions.  The fourth edition is not much changed from the third.  LIMDEP for students is available on Greene's web site, but you will need to own the text before you can find it.  The site has the LIMDEP code for the worked examples in Greene.

b. MathCAD symbolic computer algebra program by MathSoft.  Of course you will need access to a machine with enough horsepower to operate this software. 

Optional (If you can find a copy):

Basic Econometrics, 3rd Ed. or more recent, Damodar Gujarati, McGraw-Hill, 1995.
  Gujarati's book is a nice undergraduate treatment of econometrics. It is short on theory and has many numerical examples; as such it makes good background reading for Greene.

Electronic Texts:

The syllabus has many links to the lecture notes which I have written over the years. The lecture notes are meant to be read along with the text for the course. In addition I have links to a set of lecture notes prepared by Douglas J. Miller (Ph.D., Berkeley, 1994), Assistant Professor of Economics, Iowa State University. His excellent lecture notes are more advanced than my own.

There is an index to other course notes available online.  The files are predominantly in *.pdf and so your computer is nothing more than an electronic page turner.

Links to some graphic JAVA applets to aid your understanding. 

Rules of the Game: Attendance is at your discretion, but I have not met anyone who can do well in graduate school without a near religious commitment to the course of study. You should read the assignments before coming to class. This applies even if you feel that we are way behind schedule or that you are better prepared than the other students in the class. As in all of your classes, the subject is cumulative. Sometimes an earlier discussion will become clearer by having read material which comes after it. Our time in class is brief. To make the most of that class time you should write out your questions and bring them with you; you should quiz yourself on what you have read; you should get together in study groups and quiz one another. If you haven't already heard, this class is demanding.  Come to class prepared and don't fall behind.  You can read some more about where we are headed with 615 and 616.

Course Grade Determination:

Homework 25%
Midterm 25%
Final 25%
Paper 25%

Homework: To discourage late homework, it is accepted at only 50% of the lowest score earned by those who turned it in on time.  The PhD is a research degree.  When you are done you are certified as having the ability to conceptualize, research and solve problems in economics.  The practical consequence of this is that you may have to do some research in order to do your homework.  The homework is a mix of assignments from similar courses offered at other universities and from past versions of Econ 615.  This should give you some idea of what your peers are doing around the world.

Paper: You will note in the syllabus that there are some interim products which must be produced as part of your research paper. If you do not submit the interim products then I will not accept the paper.  You must turn in a diskette with your data and regression programs. A late paper will automatically receive a grade no higher than a 90%.

Exams: The midterm will cover all material to that point.  It is mandatory. The final is cumulative and mandatory. Only a note from a medical doctor will be accepted for missing an exam. The date for the final is included in the syllabus, make your travel plans accordingly.

Syllabus: The following table will provide you with a schedule for homework, reading and exams. Econometrics is not the sort of subject that can be left for a last minute cram. It takes a continuous level of effort.

To get the set of MathCAD documents I have been using in class click for the self-extracting file.

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