Class Schedule - Fall 2023
Andrea Szabo
Andrea Szabo
Aug 22, Tuesday
Promoting Undergraduate Research in Economics
First class. Students introduce themselves, briefly discuss their research interests and whether they are currently working on a research project. They describe their plans, if any, about graduate school.
Detailed discussion of the syllabus and the class assignments.
Talk about the objective of this class and the importance of doing some research before PhD applications.
Assignment for Thursday
I asked each student to look at AER articles published in the past three years, and pick one that they found particularly interesting. They should prepare to talk for 5 minutes about why they picked the paper, what is their first impression, what data the paper used etc.
Materials
Advice on PhD application
https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/shapiro/files/phdnotes.pdf
Undergraduate research classes elsewhere:
G. M. Hoyt and K. M. McGoldrick (2017): “Promoting Undergraduate Research in Economics,” The American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings, 655-659.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/44250478
J. W. Reyes (2010): “Teaching the Art of Economic Research in a Senior Seminar,” The American Economist, 111-123.
Aug 24, Thursday
The objective of the class is to expose students to economics research. Not everybody had the opportunity to read published articles during their previous studies. The focus is on showing the diversity in research topics, variety of data sources used, and the general structure of papers. Discuss references and the most commonly cited journals.
Four 5-8 minute presentations about their chosen AER article. Students explain why they picked the paper. We discuss questions that come up during these presentations. For example, why some papers have no data (i.e., what is a theory paper)
AER papers discussed
Bernheim, B. D., Braghieri, L., Martínez-Marquina, A., and Zuckerman, D. (2021): “A theory of chosen preferences,” American Economic Review, 720-754.
https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20190390
R. Hahn and R. Metcalfe (2021): “Efficiency and Equity Impacts of Energy Subsidies,” American Economic Review, 1658–1688.
https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20180441
J. C. Braxton and B. Taska (2023): “Technological Change and the Consequences of Job Loss ,“ American Economic Review, 279–316
https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20210182
J. F. Schmieder, T. von Wachter, and J. Heining (2023): “The Costs of Job Displacement over the Business Cycle
and Its Sources: Evidence from Germany,” American Economic Review, 1208–1254.
Aug 29, Tuesday
Talk about how to access economics journals. Provide a guide to access Econlit and JSTOR. Show how to do reverse citation search.
Discuss different categories of academic journals in economics. Go through a list of important journals in economics, pointing out fields. Discuss some characteristics of top 5 journals.
Distribute individual assignments on literature search.
Distribute assignment for Tuesday 9/5.
Materials
Guide on how to access Econlit and JSTOR
Guide on reverse citation search
List of more influential economics journals
An interesting reading about top journals in economics
D. Card and S. DellaVigna (2013): “Nine Facts about Top Journals in Economics,” Journal of Economic Literature, 144–161.
http:www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jel.51.1.144
Link with tips on how to use Econlit, and JEL codes guide
https://www.aeaweb.org/econlit/
Assignments
Example Solution (by one of the current student)
Short assignment for 5-10 minute class presentation (for 9/5)
Aug 31, Thursday
No class. 30 minute individual meetings. Some tips on both assignments due 9/5.
Schedule your meeting here:
Sept 5, Tuesday
Introduction to undergraduate economics research journals.
Focus on the structure of the paper: What is an abstract? Stating the research question. Summarizing relevant literature, Data sources, Stating and interpreting results, Stating the contribution.
Papers discussed
S. Trejo (2016): "Two Roads in a Wood: An Econometric Analysis of the Major Choice of First-Generation College Students," The Developing Economist, An Undergraduate Journal of Economics, The University of Texas at Austin, (3) 31-55.
www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1407/first-generation-college-students-college-major-choices
R. Huang (2023): "Do Public Chargers Accelerate Mass EV Adoption? Evidence from California," Stanford Economic Review, (11) 2-13.
stanfordeconreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/SER_Winter_2023_Full_Issue.pdf
C. Somerville (2020): "Variables Impacting Water Demand for Residents of the New York City Housing Authority Cameron Somerville," Berkeley Economic Review, (10) 95-169.
econreview.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Journal_F20_Single.pdf
A. Raajkumar (2021): "Do Repeated Weather Shocks Have Long-Run Effects? An Analysis of India’s Famine Era," Berkeley Economic Review, (11) 35 -98.
econreview.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Journal_Spring_2021-2.pdf
Materials
Sept 7, Thursday
30 minute individual meetings. In person in TU2, office 212.
To prepare:
-Pick a seminar to attend
-Decide whether to present your own research proposal or a research paper at the end of the semester. See syllabus. If the latter, please email me your chosen research paper (academic or published undergraduate) by Wednesday 8 pm.
Schedule your meeting here:
Sept 11, Tuesday
Review of some econometrics concepts:
Correlation vs causality, omitted variable bias
Instrumental variable regressions
Explain the importance of thinking ahead about the econometric specification before collecting data, which can be very time consuming.
Locating datasets for economic research. Go through a list of commonly used datasets. Introduction to library resources. Explain the
importance of the level of observation, understanding the structure of the dataset, variable definitions, how the data was collected.
Discussion of the next assignment: Undertaking a database search.
Materials
Sept 14, Thursday
We start the class by watching the introductory video from the Census Bureau explaining the structure of their site.
Introduce the Census and the American Community Survey. List a few topics, variables, show how to get the data. Show links to FTP sites.
Explain some of the geographical units used by the Census Bureau.
Example: get ZIP code level income data for Texas.
Introduce data published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Watch a short video describing their products.
List a few topics, variables, show how to get the data.
Explain different industry classifications: SIC and NAICS.
Data sources discussed
Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce
https://www.bea.gov/
U.S. Census Bureau
Materials
Sept 19, Tuesday
Talk about a few surveys I conducted, both in the US and in Africa.
We go trough some of my experiences working in the field. Suggestions for when it is useful for (under) graduate researchers to collect their own data.
Talk about some of the content below, mostly focusing on the JPAL material.
Various documents describing practical advice on how to conduct a survey and related issues
How to conduct a survey, IMF
https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/bop/2014/pdf/BPM6_02F.pdf
Survey design, JPAL
https://www.povertyactionlab.org/resource/survey-design
Checklist for proofing each survey question, JPAL
https://www.povertyactionlab.org/sites/default/files/research-resources/rr_surveydesign_proofingchecklist_0.pdf
[You can find more research resources here: https://www.povertyactionlab.org/research-resources?view=toc]
G. Iarossi (2006): "The Power of Survey Design," The World Bank.
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/ae0cc62b-ad45-5be1-98f0-5dfc97afd4c4/content
Stefanie Stantcheva (2022): "How to run surveys: A guide to creating your own identifying variation and revealing the invisible," NBER Working Paper 30527. http://www.nber.org/papers/w30527
Additional materials
Assignment related to econ seminars
Useful information for undergraduate students: IRB and computing resources
Instructions on how to register for the online CITI class (see syllabus for due date)
Sept 21, Thursday
Example of research using survey data on University of Houston students:
Paper discussed
A. Szabo and V. Pham (2022): “Net Neutrality and Consumer Demand in the Video On-demand Market,” Information Economics and Policy 61, 1-20.
doi.org/10.1016/j.infoecopol.2022.100993
Materials
Sept 26, Tuesday
We are starting the class with an informal discussion. A current 4th year econ PhD student is coming to class to speak about his undergraduate experience and give you some insights into life in the econ PhD here. Prepare your questions!
Sept 28, Thursday
Preparing economic data for analysis. Introduction to STATA. Useful commands. Practical advice on how to keep a record of your own work: do files, log files, naming files etc.
Working with different file extensions.
Materials
Slides: Getting Started with Data Analysis using Stata
Slides: How to access STATA using the UH virtual server
Matthew Gentzkow and Jesse M. Shapiro: Code and Data for the Social Sciences: A Practitioner’s Guide
Oct 3, Tuesday
Appending, reshaping and merging datasets.
Creating graphs and tables. Formatting tables in published papers. Explain how to understand and interpret numerical data found in published tables and figures.
Materials
Slides: Getting Started with Data Analysis using Stata (extended version)
Oct 5, Thursday
Consultation related to Assignment 3. This is a one-on-one meeting. Schedule your meeting through the online link. You will receive a zoom link, but I will be in my office (TU2, 212) if you want to see me in person. The objective is that you have enough help / clarification so you can do the new assignment.
Oct 10, Tuesday
Progress report on individual research proposals. Richard is going to start the class presenting his research idea.
Writing the research paper. Tips on finding your research topic.
Materials
Four Steps to an Applied Micro Paper, Jesse M. Shapiro, Harvard University and NBER
How to get started on research in economics?, Steve Pischke, LSE
Some Advice for Writing a Report or Thesis, Erik Kole, Erasmus School of Economics
Princeton Economics Junior Independent Work Handbook
Pages 16-19 give you a suggested timeline to complete an undergraduate project
Pages 19-22 describe the general expectations, which should give you an idea of what is considered to be a “good” undergraduate paper in economics.
Oct 12, Thursday
Review of regression with panel data.
Continue reviewing some of the materials from Tuesday.
Oct 16 - Nov 3
Individual research assignment. During the next 3 weeks, students are required to work on the assignments at least 4 hours per week. Each student will receive individual assignments to work on as an RA with faculty / PhD students.
See you back in class on Tuesday, Nov 2.
Email me if you have any issues / questions!
Remember: your presentation should be ready by Nov 9.
Nov 7, Tuesday
How to prepare presentation slides. Structure of effective presentations. We will also discuss the presentation schedule next week.
Materials
Giving an Academic Talk, Jonathan Shewchuk, University of California at Berkeley
The “Big 5” and Other Ideas, For Presentations, Donald Cox
How to give a great seminar, Alex Tabarrok, George Mason University
Nov 9, Thursday
We will meet in the classroom. If you need extra time to ask questions related to your presentation please email me. We will discuss the guides below and any remaining assignments.
Materials
You will find below my guides on how to prepare your presentation slides for next week. All of you will present a published paper and some of you will present your own research / research proposal as well. You will have 30-35 minutes to present the published research and 15-20 minutes to present your own research progress.
How to organize your slides for presentation: Presenting a published research paper
How to organize your slides for presentation: Your own research proposal
All slides should be in Beamer, you can find a guide here:
Nov 14, Tuesday
Student presentations:
Yap, Luther (2018) : "A Sequential Game-Theoretic Approach to Student Learning Time," The Developing Economist, An Undergraduate Journal of Economics, The University of Texas at Austin, Volume 5, 147-193.
https://sites.google.com/view/thedeveco/editions/vol-v
Holland, S. P. Erin, T. Mansur, N. Z. Muller, and A. J. Yates (2016): "Are There Environmental Benefits from Driving Electric Vehicles? The Importance of Local Factors," American Economic Review, 106(12), 3700-3729.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.20150897
Nov 16, Thursday
Student presentations:
Attanasio, O., S. Cattan, E. Fitzsimons, C. Meghir, and M. Rubio-Codina (2020): "Estimating the Production Function for Human Capital: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Colombia," American Economic Review, 110(1), 48-85.
https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20150183
Burlig, F., J. Bushnell, D. Rapson, and C. Wolfram (2021): "Low Energy: Estimating Electric Vehicle Electricity Use," AEA Papers and Proceedings, 111, 430-435.
Nov 21, Tuesday
Students present their own research proposals. One of the objectives of the class is that students interested in conducting research in future semesters prepare a presentable research proposal to successfully seek a faculty advisor.
Nov 28, Tuesday
Advice on graduate school applications. Suggested timeline. Research opportunities at the Economics Department.
Advice on how to talk to a professor / advisors about your research, i.e. how to make meetings more efficient
FAQ for graduate school applications
Advice on your personal statement
What a research assistant does
Nov 30, Thursday
We will meet in the classroom
Guest Lecture
Robert Huang: "Do Public Chargers Accelerate Mass EV Adoption? Evidence from California"
Robert is an undergraduate student at the University of Southern California. He published his paper in the 2023 issue of the Stanford Economic Review, a journal of showcasing undergraduate economics research. We already discussed some of the results / data from his paper, please take a look at it again. You can find the paper under September 5 class materials.
Robert can answer your questions about his undergraduate research experience and more generally about the process of writing his paper. Prepare your questions!