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Outline
There are three aims of the module:
- Give the students a solid background in in the theory of public finance, as well as models of savings and labor supply
- Give the students an overview of data for conducting PhD theses
- Teach the students modern applied econometrics procedures, including methods to address “natural experiments”, including difference in differences, regression discontinuity, and instrumental variables; as well as “structural estimation”, including GMM and calibration methods.
Objectives:
At the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Estimate a simple labor supply model using both instrumental variables and GMM.
- Use the estimated model to calculate deadweight loss (a key concept of public finance). Understand the different theories of public finance.
- Understand key policy tools that governments use to tax and transfer resources.
You can find more details of this course on the Moodle page at this link.
Instructors
- Eric French (eric.french@ucl.ac.uk)
Prerequistes
- None, but it is suitable for students who have begun the MRES sequence.
Assessment and Teaching
You'll have 10 lectures and 5 tutorials in Term 2 and you'll be required to sit a two-hour closed book examination in May/June.